I played hooky.

Yep, I played hooky after the workshop in Denver -- went down to Taos and skied!  Our friends the Harlin family were there for a long weekend, so my brother and I joined them Friday.  It was a short but epic trip....

We flew into Albuquerque Thursday evening, rented a small SUV and headed for Taos.  I'll never forget that drive.  It was dark, and snowing, and what should have taken 2 1/2 hours took us from about 11:30 till 5am.  Apparently they don't really care to snowplow much in Albuquerque.  There must have been 6" of snow on the road and vehicles were sliding all over the place.  I've gone up to Tahoe via highway 80 dozens of times, but I've never seen so many cars and trucks stopped in bizarre places all over a road like this.  Flashing lights and snowy skid marks were everywhere.

We had an extra passenger along for the drive, a surgeon from Boston who'd been stranded at the airport.  She was headed to Santa Fe for a friend's surprise birthday party, but her ride flaked out on her because of the storm.  We were going that way so we were happy to squeeze her in among the skis and luggage.  :)  She's also a skier so it was fun chatting with her as we slid along.  We ended up in sort of a convoy, with a Porsche Cayenne in front of us and two other SUVs behind, holding our breath as we threaded our way through mile after mile of this odd midnight graveyard of cars and semis.  All I have to say is, Chris is a good driver, and I'm grateful for God's protection!

Around 2am we pulled into Santa Fe, with GREAT relief, and dropped our new friend off at her hotel.  We moseyed around the narrow streets of Old Town area before hitting the road again (complete with going the wrong way on a one-way road, which is always fun... ;)  There wasn't a soul to be seen, and with Christmas lights, luminarios, and the fresh blanket of snow, the place was nothing short of magical!  I was too tired and under-the-weather to drag out my big camera, but here's an iPhone pic of the town square that gives you the idea:

We reached our hotel around 5am and crashed.  Chris got up and went skiing a couple hours later, but I was wiped out and fighting some sort of cold bug/allergy, so I slept in a bit and headed up to Taos later.  Visibility was poor, but the snow was great!  And to top it off, Salomon, K2, Atomic, and several other ski manufacturers were offering free demos that day, so I tried the 2011 K2 "MissDemeanor" (great name for a ski, huh?).  I'm in love with those things!  Currently don't have the means to acquire these beauties, but hey, maybe I'll find a deal some time this season!  :)

Had a gorgeous drive to the ski resort from the hotel.  Amazing how a blanket of snow makes the landscape into a fairytale...

Well, now I'm home and pretty much back to health (aside from somewhat more than the usual sleep deprivation!). So it's back to teaching and editing photos...should have more to show you soon!  Merry Monday-before-Christmas to all of you!  ;)

- Kelsey Schweickert

Discovering beauty...

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