Every year, for Sophie’s Spring break, we(the dog, Beaudreaux, even got to go this time!) venture out on the open road for our annual road trip.  This year’s trip brought us to a few really awesome spots in our neighboring state of New Mexico, and what a special trip it was.  Yup, I popped the question to Lisa and she happily accepted!! WE’RE ENGAGED

Our first stop was Carlsbad, NM for the Caverns.  We didn’t arrive until about 10 in the evening so we found ourselves a kitschy little motel in town to rest up for the cavernous hike that we were to embark on the next morning.  Let me just say that these caverns are enormously HUGE.  You have no real idea what to expect.  Sure, I knew they were gonna be massive, but there’s just no real way of preparing yourself for a place like it. Wow.  Amazingly beautiful and kinda creepy.  We always try to incorporate something educational in our trips and the caverns proved to be just that….it’s good for the brain juice.  Plus, it made taking Sophie out of school two days prior to the start of her break more justifiable.  We then headed to our 2nd destination just a few hours northwest in Cloudcroft, where we had a super cool a-frame cabin in the snowy mountains waiting for us.  This is where I did the deed.  I couldn’t stand the anticipation any longer….I had been holding on to the engagement ring for a month and it was starting to burn a huge hole in my pocket.  PHEW! Felt like a million pounds had been lifted off my shoulders.  We spent the evening chilling out and relaxing by the fire that I taught Sophie how to build and start.  She likes the fire, that little pyro!  The next day we headed out of the mountains and into the desert valley for a day trip to White Sands National Park in Alamogordo, home to the missile range that detonated the first nuclear explosion in the world.  I hope it’s okay to visit there….so far, none of my hair has fallen out and I  haven’t grown a third ear!  We purchased some plastic discs and proceeded to slide down the massive white dunes that the park is famous for.  The next leg of our trip brought us to Ruidoso, a cool little ski town just an hour north of Cloudcroft, where we had yet another cabin waiting for us.  Though there wasn’t as much snow on the ground as there was in Cloudcroft, we did get to see a good amount of fresh snow fall in Ruidoso.  Sophie hadn’t really experienced real snow and snowfall.  Sure, we’ve been known to get a flurry or two in Austin, but it’s nothing like the real deal.   Needless to say, snowball fights were in order.   There wasn’t enough time left on our trip to go skiing since it usually takes a few days of classes and such to even get the hang of things enough to enjoy it.  Instead, we went snow tubing – equally as fun and less demand on the body!  We all had a blast, especially Sophie, who would spin down the mountain with the biggest grin on her face!  Such an amazing trip with my two favorite gals in the whole wide world.  I’m ecstatic that Lisa said yes.  I’m thankful that Sophie was there to be a part of it all.  I’m glad Beaudreaux got to go with us.   One last statement – cooking and grilling in that high altitude is weird.  Here are some pics from the trip…..we hope you enjoy!

Poor Beaudreaux had to be kenneled at the caverns….it’s a good thing they offered that service.  He was such a good little pooch on the trip!

Neat, huh? The formation on the right was called Whales mouth.

The queen of funny faces!

An interior shot of the a-frame….so cool! We didn’t want to leave.

SNOWBALL FIGHT!

Lisa pegged Sophie pretty good

Thanks for stopping by!