A Southwestern Desert Getaway

The Journey

After a first quarter to the year that was a bit tumultuous, we decided to take a bit of down time and wanted somewhere that would not be cold and would not be far from home. With Kathleen having some nagging issues with her neck after her January accident, we knew we were not going to be doing any long runs on the trip. So we decided to head to Taos, New Mexico where we could get some sun, some running, and some good relaxation. Turned out, that was a good plan.

We started our drive in wet and spitting snow but by the time we hit the turn at Walsenburg, CO, we had some blue skies breaking out - sweet! Those are the Spanish Peaks - East on the left at 12,683' and West on the right at 13,625'.
Mount Mestas showing off some fresh dusting of snow from the morning cloud cover as we start over La Veta Pass.
We are not much for junk food, however, I have had a weakness for Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies from a very young age - they make great "traveling fuel" !!!
We arrived in Taos to blue sky with some fluffy clouds, much better than the snow that was falling at home! This is the view off the porch of the casita we were renting for the week. Miles and miles of sagebrush and mountains - awesome!
After tooling around the plaza for a bit and making a run to Cid's Natural Food Market for supplies, we put our feet up and started planning our activities (or lack of...) for the next few days. We had a fantastic sunset, as we would each evening.

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Sunday's Fun Day

We took a run on Sunday from our base camp on the Taos Mesa, down into the Rio Grande Gorge to the John Dunn Bridge - a local landmark. Kathleen is running high up on the rim above the river, with the Taos mountains in the background.

There it is folks - The John Dunn Bridge, with the Rio Grande River flowing beneath.

Posing for the group photo at the bottom of the Gorge.

Steve starting back up out of the Gorge, with the soothing sounds of the running water to help with the relaxation.

Kathleen makes her way up - notice the switchbacks cut into the western wall of the Gorge.

More great views of the mountains from atop the eastern rim.

Our neighbors for the week - Morningstar Alpaca Ranch. The alpacas were always curious when we went by their pastures and would line up to watch us. We finished with a nice 8 mile run and then kicked back for the afternoon.

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Monday on the West Rim

Monday we headed out to the West Rim Trail, which starts at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge northwest of Taos. The bridge is a 1200' span across the gorge formed by the Rio Grande River and sits 650' up from the waters below. The trail roughly follows the western rim of the gorge and travels through mostly sagebrush desert but has incredible mountain vistas for the entire length of the trail. Kathleen runs here with Taos mountain in the distance.
You can see the mouth of the gorge opening on the left of this photo. It was once again a bluebird day - not a single cloud in the sky. Kathleen peeled off a bit early as she was feeling like keeping the runs short to help with her neck discomfort.
This tree seemed like a good spot to turn around. Hard to beat views like that - makes it difficult to concentrate on the run...
... however, this is not the spot to have a lapse of judgement and step off the trail!!! There is the bridge in all it's glory, with the Rio Grande far below.
Kathleen grabbed Sage and headed back out to meet me as I finished the run. It was a nice 8 miler, with a faster than normal pace as the trail is relatively level around 7100' elevation.

We took a little time to visit our curious neighbors in the afternoon.

The chocolate colored gent in the rear is Logan - Kathleen purchased several skeins of yarn from his coat and is knitting a small bag with it. We'll put up a pic when it is finished. Alpaca yarn is highly prized in the knitting world and makes very durable and warm clothing.
My girls catching the afternoon sun on the deck - Kathleen is knitting, but not yet with Logan's coat!

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What the heck ???

Kathleen has had some issues with chronic bronchitis but has not had it for 15 months - the longest span in many years - until TODAY. Right in the middle of what was supposed to be a relaxing trip. This is crap. But, alas, under protest, it is here to stay.

So I decided to head out from base camp again and do the R2R2R ...

...but not THAT R2R2R. :-0 This was Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim Taos-style. I ran from the east rim of the gorge, down and over the Dunn bridge, and up the switchbacks onto the west rim. The view of the Rio Grande looking south from the third switchback.

On top of the west rim ... in Awe!

Coming back down from the west rim, I had a good view up river to the bridge. Once again it was a fabulous weather day, but I would have preferred to NOT be running alone.

A helpful rock took a photo for me!

Looking down from 3/4 of the way up the eastern wall - you can see the third and fourth switchbacks cut into the western side. It was another great day to run and I got in a nice 10 miler with a couple sharp climbs thrown in.
The girls were basking in the sun when I returned. You can see the start of Logan's wool being crafted into a bag - Kathleen was busy while I was gone! She is hiding the disappointment of not running well - she is not happy with the turn of events for sure!

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Lemonade Anyone???

If you get lemons, you just need to make lemonade, right? We knew that, for the most part, Kathleen would just have to "ride out" the bronchitis. Though she did not sleep much Tuesday night, she felt OK Wednesday, so we decided to do at least a couple more tourist type activities.

We cruised down to Ranchos de Taos to visit San Francisco de Asis Chapel, one of the most photographed churches in the southwest.
The thick adobe walls do stand out nicely against the azure blue desert sky - quite a visual combination. Murphy's Law was at work today - there was work being done on the inside of the chapel, so it was an exterior-only visit.

Had to get a family photo at the Taos sign!

If you are in Taos, you need to go to 5 Star Burgers - no questions asked! They serve antibiotic free Angus Beef burgers and tasty sweet potato fries - mmmmm! I personally recommend the Taos Burger - battered green chile, barbecue sauce, and cheddar - just earn it on your run! We finished off the day with some shopping at the plaza, and a vist to Rooster's Coffee - Java Time!
After a sunset like this it is hard to leave, but we headed out Thursday morning to head back to Colorado. It was not the relaxation we had envisioned, but if you are going to have "forced" down time, there are probably not many better places than this. It was off to the doc for neck checkup and antibiotics for Kathleen - yeehaw... But we're not letting it spoil a good time and good memories from the desert!!!

Guest Author Blog Post - "Running Sucks"

Yes, today's post is by a guest author, so to speak. I (Kathleen) have been in Blogger Hibernation the last few months but am slowly waking up, and a little cranky at that. I had to bare my teeth at Steve and wrestle the keyboard from his grasp in order to do this rant, er, I mean, post. And yep, you read the title correctly - running sucks. That phrase is what was on the ticker tape rolling through my head while we were out on our run today. In fact, halfway through our run, I had committed myself to go home, throw all of my many pairs of running shoes into a great big box (it would need to be a BIG box because I have lots of shoes), torch those puppies, and have a great big bonfire in the backyard (a shame, really, because I LOVE shoes). I had also made the commitment to become a full time cyclist again because running sucks. Put your hearts at rest, though, as it was only a moment of weakness and I have come back to my senses (a little coaxing and bribery of an extra chocolate-y iced mocha from Steve helped). Here's what happened:

Because we were LAZY and didn't want to do a post- holing run in snow on some of our favorite REAL and FUN local trails, we headed over to the Santa Fe Trail for some good aerobic miles. The Santa Fe Trail is a true local gem, on most days. It is fairly flat, for local standards, and is perfect for distance aerobic training on foot as well as on the bike. We have utilized it extensively over the years and it is a jewel - except for today. Today, for me, from the first step, was an exercise of torture. The trail represented a wide dirt freeway - BORING and MONOTONOUS. Yuck. That consistent ticking of an even foot turnover is the pits. Even the iPod couldn't save me. I tried to "think positive" but the positive-thinking mantra wasn't working. With every step, the thought "I hate this" echoed in my head.
Our goal was 14 miles on the frick'in wide dirt freeway but we settled for a measly, pathetic, and paltry 10. Did I mention I hated every step???

I have come to a self realization. I need interest. Scenery. Variety. Uphills. Downhills. Twists and turns. Singletrack. Running A.D.D.? Maybe. I am not commited enough to slog through long boring runs "just because" it's on the training schedule. Nope, not for me. If that leaves me in the realm of mediocrity, so be it. Life's too short to waste much time on BORING. I know, I know, it's a mind and focus thing but we (very thankfully) live in an area where we don't have to "settle" for boring runs. I love Santa Fe Trail but in most cases, it will have to be in short, fast segments - Git'er done - or speeding over it on a bike. Maybe I am not a REAL runner quite yet.

When we got home, I noticed Steve gathering up all of the matches, presumably to hide. I think we do have a local fire ban on shoes. I also caught him trying to hide Mountain Bike magazine Buyer's Guide under his arm (again, presumably to keep away from me in my frothing state. No worries - I can sniff out his hiding place). Hmmm, a shoe bonfire AND a shiny new mountain bike might not be so bad . . .

At the EVIL trailhead parking lot; Blodgett Peak is in the foreground with Pikes Peak sneaking up behind.

I LOOK happy here - it is an optical illusion.

Steve is genuinely smiling. He enjoyed himself. He had a marvelous run. My smile is really a grimace through clenched teeth.

A view from the trail across the USAFA. At least Pikes Peak is pretty.

Yep, it felt like 45 miles. When will the misery end???!!!

Ok, I have recovered from my earlier meltdown. I am not burning my running shoes (yet). I am not going shopping for a new mountain bike (maybe). Actually, I am feeling pretty good post run. I am certainly thankful for a patient hubby who still saw the beauty in the boring (and coaxed me back to reality that life is good and running is good). It certainly IS a beautiful thing just to be ABLE bodied and GET OUT, regardless.

And hopefully, those of you who really know me, also know I am just having a little fun messing with you! :-) Ha, ha! Fact is, I really LOVE the Santa Fe Trail and I truly was smiling, sometimes!

Get out, whether it's on pavement (sorry), a wide dirt freeway, or luscious singletrack - it's good to be alive - and have HAPPY TRAILS this week! :-)

Shoes: Asics Gel Trabuco - both

Sun and Fun at CMSP

With the warm temps on deck again today, we headed to Cheyenne Mountain State Park for some fine trails. Did the long climb from the base all the way up to the top of Talon North, so the first time the camera came out was near the top. No time for pics when you are barely holding your lung in on the climb!!!

It is March and 70 degrees - any questions?

Kathleen coming through the forest on Talon North.

Awesome view of the southwestern flank of Cheyenne Mountain from Talon North.

Almost to the summit of Talon North...

... and over the top we go!

The mountains meet the plains - looking south and east over Fort Carson from the Talon trail.

Steve catching some rays through the pines on Talon South.

Alert from command central - humans approaching!

Kathleen cruising down the Boulder Run.

Finishing up on Coyote Run - it was a good day with 12 miles out on the trails! We wanted 14 or so, but 12 felt like plenty today. With sun and 70 degrees, we did not want the day to end. Happy Trails for sure!

Shoes - Asics Gel Trabuco

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This post has been marinating since Sunday night, but finally was released to the wild on Wednesday. We are currently under a Winter Storm Warning through Friday evening - if it pans out, we could be running (or not) on snow for a while! We'll see what happens.