Finding Joy: New Mexico

Out for a night in Santa Fe.

Peak of Mount Baldy....We made it....alive!

On top of Mount Baldy all covered in cheese...I lost my poor meatball.....

the only part of the hike that was easy.....beautiful!

The pecos river the boys fly-fished.

We had the wonderful opportunity to join our sweet friends in exploring the Santa Fe area of New Mexico this past June. They invited us to share in a family cabin and explore the area of Glorietta.

Our adventurous spirit got the best of us when we decided to hike Mount Baldy the first day. We have since learned that Mount Baldy is the second highest peak in New Mexico....seriously. Our 3 hour hike turned into 7 hours of grueling torture....okay, maybe that is a little dramatic, but I will say, hiking that terain and elevation was the hardest physical challenge I have ever accomplished. Sad thing is, I didn't set out to accomplish anything other than enjoying God's creation. My competitive nature got the best of me two hours into the hike and I decided I couldn't stop until I got to the top....oh yes, there were many times my body was yelling at me to quit! At times, there were parts where I could only take 5 steps and then would have to stop to gasp for air. The altitude was a killer. But, with some encouragement and a mean streak, all four of us made it to the top of that beast. (Did I mention we climbed and traveresed two or three mountains to then climb to the top of Baldy...needless to say we didn't know what we were getting into!) I forgot to mention our "little" hike mentality set us up with half a sandwich and two bottles of water....one for me, one for Jody....

So we got to the top, climbed the tower and tried to rest for a few minutes until we saw a storm rolling in.....we looked around and quickly noticed how many trees around us had been struck by lightning. Perfect. No rest for the weary right? We took off down that mountain with mean streaks in our hearts.....all of us were so angry we just wanted to be home....but, we did it...and made it down safely without hardly stopping! At then end of the day we had hiked over 10 miles up steep terain. Our bodies reminded us of it every chance we gave them over the next few days. IT must be what 1/2 marothoners feel like the few days after the race??

The next day we did some white water rafting.....a feat not to impressive compared to our crazy hike. Our guide told us we were crazy for climbing Baldy and said that most people in New Mexico have never even tried that. He also added something in about people training for that.....I can't remember ...smile!

We had a great time rafting in the freezing cold water! Our boys were boys and had to jump in at one poing to proove something?? Not sure what...

Yes you too can look this good if you can rock a wet suit!

The next day we boycotted (sp?) adventure and settled for some shopping at Ross in Santa Fe. Hey, what can I say...it was all we could find that we could afford there. (We dropped the boys off to fly fish the whole day at this river). It was a wonderful day!