Socctoberfest excitement in New Mexico

Since arriving in Telluride at the end of August this is only the fourth time I have gotten in my car to drive over 5 miles. This was the second tournament for Owen this season and we got to travel to a different climate zone. As we left Telluride early Saturday morning, I drove up Lizard Head Pass under less than optimal road conditions. Ice and snow. But three hours later we arrived in Farmington, NM and 68 degree temps. I wanted to camp but Owen begged to stay in a hotel so he could swim at a pool and hang with his teammates.

Although his team only won half their games, they had a blast and improved with each game. The final game went into two periods of overtime and ended in a shootout. They lost. But they got medals and that seemed to help the pain of losing.

Farmington is not much to look at, but it has all the amenities of a small city. We hit a Target store, a large grocery store, a mall, Taco Bell and went roller skating. These things do not exist in or around Telluride. We stocked up on groceries for a month, seriously. Prices were about 25% cheaper. Instead of $7/gallon for organic milk we paid $4.50. for example. It's crazy.

I really did not want to drive to this tournament but Owen said it was the best weekend he has had in a while, so it was well worth it.

And this is what we came home to...........

I'm back

Ridiculously busy with this this teaching gig. I am often composing posting in my head when I am not thinking in Spanish or about Spanish. Loving Telluride, hating the separation from Husband and Dad. Loving job and hating having too much on my plate. Loving the mountains and hating that there is not yet enough snow to ski. Love living near fun aunt an uncle and miss my Idaho friends. We love parking the car for weeks on end and taking the Goose (free). We really miss the kid away at U of ID.

So, we hike a lot. Of course. Usually we are above 10,000 ft. It use to make us dizzy but now we have acclimated. We don't mountain bike as much as I hoped because much is too difficult for Owen due to the huge climbs involved.

We climb much more. The desert is a mere 100 miles or so down the hill so we can climb most of the winter. Moab is about 150 miles, so we can bike as well.