Day Five

I started my morning with a workout in the fitness center. It was a pretty good workout room, with two treadmills, two stationary bikes, an elliptical, a stairmaster, a couple of weight machines and even some free weights. I would’ve liked to have gone to the tai chi class after my workout, but with a 9:15 massage and breakfast ending at 10:30, I had to hurry back to my room, shower, and get downstairs for breakfast.

Because I was going to get a massage, I had to skip the coffee. I wouldn’t have enjoyed having to get up every fifteen minutes to use the bathroom! So I had only half a cup of coffee and tried to restrain myself at the sight of the impressive breakfast buffet. They had an egg/tortilla/cheese dish short of like chilaquiles, two types of potatoes, bacon, sausage, and a guy cooking omelets on demand.

I took a taste of the chilaquiles-type dish, and each of the potato dishes. I filled a small plate with cantaloupe and honeydew. And one of the potato dishes was so good I ended up going back for seconds. But I couldn’t fill up because of my massage, and I was on a tight schedule anyway, so I was saved from myself.

My massage was incredible! I’ve had lots of deep tissue massages but this guy knew how to do it without hurting me. He used traditional massage techniques as well as some active release and lots of hot towels to loosen me up. I really had no idea deep tissue work could be like that, but he fixed me up good. And he even brought me a glass of water with lemon in it when it was over. A good thing Tim didn’t seem like the type who likes girls, or Dan would be looking for a new wife right about now!

When I got back to the room, Dan and I hung out on the balcony awhile and read the morning paper. This is our balcony from below:


















Then we checked out and went to investigate the chapel and home of Archbishop Lamy before we left. This is the actual house described in Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop! I may have to re-read that book, now that I’ve seen the house and gardens.





















We headed out around noon, stopping for a photo op with the camel rock.




















And I also took some photos of the decorated freeway overpasses:





















Then we drove toward Taos, taking the smaller mountain roads, rather than the main state highways and interstate. It was well worth the longer trip! The scenery is incredible, and you just never know what you're going to see along the roads or in some of these tiny little towns.






















In Taos we decided to check out the pueblo. I had never been to a working native pueblo before, so I found it fascinating.



























We went into a few artist shops and I was stunned by the prices. For $50 you can buy a piece of pottery that would run $100-$150 in Old Town Albuquerque or Santa Fe. I had promised Mom something from my trip for Mother’s Day (she called a week in advance of Mother’s Day and hinted around, I wasn’t late with a gift on purpose), so this turned out perfect.

After we finished knocking around the pueblo, we hit the road again, heading mostly east toward Raton, via Angel Fire, Eagle Nest and Cimarron. It was so interesting to watch the landscape change, especially as bad weather moved in.

































When we got to Raton, we were starving, so we went to the local K-Bob’s. I’ve found these to be pretty decent restaurants when in a small town because they have a good salad/soup bar for me, and steaks, hamburgers and cobbler for a certain someone I travel with. After we ate, we tried to get a room at the Holiday Inn Express and were told it was booked, as was the Microtel, and there were only six rooms left at the Comfort Inn. We scurried over to the Comfort Inn and got one of those last six rooms, but we’re greatly puzzled as to what could’ve brought so many people to a place like Raton, New Mexico. Truly, there is very little to see or do here!

But this is a pretty decent hotel. It’s no Bishop’s Lodge, but we’ve got wireless internet, cable, a pool, Jacuzzi, guest laundry and an exercise room. I’m satisfied. In the morning I’ll do a short workout and then I’ll rearrange the contents of my bags so Dan can drop me off at my women’s camp in the morning. The campsite is so big that he might just stay there, too, off in another part of camp. This would be ideal, because that way if the food sucks like it did at the camp I attended in Marble Falls, I can send him into town to bring me salads.

I don’t know if I’ll have internet access for the next couple nights, so I might not be able to post again until Sunday night. We’ll see! Adventures are ongoing, though, and there will be more to come!