A good day trip

We went to Ruidoso, NM yesterday (Sunday). It was nice. I can't wait to go back in the winter when there's snow. It's a nice little ski resort town, which happens to also be very beautiful when it's not snowing. It's green there! There were a lot of nice shops, but it being Sunday, lots of things were closed pretty early, and we spent most of our time playing in the river anyhow. It was really great. We are planning to go back to either Ruidoso or Cloudcroft in a couple weeks, for a little weekend getaway for Thak's 35th birthday! Just one day away from the ugly, dead, dry, brown city we live in was very refreshing.

On our way there, this picture was taken from Apache Peak, which is almost 8000 feet above sea level. There's still a little snow up on the mountain! I believe that mountain is actually where the resort, Ski Apache is. That is a good place to ski. They give a great military discount, and Army Times rated them as one of the top 10 ski resorts in the nation.


Then right after that, it started raining!! Yes, that is real rain on our windshield!! We hadn't seen rain, REAL rain, in about a year.


Then we arrived in Ruidoso! We were walking through downtown, and saw the river down one of the side streets, so we decided to go check it out.

Orren was scared of the water at first. It was LOUD rushing over the rocks!


He wasn't so scared when daddy took him in.



Erin and Orren playing in green grass!!


This field was really pretty.


Erin took this one of me and Thak.


Then we walked around a little more. This is downtown Ruidoso. I'll bet it's so pretty covered in snow!


Then we went back to a different part of the river, which had less steep banks so the kids could get in easier.

Orren had to do it on his own terms. It was still too cold for him, and he needed daddy to warm him up after a short time.


Sissy taught him how to throw rocks!


Looking for more rocks to throw into the river, and enjoying the mud! The mud was fun!


Me and my little boy on the bank of the Rio Ruidoso.



Shortly after this, Orren fell into the river, and Thak had to fish him out. We had to go home after that because I forgot to bring an extra outfit for him. He had to ride through downtown Ruidoso in his stroller wearing nothing but a diaper, but he had a blankie in the car, so he was able to stay nice and warm on the way home. Despite a somewhat rough end to the day, we'll definitely be going back to Ruidoso as often as we can! It was really nice, not to mention 79 degrees compared to the 110 it was in El Paso that day.