Honeymoon Recap
2/23/09 Day 1 - 65º and sunny. We left Austin at 7:15am, and had a uneventful drive until we got to the 50 mile stretch between Roswell and Ruidoso. Minty stalled for no apparent reason, and would not start up again. We were able to coast into what may be the only business along that stretch of highway. Bella, the owner of the Riverside Stage Stop was extremely helpful, and made the phone calls we needed (of course no cellular service). Surprisingly, Minty started back up a half hour later, and we were able to drive the rest of the way. Tow truck driver and Bella got wedding cake for their troubles.
2/24/09 Day 2 - low 40s to mid 70s. Great first night sleep in Jim and Suzanne’s fantastic cabin. We were both impressed with everything about Ruidoso and the beautiful accommodations. We headed up to Lincoln National Forest to hike the Southfork #19 trail, then had dinner in town. Suzanne had surprised us with gift certificates to some of the local restaurants! A pizza place called Cafe Rio had Kale soup on the menu, so of course I had to try it out. Almost as good as Grandma’s.
2/25/09 Day 3 - mid 40s to 50s on the mountain. First ski day at Ski Apache. Ed wanted an early start, but I slept in til 9:45am! Minty had no trouble with the 45 minute ascent (9000ft or so) to the lodge. What a drive! Fortunate though that the weather was so nice. Snow on the road would have been too scary for me. Ski Apache only had about 20% of their ski runs open due to the lack of snow. But because of that, we got two-for-one lift tickets! The snow was a bit mushy with the midday sun (my fault for sleeping in), but we still got in a lot of snowboarding.
We arrived back at the cabin tired from our adventure, but totally relaxed, and headed out for Mexican food at the Lincoln County Grill.
2/26/09 Day 4 - low 50s to mid 70s. Spent the morning at the Hubbard Museum of the American west in Ruidoso Downs. The museum was very entertaining and we had a picnic lunch before heading south to White Sands National Park. Watched stealth fighters maneuvering right next to us as the park came into view. The park is a huge bargain at $3 per person. We set out on a hiking trail and took many pictures as we walked the surreal landscape. On the way back to the cabin we took a detour to check out the The Inn of the Mountain Gods. The casino sits high on a mountain side with a majestic lake view. After a brief rest, we drove into town to get some dinner. We chose the Pasta Cafe, and we were not disappointed! I got the rib eye with a mushroom and gorgonzola cream sauce. Ed got the seafood pasta - crab stuffed ravioli, with a crab, shrimp and wild mushroom cream sauce. Yum!
2/27/09 Day 5 - 50s at the top of the mountain. Went skiing again at Ski Apache. I managed to get up early, so we had a great morning on the slopes. The Gondola was open for the weekend, so we took it to the top of the mountain to eat our lunch. Afterwards, we hiked the 1/2 mile long Scenic Trail. The trail head is near the entrance to the resort. It was little bit snowy, but passable. After our hike we headed back into town and settled in for a lazy evening. Ed ordered a carry out pizza from Cafe Rio. The case of beer we brought (leftover from our wedding) was our drink of choice the whole week. Here’s some super exciting footage of me going down a hill …ok, it wasn’t that exciting 
2/28/09 Day 6 - 28º at 9AM, low 50’s for high. We decided to stay an extra day, and headed out for some more hiking. We went back to the same area we had gone to previously, and took trail #33 - Blue Front. The trail was in excellent shape and we were greeted by curious Steller’s Jays and Chickadees. Also spotted what I think were Dark-eyed Juncos, but with coloration unlike any I have ever seen. I was hoping to find an elk, but had no luck. We hiked the trail until we reached a significant snow field (2.5 hrs out), but we were exhausted from the climb anyways, so we turned around. I got home to discover that I had lost the camera with all the photos! Fortunately for me it had fallen out of my purse at dinner (El Paraiso), and we were able to retrieve it.
Searching for Elk Tracks at a watering hole
3/1/09 Day 7 - 60s. Drove home. Ed made me wake up at 4am! There was practically no traffic the entire trip, and Minty drove without any trouble. Ed got to see his first Road Runner, and I spotted some quail. The drive took us 11 hrs, and Ed headed right back out to play in his hockey game!
Check out the rest of our honeymoon photos www.liath.com/gallery
