RUIDOSO 2009

Wednesday, 30 December 2009

Location: Last Day Ruidoso, USA

Up by alarm at 6:15 a.m. so I would not have to share my shower time with 5 others and also so I could enjoy my coffee before rushing around to pack and leave. There is fresh snow on the ground, but only a dusting....as far as I can tell....judging from the roofs of the cars. Gwynne went to Casino Apache yesterday, had David drop her off around 12:30ish. Courtney decided Gwynne needed to be picked up, a ploy (sp?) to get to go herself? The few mile distance turned into an hour or more. By 3:30, all were back and Courtney, David, Caty, and I were off to the little town of Ruidoso to shop. It is obviously a ski resort town, but the shops DO close by 5. Driving conditions were questionable, but as long as you stayed on the main streets and the tire ruts/tracks of others, it wasn't a problem. David gave me a scare a couple of times trying to find a way to turn around in town. The little side streets are icy and hilly. His 3-point turn around in parking lots had to do, as we could not make it up the hill either time.
We will be leaving this beautiful place between 7 and 8 for a 10-hour drive back to S.A. It has been memorable, we plan to make it an after Christmas tradition....to go somewhere like this.....each year, God willing.
p.s. I failed to mention that we had some of the best Chicken 'n Dumplings I've ever tasted. For dessert, Colin scooped up a pitcher of 'virgin' snow. Da added Eagle Brand milk and voila.....ice cream....well...I enjoyed it anyway.

Tuesday, 29 December 2009

Woke at 6:45 to find a new layer of snow on everything outside. No one on snow watch woke me up to tell me! That just proves, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Ha! It is snowing as we speak, the Mayers on a walk (minus Colin) to take it all in. Roads will have to be cleared before they can venture out to the slopes OR we can venture out to the casino.....guess we'll be getting a late start this a.m. Oh well, we ARE on vacation afterall. Pictures of the early morning snow are posted and many more to come, I presume. We have said we will build a snowman. You can bet you will see pictures later. The high today is supposed to be 31 degrees and the news showed more snow showers in the morning.....hope we will be able to get out of here at a reasonable hour......more later.....stay tuned.

Monday, 28 December 2009

In the absence of the skiiers, Gwynne & I leisurely moved about, Gwynne crocheting her scarf, I finishing some jewelry pieces for the Catester. I was in my pajamas until 11 a.m., occasionally peering out the window to make sure the snow hadn't yet melted. It is such an unusual site for us. The temperature here has hovered between 20 and 30 degrees today. The Mayers got back with the van from the moutain around 1:15 pm. Gwynne & I did a bit of Casino hopping and stopped by Walmart for a few groceries as well as at a yarn shop for Gwynnie. David & Courtney took advantage of this time for a 2 hour nap. Caty & Colin watched t.v. All ventured to the Inn of the Mountain Gods to gamble and/or play arcade games. It is currently 8:30 pm and we are all home snug in our cozy cabin, the Sonnen Girls, The Mayers, and the dogs. I keep threatening to put different members of our party on snow watch from 2 a.m., when the snow is supposed to start, until we all wake up in the morning, alerting us to any onset of blizzard conditions. Ha!

Monday, 28 December 2009

Colin here:
Hay all 3 people reading this blog;) just wanted to udate on the Mayer day well I got up at about 5 the first day thinking what the heck is going on and then sleeping most of the ride threw. The next day (yesterday) was pretty fun, getting my ski legs back, falling my butt most of the time :) then once I got ok I went on the sirra bonka trail sliding on my butt down the blue part of the trail then pulling my body down the flat part nearly killing my self. Then when I got to the bottom of the mountain turns out I have altutuid sickness with a splitting head ach and barfing up my burger that we had to wait an hour in line to get (we learned to come to the ski mountain on a full stomach) then feeling a bit better but still with a headach and having my mom force wter down my throat but woke up feeling a bit better. Then today we woke up to go to a half day of sking which I was much better at and Caty was the best in the family zooming down the mountain. Then once we got home grandma Da and Aunt Jennifer went shopping and gambling while mom and dad slept and me and Caty stayed up and watched a Myth Busters marathon and now my mom is rushing me off the computer so we can go shopping and gambling got to go get dressed peace out
Colin

Monday, 28 December 2009

Up by 6:45 this a.m. after 10 hours sleep. The skiing crew is preparing to dress in their bibs, boots, sunglasses, gloves, etc. Internet access is minimal, denied for two of three laptops present. It is frustrating. I write to you from David's laptop, currently, and I'm sure he is not thrilled about it if he is truely a Mayer. Gwynne and I will hold down the fort, watching over the pups. I'm sure yours truely will have the chore of making sure they go outside to take care of bui-ness. I'm sure we'll have stories to tell later, not a lot of picture taking today, I presume. There is supposed to be chances of more snow tomorrow.

Sunday, 27 December 2009

Most arose late this a.m., but we quickly kicked into gear, 2 of us opting to spend the day at the Casino, the remainder driving up the mountain (about an hour's drive) to spend the day skiing. While I enjoyed the few short moments of gambling the penny slots, the major part of the day was spent in the beautiful lobby of Inn of the Mountain Gods reading, then finishing, the book I was reading. Gwynne gambled, non-stop, except for a quick lunch break....sandwiches at the sports bar & grill. She faired well, winning about $150. I'm impressed with the scenery and cleanliness of the Inn and Ruidoso, itself. The Mayers said the snow on the mountain was the best they'd ever seen in all their skiing experiences. The got a full day of skiing in, called us at the casino around 6 to pick us up. The plan tomorrow is to spend only 1/2-day up the mountain skiing so we can visit the town and the Mayers can visit the Casino.

Sunday, 27 December 2009

First to bed, first to rise....11 hours sleep, thanks to Tylenol pm and a couple of glasses of wine. The altitude may have something to do with it too. Today, the plan is for the Mayer family to take the van up the mountain as they discovered yesterday, after visiting town and picking up their ski gear, they no longer provide shuttles. Gwynne and I will stay back and have a day of leisure, along with Jean Pierre and Lola, until we decide to dress for the Inn of the Mountain Gods for gambling. There is a shuttle that stops here in front of our cabin to take us to the Inn. It is $1 round trip. That is one less dollar I will have for gambling, so now, I guess I will only have $19! Ha! We will provide an evening report, complete with pictures hopefully.

Saturday, 26 December 2009

Left S.A. at 5:30, only because Taco Cabana & McDonald's were not open the day after Christmas at that time. We settled for Jack in the Box where only 2 employees were working. We sat in line for quite some time while they cooked up the orders for the two cars in front of us and our load as well. We stopped near Kerrville for a potty break, Sonora for gas, Ft. Stockton for gas and sandwich dressings, Pecos for a potty break and finally Ruidoso, N.M. by 3:30 pm (2:30 their time). This is a great 10-hour drive in our eyes. We listened to music: Susan Boyle, Enya, Andrea Bocelli, Moody Blues, Supertramp, just to name a few. In Pecos, Gwynne got out the Trivial Pursuit. I sat back and listened as I knew David would whoop our ass. After a while of this 'Entertainement' version, the crowd tired of the questions and so......Courtney got out her 'Loaded Questions'. Can you believe we played it all the way from 30 minutes outside of Pecos, TX until we got to Ruidoso.....very interesting....the things we learn about other people with their replies. When we approached Ruidoso from Roswell, we started noticing ice clumps on the road from 18-wheelers (we summized). As we got closer to Ruidoso, snow patches appeared. When we arrived, there was about 4" of snow....enough to make a snowman and have a snowball fight. It is 28 degrees.....more snow expected Tuesday.
As we speak, Gwynne crochets a scarf, Colin eats cheese crackers & hot chocolate in front of the T.V., while I write and load pictures. Courtney & David are with Caty at Walmart doing the necessary shopping until morning. They will come back to pick up Colin so they can all go pick up their skis and boots they ordered (I assume to rent) as David has a size 16 foot and you can't find boots for that size foot just anywhere. Enjoy the photos of our snow. You'd think we'd never seen it before!
p.s. We failed to mention that Carolyn was not able to join us this trip as she is helping with her mom. We will miss you Carolyn!

Tuesday, 22 December 2009

Things of interest?
http://www.wunderground.com/US/NM/Ruidoso.html
AND
This is where we will be staying:
http://www.ruidoso.net/rainbow/cabins12.htm

Friday, 27 November 2009

Over the year(s), I have sent Gwynne emails I've received from Inn of the Mountain Gods in New Mexico. I must have signed up for them sometime or another, dreaming that I would be able to go there one day. We have passed that way before, traveling through New Mexico, staying in Alamogordo, on one of our trips to Alaska. It has always stuck with me. The scenery on that mountain road, the enticing signs to the resort & casino, kept luring me back to visit her. This week, I forwarded my email from Inn of the Mountain Gods to Gwynne, as I have always done. I didn't ever expect to get anything back, but this time she picked up the ball and ran. She must have mentioned it to Courtney & David. It wasn't two days later, I received a phone call that reservations had been made, the van was ours to use, and we were already making the plans for a trip to this heavenly place.
We will leave early in the morning the day after Christmas, drive all day to get there, and return the same route January 30th. Except for the kids, all will partake in the gambling, although some are more addicted than others. We won't mention any names. Courtney, David, Caty, and Colin will snow ski in Ruidoso, while Gwynne, Carolyn, and I stay behind and cook or put our feet up and sip on a hot-toddie. No matter the inclination, the idea is to relax and enjoy life for these few days. I can't wait!

Friday, 27 November 2009

It's time to move on to another adventure. But before doing so, we felt the need to save our intro for our summer excursion as it would be lost forever with our new one.
"Join us on our adventure! This year we will travel to Alaska in "Marmar" Jane's conversion van with 5 passengers (Jane, Gwynne, Jennifer, Tracy, and Sam) until we get to Seattle. In Seattle we will pick up 2 more....Joe & Tony. The Columbia Ferry will take us through the inside passage to Skagway, Alaska. From there we will sightsee until July 10th before dropping Joe & Tony off at the Anchorage airport. The journey will continue on to Ninilchik, on the Kenai Peninsula, where we will stay for 2 weeks. Our return trip will consist of driving the Alaska Highway (Eastern route) and to the lower 48, sightseeing all the way! We have planned this trip since our last one, making reservations beginning in the fall of 2008! Read our daily log and view our photo pages as we travel. You won't be sorry!"

Monday, 03 August 2009

Location: On the Road V, USA

Today was a long driving day. We started with a Continental Breakfast at Holiday Inn Express and packed up to head out by 8:45. We had 575 miles to drive to Carlsbad and try to make it in time for the bat flight at the caverns. Stops only included potty breaks and gassing up, sometimes killing 2 birds with one stone. We even got a Blimpie sandwich at one of our gas stations. We dropped Gwynne off at the Comfort Inn on the way into Carlsbad while Marmar Jane committed to taking in the Bat flight at 7:30. We listened to the Ranger talk prior to their exit out of the cave. They came in droves which lasted longer than I had remembered from times visited in the past. It is always interesting and amazing, these things of Mother Nature. We grabbed a late Wendy's hamburger on the way back to the hotel and now prepare for an early rise in the a.m. Sam, Tracy, and I will go back to take a tour of the caverns and help Sam earn his last Junior Ranger patch of the trip. He has been a real sport through the duration, taking on these tasks at the National Parks. It will be a memorable trip for us all.
This will be my last post as we will not have access to internet while in Alpine tomorrow night. We still have many pictures that have not been posted, but we have done the best we can with the services we've been provided while on the road. I will attempt to add them when I return home as I hate to leave the blog incomplete. It has been a 'hell of a ride' but we will all enjoy getting back into the swing of things AND coming home to get some rest.

Monday, 03 August 2009

Location: USA

Well, it's been a few days since last we wrote....travel days have been long, service has been poor. We were ultimately waiting for a wreck to be investigated and removed from the one lone road in Jasper/Banff area 4 1/2 hours. We made a run by Lake Louise before dark set in. Tracy, Sam, and I shot a few pictures and then we took a run through the hotel. Tracy has decided this is where she and Joe will spend their 25th wedding anniversary. Joe confirmed by phone later. The scenery is majestic near the lake and serene. The perfect setting for one who likes to relax and read, rest, take in the mood of the countryside. After touring Lake Louise, we drove to Banff in the dark. Sineage was poor, lights were lacking, but we managed to find Red Carpet Inn by 10:30 and ordered Pizzas and salad to our room by 11 pm. We made a pact with Da to sleep in 8 hours and so the alarm or wake-up calls went accordingly.
Friday, we drove through Calgary heading out to the US border. Site-seeing this day, consisted of visiting Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump just north of Ft. McLeod, Alberta. We had a bite to eat at their cafe for lunch, viewed the video, and then went through the 4 or 5 levels of displays....very interesting.....saw a marmot. Don't know why, but it is always a relief for all to cross that line. This crossing was the most crowded, but most relaxed of all the crossings we had on our trip. The guy never even came around the other side of the car to open the doors and investigate all that were in the vehicle w/ the corresponding passport. He just gazed at them and looked at Sammy in the back seat matched against his passport, then waived us on. We were trying to drive to Great Falls, MT in time to get to our favorite steakhouse as we were due for a nice juicy steak. Somehow I managed to find it. We were eating at Jaker's Bar, Grill, & Casino by 8. Not to worry, Marmar & Gwynne did not partake in any game playing. It was dark when we finished and our callling was to WalMart next, on the other side of town. There we bought a few groceries, which we have yet to eat, except for the milk, and a few other needed items. The KOA was open until midnight, although we managed to get there some time between 9:30 and 10. It was very crowded and all the sites were very close together. One way streets and this 'closeness' kept me circling around and around taking Mom and Da and myself to the bathroom to shower and take care of business. We had a few laughs.
Saturday, the agenda called for a shorter drive ending up in Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP. We arrived later than expected and the conjestion in the area along with road construction kept our travel to a slow pace. We saw one buffalo, elk, one black bear, American White Pelican, Canada Geese, moose either in the park or on the road to the park. We stopped at Mammouth Springs Visitor Center to get Sam's Junior Ranger packet. He busily got started on the packet with Da supervising while Tracy & I tried to schedule the events and examine the map. He had to view and exhibit, answer questions at certain visitor centers, take a trail hike, go to one Ranger led program, and finish the booklet. It was a team effort to get it organized and done, but he managed it well and after viewing the Old Faithful eruption, he was awarded a Junior Ranger patch. This patch added one to dozens Marmar Jane has busily been sewing onto Sam's bluejean jacket. It is priceless and noted everytime it is worn. Due to the time, we were only allowed the view of the Grand Teton Mountains as we speedily drove by at 30-45 mph (ha!) to get to Jackson to our KOA. We gassed up in this tourist-trap-of-a-town and found the campground 12 miles south. The cabin was on the cliff of the Snake River, but we never got a chance to enjoy the scenery as nightfall prevented it. We ate cereal and went to bed.
Sunday, we traveled from Jackson, Wyoming to Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park. Mom & Gwynne had a rough time at the last KOA getting out of their log beds and so we vowed 'no more KOAs'.

Gwynne Finishihg up here!!

We enjoyed a great Ranger drive through Estes and are now in Carlsbad, where I am at the Comfort Inn and they are watching bats going crazy....Jennifer will be back on to give you all the details. We are always anxious to go on these trips and always excited to get home....will spend tomorrow partly in Carlsbad and stay at Chuck Burling's home in Alpine Tuesday night and then on home on Wednesday....always an adventure!!