Ruidoso!

Joseph and I escaped to Ruidoso last weekend for a night and a day- and how wonderful! We had such a good time together. We left Friday afternoon and started the drive West. I'm still amazed by the landscape here. We drove through these incredibly small towns surrounded for miles by cotton fields. Got to see them harvesting the cotton, and then compressing it into bales in the hopper. I've never seen a cotton bale before- it's weird, not like a hay bale, it's giant! more like 4 foot high, and 6.5 feet long.

Once we passed into New Mexico, it continues to stay very flat. I was told before I came down here, that people moving out of West Texas to hillier landscaped areas, often describe a claustrophobic feeling, because they can't see for miles in any direction anymore. I'm starting to understand that a little more. I noticed both Joseph and I looking as far as we could while driving, just because you could see such long distances away. Then, we came through the caprock, and dropped into this completely barren valley, where the only thing civilized nearby was the road in front of you. It's the classic scene from movies depicting the "cross-country road trip". And there directly in front of us- way in the distance- was a giant mountain rising up out of nowhere. It was cool. Kinda exciting to think I live here now, and there's such a wide variety of landscapes, as opposed to the eastern landscapes I'm accustomed to. We eventually reached that mountain, and the range it was a part of, which is what landed us in Ruidoso. And it was worth the drive. Snow-capped mountains. It's thrilling every time. It reminded me of the excitement I had when going to the Sierra Nevadas with my family and cousins in Washington.


Joseph and I spent the night at the Swiss Chalet Inn (caught it just before the 1.6 million dollar renovation- a real treat), and then had breakfast in the morning at the Lincoln County Grill, next to an old-time stove, heating the dining room. It felt so warm and cozy compared to the chill in the air outside. We spent the morning poking around some great little shops, and then had lunch at Le Bistro, which was quite good. I think it's funny that there's a French bistro in the middle of Ruidoso, which is otherwise cowboy and western. We had a delicious french onion soup, and salad with herb vinaigrette. In the afternoon, we hiked up to a ridge recommended by one of the locals, and got some great views of that snow-capped mountain. It was my first experience with high-altitude "thin air" like they describe in the Backpacking magazine. I was amazed at how winded I was after just short distances. The trail itself was not any harder than those I'm accustomed to back East, but I just couldn't keep my breath. Weird. We came back down the mountain for some dinner at K-Bob's Steakhouse, and then headed back to Lubbock.

My favorite part of the weekend was laughing with my best friend, and enjoying his company. I love discovering new things with him, and the way he looks at me when he knows I'm enjoying the moment. I'm so fortunate to be with someone who truly loves seeing me happy. You're the best Joseph! I love you so much.