Taos

Big entry today - many things have happened.

Made the drive to Taos the other day and decided to check out the town. First order of business was to find a place to stay. Drove to the resort and started calling around. $240 to stay at Taos Ski Valley with ski in and ski out. Not. Got in touch with Jim at the Amizette B & B and told him I needed early check in and a late check out. Can't keep everything in the car as it would freeze. He said "no problem, you're the only one staying here". Had a great room with a beautiful view - the pic was taken through the bedroom window. $69 a nite. Jim makes a mean omelet too! Shuttle picked me up and I was off to the slopes. Amizette Inn is worth checking out if you make it to Taos.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. After I checked in, I drove to the Pueblo. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. Cool place but VERY primative. Bought a cool ring and a piece of cherry pie.

Hit the Plaza and had a personal wine tasing. The proprietor suggested I drive to the gorge to see the bridge. It was nice but no big deal. Kinda dark for a pic but here it is anyway.

So on the way back I noticed a plane circling. At first I thought it was a patrol plane looking for speeders. After the second pass I noticed the front landing gear was down but the rear was not. Problem. Then I noticed the airport right next to me. So I drove to the parking lot right in front of three fire trucks, rescue squads and several police cars. I parked and got out to make sure he landed ok. He made a few more passes and came in for a landing. Front wheel hit then the rear hit. Sparks flew and he came to a stop. I tried to take a pic but I was distracted. Check out the story

Had way too much fun at the local pub - ask me about it. Nuff said.

Since it was 16 below in the morning I left my camera in the room. Lots of bowls but you had to hike to get to every one. Not yet. Maybe later. Nice conditions and had a great day on the slopes. It was empty. I think we're in a recession because how else can such a resort be so empty on such a wonderful day?

My plan was to drive to Denver after skiing so I went to the room, showered and packed up for the drive. Life was good. There's the first clue that things were about to change.

I've driven over 5,000 miles so far and last night was the most terrifying drive by far. Ran into a storm outside Colorado Springs and the roads turned to shit within 1 mile. I had been travelling 90 mph when all of the sudden it started to snow. The roads were icy immediately. I had the radio on and they had a story about a fatality outside of Colorado Springs which shut down I 25 - the route I was on, only the other direction. Just as the story ended I saw the accident scene. Pretty scary! I slowed down even more. There were 5 fire trucks, 5 ambulances and like 50 patrol cars. Debris all over the road. The snow started coming down harder and my windshield got dirty so I turned on the wipers only to discover the fluid was frozen (Damn Florida wiper fluid!) so the blades smeared the windshield to the point where I couldn't see!!!!!! And I couldn't stop or pull over without causing an accident. It was the most terrifying drive of my life. I almost lost it. I followed the truck in front of me so I could see the tail lights. Otherwise I had no idea where the road was. I pulled off the next exit and cleaned the windshield. I got off every exit for the last 10 miles.

Anyway, made it safe and sound. And yes, I did have two martinis to calm down!