Monday, January 4, 2010

New Mexico Ski Trip

Kayla, Steven & I left Wednesday to go to Red River, New Mexico to ski for the first time in our lives!!! We drove to Dalhart, TX on Wednesday then got up early Thursday morning and drove on into Red River.

We got to the condo around lunch time, unpacked our stuff, ate lunch, bought souvenirs then rented our ski equipment and hit the slopes (literally). The first mistake was that we jumped right into skiing like we’d done it before (which none of us had) and we tried to go down a slope that said “don’t do unless you know how to stop and turn”. Well… we did it anyway…first off, I didn’t know how to get on the ski lift…then I didn’t know how to get off it…needless to say they had to shut it down while they helped Kayla & me get up….it was so funny....we were crying we were laughing so hard at ourselves. Then, Steven falls out of the ski lift chair…that made it even funnier! We made one attempt to go down the slope and that was more than enough for me! I couldn’t get down it…every time I would go, I’d fall and my skis would fall off…and I didn’t know how to get them back on. Fortunately for me a “good Samaritan” came along and helped me down the hill…. I don’t know what I would have down without that woman.

Friday we woke up early, grabbed a bite to eat then headed to the slopes again, but this time for Ski School. Our instructor, Chris, was wonderful and he really taught me a lot. It was, however, the coldest I think I’ve ever been…there was a lot of standing around, in the shade and I was miserable! My whole body hurt from being so cold (especially my hands & feet)…I was nauseated and felt like I was going to pass out…but I stuck it out and made it through. That night (New Year’s Eve) we went back to the slopes to watch the instructors ski down “The Face” of the mountain with torches and watched the fire work display in the background…it was pretty cool! We also met up with an old friend from back home, Denna, and ended up spending the rest of the evening with her and her friends.


Saturday, we hit the slopes again; this time to really ski…We were going to go down an actual path. We practiced a few times on the remedial slope then made the 12 minute trek to the top of the mountain….Once up there we ate at the restaurant then started our dissention down the mountain (on a green course, of course!) It was so hard! It was very narrow and if you happened to get off the path...you’d fall off the mountain and/or hit a tree. I was horrible. I fell every couple of feet…I was hurting so bad (all over) and I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make it down. Every time I fell, I just laid in the snow…thinking “what was I thinking?? What am I doing??” I did, however, make it down and I was done! Kayla & Steven continued to ski a little longer then we packed up and left for Amarillo before it got dark.
We made it home yesterday around 4:45pm and Maud never looked so good. We drove over 1600 miles in a short time span but it was worth it. I did enjoy myself and I’m so glad we took this trip. Steven is ready to go back next weekend if I’d let him…but I think I’d rather stick to the beach and warmer weather. haha