Ended with Bang

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Geo: 36.4072, -105.573

80 degrees and sunny
4th of July
6 miles rafting
 I to III class rapids
 3 hours
 1896 miles long 
5th longest river
 

 We are really enjoying Taos. It is such a unique place. A whole nuther world. Apparently, whole nuther worlds visit here. There are even cow crossing signs with flying saucers. Too funny. I'll grab a pic of one tomorrow. Uncle Stone pointed them out. Seems New Mexicans like to call you boss, too. The guy at the store kept calling Paul boss. Ben said the rafting guy called him boss too. But we all know who the boss really is. I'm the boss!

In the morning, we drove over to the Indian Pueblos. They have been dwelling there for over a 1000 years in these structures. It was neat to walk through the village. Many of them have little stores or restaurants in their homes so you can go inside and see what it looks like inside. We were slightly surprised how expensive their wares were. We bought a couple things and tried some foods. Elizabeth said they have b,,,

OMG! I am typing in the dark with Paul next to me. As I am typing, I feel something land on my arm. I set down the ipad and sit up saying, calmly alarmed, "there's a bug. there's a bug. there's a bug." He's like, "what? what are you talking about?" I am pulling the bed apart saying, "there's a bug. trust me, there is a bug. it landed on my arm." He starts moving sheets and finds some kind of beetle. Really no big deal but doesn't belong near me or more specifically on me in my bed. He is now in the tub in the bathroom with the door closed. I didn't want to kill it. 

So back to the pueblos. Elizabeth said they had studied the pueblos and she enjoyed seeing them in person. We all did.

Then off for a 4th of July rafting trip on the Rio Grande. I never thought I'd ever say that till now. Now on our trips anything can happen. We climb mountain ranges, we raft rivers, swim lakes, drive roads into the sunset. All the things we learned about, we are seeing in person.

We joined the Cottam rafting company for day on the water. They said this was the best water they've had in 7 years. Pretty equal to Yellowstone I thought. They wouldn't say that. We are actually ready for higher rapids but most IV and up you have to be 12 and older. Biddy and Matthew could use a year or two to be strong enough to paddle. Man when I paddled on the right side of the boat, my shoulder was killing me. It's been bothering me for a while. Funny how that motion really aggravated it making me wonder if I did the damage last year rafting. I switched sides and I was great. (Slightly worried JP) We had a blast on the river. Our guide, Jesse was great. He told us about the area and had fun with us. Everyone had a chance to jump in for a swim. We couldn't take pix because we couldn't bring anything. They took pix on the side of the banks. Waiting for them to be posted. When we got done, they had a table of snacks and drinks for everyone. We looked for the table but had a hard time finding it because one of the groups decided to sit at the table and just start mowing on the food. We thought it was someone having a private picnic. Really? Who does that? They never got up either. People had to reach around them to get a morsel. Weird. We didn't partake. The girl's hand never left the bag of tortilla chips. Haddam.

In the evening, we had dinner at a local restaurant that comes recommended by the locals. Orlandos. It was good Mexican/New Mexican food. The only question they ask is red or green (chilies). It was a a cute little place too. I tell you that there are a ton of restaurants here. Good ones too. Lots of shopping and lots of outdoor stuff to do. I highly recommend it. The skiing is supposed to be great too. 

We ended the night with a special treat. We pulled some strings and had the city of Taos put on a fireworks show for Matthew's birthday which is tomorrow. They did a fantastic job. We, last minute, found a great spot to watch. Makes this trip even more memorable. Ended the night with a bang.

Tomorrow we are off to Santa Fe for the day and then we split off from Stone who is going back to Albuquerque to fly home and we are off to Amarillo for the night. Back on the road. Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. I don't even know what day it is. I know its a holiday and I also know tomorrow is my little boy's birthday. Matthew will be 9. 
Check back tomorrow. 

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Comments

[Gramps]

Great pics! Happy birthday Matthew!