Giving Thanks!

We got to the best Paradise in NM for our mini-vacation...despite "kissing" a deer 3 hrs into a drive. We were lucky to escape a much worse damage from this bouncing buck with huge rack. It didn't stop us...

from being able to relax and enjoy every moment. The house was neatly tucked away at almost 9,000 feet with nobody close enough to care for wearing clothes. And yes, we did cook holiday dinner (and hearty breakfasts every morning!).

Hard to believe there are people who don't want to live in the mountains or don't like snow (we are counting days, ergh, years)...

because everything here whispers "love"...

We had a great mountain loop 5 minutes away, which we checked out as soon as we dropped our bags at the house...

and even better 5M loop that started behind the house we stayed in, and we did this one every morning at a crack of dawn, in -6F (-22C) - who said it's cold? It just means you are not dressed for the weather! Felt like home...
We climbed the double-diamond of Angels Fire ski area, where the only other living creature visited was a bear (who's footsteps helped us plant our own feet),

and ran down with magnificent views. The altitude did give me breathing problems, but I'd take those over humidity problems any day!
We went skiing, me - after 7 years break, and Larry - after all of 15!

And Larry exercised precision and perfection in form,

while I zipped at the neck-breaking speed, showing why I am a downhiller.
We visited Rio Grande river canyon (yikes!)and had dinner at a neat place in Taos!

All in all, we had a wonderful trip, lots to be thankful for!