Holy Smokes.

I’m back from Taos, New Mexico. The suitcase is right outside my office door, mocking me with the undone laundry. I don’t care.

It’s sunny here on Stalashen Drive, but it doesn’t have the heat I grew used to in that Taos desert. My feet are chilly in my sandals. My plan is to go find a warm spot outside – somewhere out of the ocean breeze – and curl up with my lablog issue of The Writer magazine.

Still,  it’s sure a lot warmer than when we were in the Rockies. It was only a week or so ago but it already has the feel of lifetime-ago memory. I look at this picture and smile and then shiver. I am wearing a merino wool long-sleeved shirt, a merino wool hoodie over that, a hollofill-down vest over that and my heavy-duty rainjacket on top of the whole mess.  The woollen mittens made braking kind of interesting.. but here’s the thing…check out the grins.

We’re having a blast. The woman taking our photo was from Jerusalem. Her and her husband were touring around and stopped to ask for directions. Soon they were our photographer and we supplied them with as much hostel info as we could.

Right after this photo was taken, we went into the classic and drop-dead gorgeous Num-Ti-Jah Lodge for a drink. If you’ve got the cash, I can’t recommend the place enough. It embodies the Canadian West in every round log and timber.

Some of us had beers and a few had hot chocolate with dark rum. Just before 8 pm we headed out of the bar for the last 15 or so kilometers to the Mosquito Creek hostel.  There’s a long story after that…it includes fresh bear scat, a flat tire and a lot of laughs.

We all made it.