Our family winter vacation was a whirlwind of events! After a wonderful time in Alvin with the Higgins and Powell's on Christmas day we packed and got ready for our week long journey. A day after Christmas we borrowed Darrell's parents camper and headed out for Ruidoso, NM. Our first stop was Corsicana where we picked up Ashlee from her Mimi Jones. Then we headed to Hurst where we had Christmas with Aunt Wendy and Uncle Bill for a night.
The next morning we climbed into the truck and pulled the camper to Monahan's State Park near the border of Texas. The park was very interesting with rolling hills of sand dunes. We bought plastic sleds at the office, waxed them up, and had a blast sledding down the sand hills.
The next morning the snow started to move in. We packed up early and left out to beat the storm. We battled some of the blizzard driving slow with our windshield wipers on high but the roads up into Mexico were fine as long as we drove slow and stayed in the middle. Once we reached New Mexico the weather cleared out. We arrived in Ruidoso and set up camp just as the sun went down.
The next morning we woke up to a sunny clear day full of snow. The RV park we stayed at was backed up to a beautiful national forest that turned out to be a huge playground for the kids. We built snowmen, forts and had a blast sledding down the hills. These plastic sleds payed for themselves between the sand and the snow. Even James had a good time on his sled that we pulled on hikes through the mountain side with a rope attached to it.
The second night in Ruidoso another snow storm came through. I was extremely nervous as we drove through the streets slipping and sliding in our 2 wheel drive truck to a restaurant where we met up with our friends, the Hectors and family. Let's just say that once we got back to the camper I was able to breath once again! One thing is for sure...Momma does not like ice and roads! I don't think God has heard from me that much in one week in a long time!
After a snowy night we woke up to a beautiful blanket of new snow that covered the national forest play area from the day before. It was smooth and absolutely beautiful! Darrell caught a ride up the mountain with Glen to go snowboarding for the day. The kids and I played in the snow with our friend Bobbie and baby Garrett. Bobbie and I went shopping that evening and I realized just how cute Ruidoso really was. The night before I hadn't noticed due to the blizzard. But without all the snow falling I was able to see the quaint little lit up town.
The next morning was New Years day and it was time to head back to Texas. Another beautiful sunny morning but we hadn't anticipated the frozen pipes and connections. We ended up leaving a lot later than we actually planned waiting for everything to thaw out...including the roads. By noon we had the camper all packed up and we said goodbye to our friends and headed out. Next stop...Circle B Ranch!
We arrived in Bracketville at the Baughman ranch about midnight. Pat and Travis greeted us at the door with open arms. For the next couple of days we broke in the new year hunting and hanging out with dear friends and family. Then before we new it it was Sunday the 4th and time to get home. Once again we packed up the truck and camper and drove another day to back to Pearland. All together we drove over 2,000 miles and I have to rate this as one of our most exciting adventures as a family.
This is a picture of the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. Taken at the ranch from a deer blind.
Ashlee and Darrell sitting in "Stairway to Heaven" deer blind.
2 comments:
Wow, what a trip. Sounds like you had a blast.
It was an exciting trip! We will have to make a trip to your neck of the woods someday before our babies are all grown up!
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