Snowy Adventures in the Mountains

Last weekend, we were up in the mountains for a staff retreat.  Because Brandon and I were in Albuquerque with Jude for most of the fall semester, it has been a very unique year for our team.  So, we all (except the kids) left the desert to enjoy the alpine beauty of the mountains of Southern New Mexico.

With that lovely mountain beauty came snow.  Lots of it.  And, our Honda Odyssey minivan did not like that snow.  At all. We got stuck multiple times as we tried to drive on that mountain road, and our tires were unable to get any kind of traction.  Thankfully, our friends Jesse and Nick were with us...and they pushed us up a good portion of the highway.  Eventually, we were unable to go any farther.  So, Brandon joined the guys in helping out other vehicles while I watched from the comfort of our warm car.

Eventually, a snowplow rescued us...which was a true answer to prayer.  So, we were able to join the rest of our team for a fun-filled weekend of good rest, great food, and sweet friendships.  It was much needed for all of us.   We are so thankful to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Our Camping Adventure

Last weekend, my wonderful friend, Renee, and I went camping.

Renee is my kindred spirit when it comes to nature and adventure...

and we were both desperately needing to be outside.

So, we packed up the car, said goodbye to our families, and headed to a nearby state park.

After setting up camp, we enjoyed the beautiful sunset.

As we watched, we spotted a group of animals we had never seen before.

They are called javelina and are somewhat related to wild pigs.  So cool.

Then, we walked across the rocks to take the opportunity

to observe the night sky through a powerful telescope.

And, we saw this:

It's Jupiter and three of its moons.  It was beautiful.

I took this photo through the eyepiece of the telescope, 

and so you can't see the lines of the storm at the center of the planet.  But, our eyes could.

This particular park is in the middle of nowhere, so the stars at night are amazing.

I shot this photo of star trails there a few years ago.

Later, as we were enjoying the fire, the wind started to pick up.

And, by "pick up," I mean it started blowing so hard

that we had to scramble to find our things that had begun to blow away.

As I was putting some of those things in the tent,

I quickly felt it starting to collapse on me.

The wind had broken our tent.

We aren't meteorologists,

but we estimated the wind gusts to be around 50mph.

So, we put out the fire and settled in for the night in our minivan...

where it was warm and quiet and safe from the wind that howled all night.

We may not have been outside,

but we still had lots of fun talking and reading.

 And, I got my beauty fix.

To both of our husbands who watched the kids...

Thank you.