The packing began two days early. We always pack too much for trips where we’re going to a house with a kitchen. This trip we’re going with another couple we’re close friends. Their three teenage kids are also going, and I’d put money on it that we’ll have more luggage than all 5 of them combined!
We headed out this morning to drive straight through to Pagosa, a 14-hour drive. It was an early morning departure; I wanted to make it to the property in the daylight. We got off a little late, but only 30 minutes or so. Amanda was surprisingly more awake than I expected. With the new LASIK procedure, she’s had halos around lights but said they weren’t too terrible this morning.
Amanda was out just after we lost cell service going over Pecos high bridge, and I put my downloaded music on! She slept almost solid to Pecos about 4 hours from our departure. When she woke, she said who turned the lights? I have to pee, and I want coffee! We stopped at the all-important Starbucks; it was the first one we’d come to.
The drive north of I10 was all ugly oil patch well into New Mexico. It had been 20 years since I’d been this way. The roads are so much better now. Our second shop would be Carlsbad at a new favorite, HTeaO, for a potty break and some iced unsweet Georgia peach tea.
Amanda’s diuretics kicked in after that, so we stopped several times before lunch in Santa Fe. We got burritos at a food truck I’d found that had great reviews and was a James Beard finalist. We hit up a Whole Foods close by before digging in. Our veggie, rice, and bean burritos with pico guisado, which was grilled pico de gallo, were fabulous. They had an excellent New Mexico heat to them.
Once we got to Clines Corner on I40, it was familiar territory, as we’d been through there on some ministry trips before. The temperatures varied so much on the 750 miles. We left in the 60s, down to the 30s near Pecos, 80s in Roswell, and 40s when we arrived in Pagosa. Our friends said it was in the 90s when they came through Sanderson behind us!
Once we left Santa Fe, we only made a couple of stops on the 3-hour drive in. First, at an amphitheater for a picture retake from 7 years ago and a coffee shop in Chama. The barista was quite pleasant and talked to us the entire time she made our coffee. She was telling us of a few spots to hit up in Pagosa. We were trying to make it to the property by sunset but just missed it.
The property, 35 acres in the country, is just breathtaking! The house is impressive, too. 20-foot ceilings in the living room and huge windows looking over snow-draped pastures. There’s a hill out the kitchen window that I’m sure we’ll be sledding and tubing down, too!
I’d prepped some things last night so I could throw a quick meal together tonight. It didn’t take long, and we had a bowl of chickpea gnocchi soup in front of us. Amanda had all the kitchen essentials unpacked before I even started cooking. The kitchen is more than adequate, with a great island and everything we could need. Also, we pretty much packed the kitchen sink anyway!
The rest of the family is staying in Santa Fe overnight, and then they’ll be up here around lunchtime. We don’t have much of an itinerary for this trip; we are just going with the flow. There will be lots of hanging out and enjoying this fantastic place. I could just not leave here and be happy, to be honest.