Angel Fire Ski Vacation

Wayne and I took Nathan on his first ski trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico two weeks ago! We were gone March 3rd through the 9th...this was actually the week before everyone else's spring break (including Nathan's) but it worked out perfectly for us because the big crowd wasn't there yet! One of Nathan's friends from school, Blake, had just gotten back from skiing a month earlier and had told Nathan all about it. So when we told Nathan we wanted to take him skiing too, he was so excited! And Blake's mom was sweet enough to let Nathan borrow all of his ski clothes! Because Charlotte wouldn't have been able to ski, we let her have her own vacation with Grandmother, Mama and Papa. I'm sure she missed us, but I also know she had fun having her grandparents all to herself!

Here is Nathan trying on Blake's ski stuff the week before. He is ready!

We were originally going to leave Sunday morning extremely early and drive all day, making a few stops on the way, to Angel Fire. But we ended up getting everything packed and ready the day before and decided to go ahead and leave Saturday afternoon. We drove 6 hours to Pampa which is just past Amarillo and spent the night there. It worked out perfectly because we were able to drive halfway in one night and then get a good night's sleep and take our time the next day. We knew that we didn't want to make this a "hurry up and get there" trip. We wanted to make the driving part fun too and be able to stop at different places along the way there and back. 

To get ready for our road trip, Nathan and Wayne went to the store and stocked up on lots of snacks and drinks for us to have in the car. Plus, they even got Mommy some magazines! Nathan also packed his backpack with the essentials...TOYS!

Nathan is ready to go!

And Charlotte is ready to have tons of undivided attention and be completely spoiled!

Here is Nathan in the backseat. He wasted no time taking his shoes off, getting comfy, and unpacking his toys! He was such a good traveler and had fun playing with his toys, watching movies, and eating and drinking all he wanted!

After spending the night at a hotel outside of Amarillo, Nathan helped Daddy get our bags packed on the cart, load the car back up, and head to the mountains. As we were driving, we happened to pass by an outdoor military exhibit that will filled with tanks, helicopters and trucks. Nathan thought it was so cool, so we stopped to take a look and a few pictures...and then Nathan passed out and took a great nap!

Nathan was a great traveler, but he is only 4...if we had a dollar for every time he asked "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?" the trip could have been paid for!!! We finally had to ban those questions, and it was funny to see how Nathan was able to re-word his questions to ask the same thing without saying those exact words. There were several times when he would start to ask if we were there yet, stop himself, and say something else: "Are we...going to eat a sandwich?" 

After Nathan's marathon nap, we were able to say, "Yes! We're almost there!" As we got into New Mexico and started driving higher, we got our first look at snow! Nathan couldn't wait to get out and play in it so we pulled over and let him stretch his legs and make tracks with his dinosaurs. Although there was snow, it wasn't all that cold since it was March, and there wasn't a ton of it. Wayne and I had never been to New Mexico for spring skiing, so we didn't know exactly what to expect. It was definitely different than driving to Colorado in December or January. We are used to seeing huge, high mountains, with lots of snow in the trees and all over the ground. I have to admit that I was a little worried about the snow conditions as we were driving to Angel Fire and getting closer and closer. Where is the snow? We checked the snow report for the mountain several times prior to our trip, and each time, it said that all runs were open, all lifts were running, and there was plenty of snow for skiing.  When the GPS said we were only 30 minutes away, I checked the snow report again, and it said the same thing. So I stopped worrying about it. It's a new place, a new experience, and I'm just going to go with the flow, have fun with my two favorite guys, and hope to be able to ski!

When we got to the resort and saw the mountain, I was so relieved! There is snow on the ground, on the runs, and we can see people skiing! Yay!!! I can't wait! When we got there, Wayne got us checked into the room and then we walked, yes WALKED to the ski area to rent our skis and get Nathan checked into ski school for the next day. The lodge where we stayed was right at the base of the mountain. It was so amazing to be able to just walk out the back door, up a few flights of steps and be able to see the main ski lift! Our room was wonderful and big! We had a king bed with a big sitting room area, a small kitchen section, a fireplace, and a balcony overlooking the slopes! PERFECTION!

After getting settled in our room, we ate dinner at the restaurant downstairs, and were able to go to sleep early and wake up early the next morning for our first ski day! Nathan had to be at ski school by 8 am, so I was a little worried about being able to get up and going. I made sure my phone alarm was set plus I got us a wake up call for 7. Surprisingly, I didn't need either! Nathan was up at 6!!! We had all gotten a good night's sleep though so it was actually nice to wake up early and take our time getting ready for our first day. All Nathan has wanted to do since he found out we were going skiing was make snow angels. So that is exactly what we did before heading to ski school!

Wayne and I were both a little nervous about Nathan going to ski school. It was a full day, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm. We were hoping he would learn enough to be able to actually ski green runs, but more than that, we just wanted him to be happy and have fun. He was such a good boy when we dropped him off. I was SOOOOO thankful he didn't cry! That would have broken my heart, and I would have worried about him the whole day. Nathan was actually excited about ski school and didn't mind going at all. He gave me a kiss and a hug and off he went! After leaving Nathan, off Wayne and I went to hit the slopes! 

Before I describe our day, take a look at the following pictures of the base area and one of the main runs...what do you notice?

NO ONE IS HERE!!! It was completely wonderful! Wayne and I kept joking that he splurged and reserved the whole resort area for just us :) There were several reasons why the mountain wasn't crowded:  Angel Fire is a smaller mountain/resort area known for it's "family friendly" environment so it's naturally less crowded than TAOS which is a much larger area 30 miles away. Taos is also more difficult with a more rugged terrain. This winter had also been very mild compared to previous years so the snow wasn't what it could have been, but it was perfectly fine for us especially since there was a fresh snow a couple of days before. Plus we came the week BEFORE Spring Break! Best decision ever! We never had to wait in a single lift line, we never had to worry about running into anyone, and we never had to wait on a table at the restaurant! Don't get the wrong idea though, it's not like it was creepy and deserted. Of course, there were people there, just not crowds of people like we've seen in Colorado. Plus there were lots of families and kids which we really enjoyed. 

The skiing was so great! We loved all of the runs. Most of them were groomed and wide open. Those are the best! We started out on greens and then quickly moved to the blues. I even did a few blacks! The mountain is mostly intermediate which made it really enjoyable. And the weather was beautiful, sunny, and warm. Wayne and I ended up just skiing in our long underwear tops, jackets, and pants. It was great to not have to layer up with turtle necks and sweaters. Half the time I just unzipped my coat. Perfect.

The day went by pretty quickly, but we got a ton of skiing in. We had so much fun but couldn't wait to pick up Nathan and find out how his day went. When Nathan saw us, he gave us the biggest hug and kiss and looked so happy. His teacher was really sweet, and I could tell that Nathan really liked her. She told us that Nathan had a really good day and was the only one in his group that "graduated" to the big chair lift that day! Yay Nathan!! 

It was a big day so we went to our room, took showers, relaxed in the lobby in front of the fire, and then went out to eat to a local pizza place. 

And this was our first day all together! We ate early, went to bed early, and got up early. We actually liked  the little routine we got into! Why can't we get into a schedule like this at home? For our first run together, we decided to go on the bunny slope for Nathan to practice what he learned. He couldn't wait to ride the "swings" which is what he called the lifts. So cute! He told us he does the "pizza" (wedge) to slow down and stop and  the "french fries" (skis parallel) to go faster. He was so confident that I thought it would be a piece of cake and couldn't wait to watch him go. If only it was that simple...

When we got to the top of the bunny slope, getting ready to go down, I was envisioning Nathan skiing down very slowly and cautiously doing the pizza wedge and making big S shapes back and forth across the mountain, taking his time making his way down the run. WRONG! Nathan skied STRAIGHT down the whole run! French fries all the way! Wayne and I raced after him yelling "PIZZA, PIZZA!" but he never stopped or even slowed down! Who knew you could go so fast on the bunny slope?! He finally slowed down when the hill flattened out, and I was able to get in front of him. He scared me to death, and I said, "Nathan, what were you doing?!" His response: "I forgot how to stop. Can we go on the big swings now?"

Luckily, we had a harness that my parents had used with my niece, Alexandra, when they took her skiing when she was little. It was a life saver for my nerves! I strapped that thing on him and was able to ski behind him and help slow him down when I needed to. The only bad thing was that it killed my knees because I was having to snow plow behind him to slow him down. But after a few more practice runs, Nathan was able to control his speed a lot better and I was able to ski more next to him with slack in the line. Wayne and I took turns holding onto the harness and taking pictures and movies of him. 

Here we are going up on the Big Swings! This is the main chairlift that goes all the way to the top!  

Papa, Wayne took this picture for you! Want to invest in a ski in / ski out  house???

Nathan did amazing for his first day! We went on lots of greens and completely wore him out. He did fall a few times and got frustrated, but overall, he was really happy and tried his best. The three of us skiied together for the first part of the day, and then Wayne ended up taking him in after a late lunch, and let Mommy get a few more runs in. It felt great to ski fast and not have to worry about holding onto the harness.  

The first day we got to Angel Fire, Wayne found a cute little toy store just down the road. He told Nathan that if he was a big boy during the day (no whining and crying), did well at ski school, and tried his best, he would get him a toy from the toy store at the end of each day. Boy did that work! There's nothing like a good bribe! Nathan got a train the first day, a dinosaur excavation kit the second day, two dinosaurs the 3rd day, and another package of smaller dinosaurs the 4th day! He still loves those dinos!

Here he is working hard to dig out the skeleton of a T-Rex! After working on it for a while, Nathan decided we should switch roles. He said he would be the scientist in charge (Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park) and Mommy and Daddy were the "workers." Wayne and I worked for two nights trying to get that skeleton out while Nathan yelled orders to us! 

We had three full days of skiing, and Nathan got better and better each day. On the last day, we could hardly get him to stop even though we knew he was exhausted. He kept wanting to do one more run. We started out skiing together and then took turns with Nathan so that the other one could ski on their own. It worked out perfectly for us because we both felt like we were able to ski a ton but also spend time with each other and Nathan.

Nathan woke us up bright and early Thursday morning (the morning we were leaving) to tell us that it was snowing! He was so excited to actually be able to see it snow. They ended up getting 6 inches that day which was really good for them since the Spring Breakers were coming. We loved spring skiing because it wasn't bitterly cold, but decided that when we go back next year, we would want to go earlier in the season, maybe the end of January. The snow was fine for us, but we did feel like we were cutting it a bit close. In fact the day before, we noticed that several runs were closed because the snow was starting to melt and was leaving bare spots and getting a bit icy. Thank goodness we came when we did and didn't wait a week! Here are some pictures of the morning we left and our drive in the snow...

As we left the mountains, the snow stopped and we ended up not having a bit of bad weather on the way home. We made several sightseeing stops on the way home. Nathan's favorite was in Clayton where they had real, fossilized dinosaur footprints! We knew our little paleontologist would love this place!

Clayton State Park was a huge hit! After looking at all of the exhibits in the visitor center, we walked on a half mile trail to the lake's spillway to see the tracks. It really was amazing to see so many tracks in one place! Nathan pretended that he was in Jurassic Park looking for fossils. It was so cute to see him so excited. And of course, he brought a few of his dinosaur friends with him :)

A bit of the scenery...while driving, we played "Who Can Spot the Tumble Weed First?" game. They were all over the place!

When we saw this on the side of the road, we had to stop!

Nathan took another nap to speed up the trip. We had one more stop to make before heading into Dallas...

The Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo! This restaurant is known for their "Free" 72 ounce steak dinner. Well, it's only free if you're able to eat the whole thing in exactly 1 hour. If not, it's $72.  And the dinner isn't just the steak. It's also a salad, baked potato, beans,  dinner roll, and shrimp cocktail! Tens of thousands of people have come to Amarillo for the challenge since it first started in 1960. So far around 9,000 have completed the challenge (and yes, this is from Google).

There's a huge gift shop (where Nathan got a rattlesnake figure, a bag of crystals, and an arrow head) plus a bar area, the main restaurant, and a 2nd eating area. There are also slot machines and tons of  "Texas" style decorations to look at! We decided to have an early dinner here. When we first sat down, we saw the table where a person attempting the challenge would sit. We weren't expecting anyone to actually do it, but a few minutes after ordering, the waiters made an announcement that someone was going to try it!

This is the table, set up on a stage, where the person attempts the challenge. 

And here he is! We asked our waiter if he thought this guy was going to be able to do it, and he said that he would be able to tell after 20 minutes. Once 20 minutes went by, he told us there was no way he'd be able to finish :)

We ended up driving home that night and got home around 11:30 pm. We went straight to bed, slept in, and then waited for Mama and Papa to bring Charlotte over that next morning. Nathan was so cute because he kept asking when we were going to get to see her. He had lots of fun, but we could tell he missed his sister. Mommy and Daddy did too! Charlotte, we promise this is our last family vacation without you! Now I've really got the ski bug, so I'm hoping Nathan and Wayne will want to go back next year!!! Thank you Wayne for our wonderful vacation!

Here is a video of Nathan on his first green run: