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Leg 2 - Day 4 (23 December 1999) - Taos Ski Resort
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Day 4 - LAX to Albuquerque, New Mexico and on to Taos Ski Resort.
Another early wakeup call at 5am and out to the shuttle for LAX to catch the Southwest flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We had a first taste of no-frills flying with passengers choosing their own seat based on a number system, the earlier you get there the lower the number so first on board to run and select your seat. Southwest serves juice, coffee and small snacks. The flight to Albuquerque took around 2 hours and flew over moonscape terrain, completely arid, no green, no water, no towns that we could see from the air – just desert.
Another early wakeup call at 5am and out to the shuttle for LAX to catch the Southwest flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We had a first taste of no-frills flying with passengers choosing their own seat based on a number system, the earlier you get there the lower the number so first on board to run and select your seat. Southwest serves juice, coffee and small snacks. The flight to Albuquerque took around 2 hours and flew over moonscape terrain, completely arid, no green, no water, no towns that we could see from the air – just desert.
Since we had never experienced a white Christmas we searched the Internet looking for a ski resort that would be along the flight path from LA to New Orleans and found the ski village of Taos in New Mexico. On the website for Taos we found Sierra del Sol Condominium's right at the foot of the chairlifts and the village itself. Our condominium was number 27 which faced the mountain and the creek, very peaceful.
On our drive up to Taos we stopped at San Fernando for morning tea and were told about the gambling problems in New Mexico as there are casinos everywhere. Finally we arrived in Taos at 4:45pm and with the temperature at 9 degrees Fahrenheit is certainly cooler than LA or back in Brisbane.
On our drive up to Taos we stopped at San Fernando for morning tea and were told about the gambling problems in New Mexico as there are casinos everywhere. Finally we arrived in Taos at 4:45pm and with the temperature at 9 degrees Fahrenheit is certainly cooler than LA or back in Brisbane.
Taos Village has everything you need and it was good to go into a store and purchase food that we can eat without all the spices and be able to cook them the way we want in a kitchen.
Day 5 - (24 December 1999) - First full day in Taos.
Tony woke up with a splitting headache today and felt sick and so we headed down to the shop to see if they had anything to take. At 9,000 feet above sea level we were told that we needed to drink around 4 litres of water a day to stop the dehydration. The shop owner gave me a bottle of energy drink and told me to sit down and drink it and immediately the headache lifted. Since Robyn has been sipping on a bottle of water all the way from Albuquerque she was fine (should have listened to her when she kept saying I should drink some water). Thank goodness as I didn’t want to lose any ski time feeling crook.
The village in Taos Ski Valley was incorporated in 1996 and
at an elevation of 9200 feet, however the Village limits reach elevations of
12,581 feet with the highest residential dwelling being at 10,350 feet, making
Taos Ski valley the highest municipality in the US.
Tony had a ski lesson at 2pm so that he could get tips on skiing deep powder snow, something we are not use to in Australia. Sandy his (Tony) instructor took him up to the top explaining some of the finer points in turning, body angles, stopping and how the powder slows you down. Now that’s comforting having skied ice for most on my years in Australia. The six tips proved extremely helpful and before long I was carving up the long, steep slopes making my way along groomed paths and off into the pine trees, I am in heaven!. Before long the 2 hour lesson was over but since she didn’t have another class, we met up again later for some chat and skiing.
Day 6 - Christmas Day (25 December 1999)
Merry Christmas - our first white Christmas with clear skies and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Roby has the first of her ‘yellow bird’ ski lessons today and once she was underway I took off for the top of the mountain. Soon the clouds came over and it started snowing, could it get any better than this? Robyn and I skied back to the condo for lunch wow how good is that; can I buy one and live here forever? In the afternoon they had opened up the far lift and the blue run (Australian black run) was perfect, no one had skied on it until we hit the slopes. By 4:30pm it was getting dark and time to ski all the way back into the village to the condo for a dip in the hot tub and sauna.
The owners at the ‘Inn at Sundance’ where we had our Christmas dinner seated us at a table near the window so we could look out at the lights and the falling snow. Robyn had beef and I ordered chicken served with baked vegies and a couple of drinks to wash it down. There was a string quartet playing in the background, how beautiful and romantic. When we left to walk back to the condo the wind chill factor soon sobered us up and were glad to back inside to the fire to warm up.
Days 7 to 12 - (26 - 31 December 1999)
All I can say is we skied, watched people tubing at night, had meals, slept and when you woke up, went skiing again. Is this heaven? Well not for Robyn as on Wednesday 29th December she had a skiing accident and had to be put in the basket as she has damaged her right knee. How did I know? Well as I skied to the bottom of lift 8# there was a notice on the board “Tony Stiller – 1213”. A simple message but one that changed our whole holiday from that point onwards. Rang 1213 from the chairlift hut and was told by the nurse Robyn was having x-rays and I should head back down the slope to the medical centre. After a couple of hours Robyn left on crutches and a knee brace to hold things in place until she got back home where her doctor would determine what needed to be done.
New Years Eve - 1990
One of our goals was to see in the New Year in the snow and the new millennium at the same time. Robyn was laid up in bed having damaged her knee. For one reason or another we woke up at 5:45am and watched Sydney (Australia) celebrate New Year’s Eve with a spectacular fireworks display from the harbour bridge. After breakfast I headed out for a ski while Robyn continued to watch New Year Eve celebration from around the world.
Just before midnight in Taos we headed out to the chairlifts to watch the instructors with a flare run down the slopes followed by fireworks. At -20 Fahrenheit it was cold, especially sitting on metal chairs. Once again we were happy to head back inside to the fireplace and celebrate 2000 - Happy New Year.
Just before midnight in Taos we headed out to the chairlifts to watch the instructors with a flare run down the slopes followed by fireworks. At -20 Fahrenheit it was cold, especially sitting on metal chairs. Once again we were happy to head back inside to the fireplace and celebrate 2000 - Happy New Year.
New Year's Day - 2000
The sun rose and the world survived the millennium bug but who cares, this is my last day of skiing and I am going to make the most of it. Overnight there was 5” of fresh powder snow and with the temperature right on 0 Fahrenheit and a gently 40 mph wind I’m heading to the top to carve as many runs as possible.
By 3pm I had skied myself out and headed back to the condo for lunch and a sleep. After 9 days of non-stop skiing into the hot spa and sauna to reinvigorate my body for the next leg on the journey. Robyn and I spent out last evening in Taos in front of the fire having a quiet dinner and drank our complementary bottle of Cook’s Brut Californian Champagne given to us by the managers of Sierre Del Sol as part of the New Year’s celebrations.
By 3pm I had skied myself out and headed back to the condo for lunch and a sleep. After 9 days of non-stop skiing into the hot spa and sauna to reinvigorate my body for the next leg on the journey. Robyn and I spent out last evening in Taos in front of the fire having a quiet dinner and drank our complementary bottle of Cook’s Brut Californian Champagne given to us by the managers of Sierre Del Sol as part of the New Year’s celebrations.
We would like to thank Bill and Beth from Bumps self-service store who were our friends and advisors from the moment we arrived at Taos. . Did I sleep peacefully?
Day 14 - Sunday 2nd January 2000
Two weeks into our holiday and today we take the 3 hour bus trip from Taos back to Albuquerque where we stayed at the Ramada Hotel Airport Hotel. Just up the road was Applebee’s Homestyle Diner and Bar, one of the best eating places in the USA serving home-style meals that are absolutely magnificent and similar to Australia.