Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Adventures in Red River

We arrived home on Sunday afternoon and I quickly got the Sew & Tell party link opened and active.  And then got things put back in place and laundry sorted and dinner planned... and then we headed to the hot tub.

As we soaked, we reminisced of the week with our friends... Here's a recap. ;)  

Our arrival to the "cabin" on Monday night was past dinner time for us... A quick meal of leftover chicken & dumplings transformed into a soup with a salad and a few crackers fit the bill.  We got the beds made and proceeded to fall into them for the night.

The "rental-free" use of the cabin came with a few "honey-do" items.  Removing the carpeting on the stairs was the first item that was tackled.  There was not enough room for all four of us to occupy the small space, so I sat it out, took pictures and finished sewing the binding on the Paper Lanterns quilt.  I used a variegated thread for the big stitches to the front of the quilt.  

While I love this quilt, it is not one that will have a permanent home with me.  I am ready to release it to a new forever home.

A stroll around town and lunch at the RR Brewing Company was on the agenda after the work of the stairs was complete.  It was mid-week and "between seasons" and many of the stores and restaurants were closed until mid-November when the "ski season" kicks off.  

New king-sized mattresses were moved in and we had bed frames to assemble... but the frames were the wrong size. :(  We were all sleeping on mattresses on the floor.  Let me tell you... it was a challenge getting out of bed.  The homeowners were contacted and informed of the error and had new ones on the way.

An auto-tour of the Enchanted Circle was slated for the day on Wednesday.  We visited the Wild Rivers Recreation Area first.  It is the location that the Red River and the Rio Grande River converge at the bottom of an 800-foot-deep canyon with steep rocky walls.


From there we drove to the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos.  We discovered as we arrived that they no longer allow people to walk across the bridge.  The access to the rim is also restricted so a really stunning great view is no longer possible.  We heard that the walks across the bridge had recently been restricted because there had been too many jumpers.


Taos was the next stop.  We arrived in the square, and kinda went in all different directions.  Dave was on the hunt for some tylenol or aspirin for his headache (altitude induced and not enough water), Jamie and Jack had their dogs with them and started visiting a few shops... I headed for the quilt store. :)  

I searched through the store but didn't see a single item that insisted that I take it home with me. Our daughter Rebecca sent me this little cartoon... It made me giggle.


I caught up with Dave and Jack (who now had the dogs) and had the chocolate factory in their sight and were discussing what they desired.  Chocolate Peanut butter fudge was their request, and I went to the store to acquire it.  Sadly, they didn't have any, but I selected a large peanut butter cup for them.  They enjoyed one and it (and the aspirin and water) perked Dave up.  Jamie was still strolling through shops, so I caught up with her and left the guys to hold down the bench as the dogs rested.

After leaving Taos we drove to Angel Fire.  There's not a lot to see in Angel Fire, short of the ski area.

Eagle Nest was the next town on the circle... There is a little more to see there than in AF, but we were all tired of the drive and opted to head back to Red River.

Games were played in the evening, laughter ensued and fun was had by all.

Thursday was a workday... A long, hard workday... with plenty of room for me to be involved.  The carpet in the living room was removed, staples from the padding pulled and the whole thing swept, vacuumed and mopped and then furniture put back in place.


Friday was a day to recover... it was even harder getting out of the bed on the floor after the hard day before.  We enjoyed a casual walk in the Carson National Forest in the morning and showed Jamie & Jack the campground and surrounding area that we enjoy.  

It was a cool morning, and steam was rising from the ground as it warmed


Dave and I relaxed in the afternoon as our friends visited a few more RR gift shops that were open since it was Friday.  Dave napped, I quilted on the Color Wash Hexagon Quilt.

Bed frames were delivered that afternoon and we were all excited to be off of the floor that night!

There was a stove that still needed to be moved from the trailer to the house, but we were waiting for the word from the owners if that was a "go" or "no-go" because some electrical work was needed for the installation.

Word came Friday night that it was a no-go, and we were free to play all day on Saturday.


A 4-person ATV was rented, and we headed up the trail to Greenie Mountain.  Rain on Friday afternoon turned to snow and the higher in elevation we climbed, the more snow we found.  We didn't grow cold since we had an enclosed, heated cab.  good choice guys! 

We descended the mountain and grabbed a quick lunch and headed out again.  

This time, to Goose Lake.  The road was much rougher and rockier.  It was a slower trek up, though once we got to the lake... it was worth it!



Dave and I imagine that we would have had a similar experience/view had we made it to Comanche Lake in West Cliffe, CO in August... had I been able to make it.

We had about 1-1/2 hours before the rental needed to be returned and the sun was headed down below the mountain and temperatures were dropping... we descended the rocky, bumpy, rough road and arrived at the rental shop with a just a few minutes to spare. LOL.

A homemade pizza was for dinner followed by a rousing game of Korean Checkers.  It is a game board that my Dad made 60+ years ago.  It is similar to "Sorry".  Uno came back out, and we all had laughed and laughed again. ;)  Mexican Train Dominos was enjoyed at some point during the week... I'm not sure when.  LOL

Sunday morning started early as we had to get the towels laundered and put away, vacuum and clean bathrooms... and our friends had a long drive ahead of them.

The owners had received pictures of all that we got done and stated that they needed to comp us all another week next year.  Whoop! Whoop!


Dave stated last night... Yes, we were away for almost a week.  But I don't feel like I had a vacation.  LOL!  We may need to load up our camper and head south in a few weeks for a resting vacation. ;)

I am looking forward to returning to my studio to work on the custom memory quilts for a HS classmate.  I have all of the pieces cut and the fusible interfacing should be delivered very soon.  Until then... I'll keep quilting my Color Wash Quilt.

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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1 comment:

  1. You definitely had a working vacation, but glad there was time for fun and sightseeing, too! The stitches on your colorwash quilt are beautiful, Melva!

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