Winter in New Mexico

We have finally hit the road again after Samantha finished her Christmas play, "It's a Wonderful Life", in which she played ZuZu. We left the week before Christmas and our first stop was Eagle Nest, New Mexico. We plan to stay here for a month. When we arrived, there was plenty of snow already on the ground, but we are still waiting for a good fresh snow. The kids have enjoyed snow sleighing and hiking through Carson Nation Forest. We have visited Taos, Red River, Cimarron, and Angel Fire. The weather here is super cold, dropping below 0 at night, during the day it will range from a few degrees to 20 or 30 degrees. I have found I can jog in most temperatures as long as the wind is not blowing. The elevation is 8,238 feet so the wind can get pretty nasty up here. The town has plenty of activities like a snow man contest, which I can proudly boast that our family took first place, the Polar Bear Plunge (which our family did not participate!) where volunteers jump into a frozen lake. Folks come from all over the US for this!
The owners here at Golden Eagle RV, Bruce and Bridgett have a great set up. They have a club house where we can have a FREE breakfast every morning, big screen TV, plenty of games for the kids, a library and movie rental. I totally recommend anyone staying here while visiting Eagle Nest.
Our Christmas was GREAT. We went to Mass Christmas Eve at St. Mel Catholic Church, the next morning we opened gifts and by lunch we headed to Taos Pueblos. There we were able of observe the local Indians celebrate Christmas with their traditional "Dance of the Deer" in their 13th century pueblo that has remained unchanged for nearly 1,000 years. This was a great experience for the kids who were surprised to see that Indians are still around and some still live the old way. This would have made excellent pictures but the Indians believe that photos capture their spirit and won't allow cameras or cell phones. I was able to get the top of the bell tower in the cemetery on our way out and bought a picture of their church and homes which I will try to have for you to see. The Indians here are Catholic and were converted to Christianity some time back.
The week after Christmas we were all ready to get back into a routine, so we started back to school and Steve went to work. School is going well in the motor home, we are all packed up with our supplies and I just take out what I need when I need it. After school we take a break and go to the club house for hot chocolate and cookies, visit with Bruce and Bridgett and plan our next activity. Cooking has been an adventure but we have managed well in our small space with what few pots and pans we do have. Then I put the kiddos down to bed and I read them a book (we just started Anne of Green Gables, also reading King Matt the First).
All in all things are working out and we are having fun with it. We're not sure where we are headed next, but we will keep everyone posted. Until then, happy New Year and God Bless!