A busy week...

Knowing that a super-busy week is about to begin, Rick and I decided to "relax" yesterday with a little morning hike. We'd just read that the Divisadero trail was rated number one in the recent Best Of Taos survey, followed closely by the wonderful Williams Lake trail we took last week. So we grabbed our backpacks and headed out. Well... once again, we are reminded that many people in Taos either don't know what they're talking about, the ballot box was tampered with, or folks here just have a funny idea of what a nice trail is. Granted, we could have headed out earlier in the morning, to beat some of the heat. But the heat wasn't the real problem. People were. People and their bikes and dogs. Some of them had both. And when you're on a narrow, rocky path, and a mountain bike comes speeding down the mountain toward you, all you can do is scramble out of the way and hope the mad biker keeps his balance. The dog following him has likely left a gift on the trail, which at least is marked by a herd of buzzing flies. I was in the lead, so it became my job to walk along, pointing to the ground and announcing, "Poop!". I think I'll invent a nice walking stick with a little shovel attached to the bottom, so I can fling these little offerings off the trail as I go along.

There were some good points to the hike. As we went along the first part of the climb, the views of the Taos Valley were pretty fine. We had binoculars along, so we could pick out various landmarks, and see things you normally don't see from the roads. I was expecting a Grand View from the top, but no... it was nothing but a flat spot where someone had thoughtfully made chairs out of rocks. We ate some trail mix, rested up, and then headed back down. At least it was late enough that there were no other people anymore. After six miles of dust and heat, we found the little stream at the bottom of the trail, near the parking lot, and just sat and soaked our feet. Today we're feeling it in places we didn't know we had...

So this week is whacko. We have family coming to visit, the 4th of July to celebrate in some silly way, beads to sell and mail, and then Rick and I are leaving early Saturday morning for the Grand Canyon, to celebrate my birthday. More on all of it later, but for now, take my advice... if you visit Taos and want to hike, go to Williams Lake!