My Only Live Once Moment

This past weekend I FINALLY got to go to Taos to visit my girlfriend, Jamie. I'm not sure if you remember THIS post.... Or THIS one. (Or if you even read them to begin with!). To sum it up, I've had very bad luck with road trips. I was supposed to go to Taos in January and got snowed out. The chances of snow in July were pretty slim so I decided to take the risk. I'm SO happy I did! It was suggested that I burn some sage in my car before heading out, and I did. I don't know if it was the sage or if the Curse of the Road Trip has finally lifted, but it was smooth sailing all the way. Funny enough, this is the only picture I have of the ride there!

My bear, Gilbert, helped drive for a bit! (notice the BEAUTIFUL weather?)

Taos is a very cool place... Earthships, Taos Pueblo, Ojo Caliente, art galore, The Plaza.... There is so much to do there- one weekend just wasn't enough! I did knock off seeing an earthship home (very cool), going to Ojo Caliente Springs (so relaxing), and dancing for hours at The Alley Cantina in The Plaza (so fun! The Strange was playing that night and they were GREAT performers). I also put a big dirty check mark next to something else to do in this lifetime... Mud wrestling! Yes, I mud wrestled. I thought, when else will I possibly get the opportunity to do something like this? A Seize-The-Moment sort of thing. So I did it. The big question people ask when they hear this is, "Are there photos?" Here's the answer to THAT question:

Notice the mud on my teeth?

Some interesting things I learned about mud wrestling:

1) Mud gets EVERYWHERE. I'm still finding mud in my ears, under my nails, in my wounds- two days and three showers later.

2) It is very physically difficult. My abs are sore, my legs are sore, my arms are sore. I thought I was in good shape, I thought I'd do ok, but I got my butt kicked!

3) Mud is vicious stuff. I look like I was dragged through the desert behind a truck! When my boss saw me she said, "Oh my god! Did you get in a bike accident?" I have scrapes on my feet, my knees, my hips, my elbows.... Next time I'll be sure to check the grit level.

Now I'm home, putting vitamin E on my wounds, and am filing that road trip in the top 5 weekends of all time! Even though I wasn't as tough as I thought I'd be in the wrestling ring, I feel quite badass. Finally I had a road trip happen without a hitch. And it was great to see Jamie (thank you so much for having me!). Taos is a wonderful place and I'm already looking forward to returning.