It all started with snow. I just had an urge to see a good bit of snow since it has been so warm this winter in Dallas.

So Ruthie and I decided that since I had off work from December 23rd to January 3rd we could take a few days and jump in the car to chase some snow. It also helped that the days we picked included Ruthie’s 48th birthday on December 29th so the trip was a bit of a birthday gift as well.

We picked the days and kept checking Weather.com for the west and east to see where the best chance of snow would be and it kept pointing towards the Taos, NM area so that’s where we decided on the night before. Called around and finally booked a room for three nights at a place called Casa Benevides right near the plaza in Taos.

This place turned out to be a gem. The owners, Tom and Barbara McCarthy, were very warm and friendly and the staff was wonderful. The breakfasts were huge with mexican style eggs, waffles, french toast, granola and lots of other foods, all made to order and the staff brought everything to the table. The room where breakfast was served was huge and very elaborately decorated in the southwestern style. The whole place was great and well worth the $115/night we spent for an upstairs room with a queen bed and a small bathroom with shower.

The added benefit was that our friend Sandy Norton from the Meetup.com group we attend, DFW Social Media Marketing, had just moved to a small town right near Taos called Chamisal, NM. Sandy drove in and we took her to dinner our first night in Taos.

It did not snow that first night there, but people in town kept saying it was going to. We drove into Espanola, NM the next morning. The drive there was deep into the Rio Grande gorge and very scenic. On the ride back we took what is known as The High Road to Taos and that’s when the snow started. We got lots of snow on that drive.

We went to the Taos Pueblo the next morning, which was Ruthie’s birthday and walked around the Pueblo, shopped with some very cool indians who gave Ruthie free stuff for her birthday. They were really nice people.

After that we decided to take a drive to the bridge over the Rio Grande gorge, which was about 10 miles outside town, but took a lot longer on the snowy, icy roads, but it was well worth the trip. We had been there in the summer, but it was breathtaking in the the snow. On the way back we stopped in this little artists village of Arroyo Seco where we met a really cool ceramic artist named Scott Rutherford. We purchased one of his bowls and then ate at a local burger/grocery store.

On the way back into Taos, we went to the Taos Art Museum, which was housed in the former home of a Russian painter and woodcarver named Nicolai Fechin. The house was even more fascinating than the paintings housed there. Every little part of the interior was carved in wood, some Russian style, some Southwestern style.

On New Years day we started out from Taos after a hearty breakfast at about 8am. It was nine degrees and white all over with a thick layer of snow. We lucked out and there was only a small part where the roads were scary and we got back to Dallas at about 11:45pm in time to stop off at my in-laws for a quick glass of champagne to celebrate the new year.

A great trip.