Stop 5: Toas

NOTE: Internet is SOOO spotty as of late so posts will be, too. Please keep checking back frequently--we'll be posting when the interwebs deem us worthy of a signal.

Our arrival into Taos, NM was beautiful. We had to drive through Carson State Park that included a mountain range to get here but it was well worth the drive. Our hotel room was hadn't been cleaned when we checked into it so the front desk upgraded us to a two-room suite which is a treat!

We grabbed dinner at a small Mexican restaurant--we were the only diners! Then we headed to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge to take in the sunset. This bridge is the 2nd tallest bridge on the US highway system. It. was. spectacular. It's about 600 feet over the Rio Grande River and has walkways on either side for pedestrians. Even Sarah, our child who is most afraid of heights, eventually made her way out to the middle (after her first attempt that resulted in a full-sprint run back to solid land--a whole 10 yards--when a truck screamed by and freaked her out. I don't think I've laughed that hard in my life. Fortunately I caught a photo of her getaway for your enjoyment.). I was very proud of her trying again and I think she was very proud of herself for making it to the middle of the bridge.

We watched the sunset there and headed back to our hotel for the night.

The morning brought a bevy of phone calls with Virgin Mobile and Apple customer support because 3/4 of our phones seem to have no service in this part of the country, making for cranky teenagers and a cranky mama because she can't update the blog or get a call from the hotel when she leaves her wallet there upon checkout. Whoopies! So I spent the better part of 4 hours over 2 occasions trying to figure this thing out. Several days later we have no resolution and I'm updating a blog from crappy hotel Wi-Fi. But the view is spectacular! :)

After conceding that we'd could live with only one cell phone among us, we headed into old town square to shop for souvenirs. I'm collecting bumper stickers for our YETI cooler, Charlotte is finding postcards, and Sarah is adding to her already-impressive keychain collection along the way this trip so we try to sneak off into local shops and support their businesses while adding to our junk piles collections.

Then we set off for the Four Corners Monument and Kayenta, AZ. It was a LONG day. Memorable for sure. But long.