Turning 30

Today, I am going to deviate from the usual #FBF post...after this weekend I will have officially changed decades, friends!

I'm still deciding exactly how I feel about that, so call me a work in progress, but I have to stop and think about how blessed I am to have reached 30 in the first place. A dear friend of mine who constantly speaks wisdom into my life recently told me a story about aging that really struck a chord with me and has me doing some reflecting.

In our culture, by the vast majority of people, getting older isn't really viewed as a positive thing. I feel like once you reach a certain age (different for everyone) when birthday's come around you almost dread them, complain about them, avoid them, don't speak of them, rack up an insane amount of beauty products to hide any traces of aging and then your age becomes something many shy away from admitting to.

But friends, we are lucky! We should really be celebrating in gratefulness that we made it to another year! We should be embracing it and living in the now, enjoying those around us and soaking it all in. There are so many beautiful souls out there that never had the chance to make it to their next year. What others would give to be able to have the physical presence of their loved one near no matter the age...and yet we cringe at the thought of another year older.

So I have vowed to myself that no matter how I feel about it, I will fully embrace turning 30. As I sit here typing this post, reflecting, I am incredibly grateful that I can say I have made it one more year. I get to celebrate turning 30 this weekend. I am humbled for the life I have lived so far, the adventures I have been fortunate to take, the world I have been able to see and the many beautiful people I have met along the way.

So friends- all I have to say is next time you find yourself thinking some of these same things, stop for a second and remember that you get to age one more time. You get to live one more day. Live each day to its fullest and love those around you.

Cheers!

#FBF Bosque Del Apache + Really big Satellites...and PIE

Hello, hello! Thanks for visiting again. I hope you find this Friday to be enjoyable with a weekend of fun ahead!

Today, we'll be #FBF to Bosque del Apache Wildlife Reserve, which had been on my radar for years but I wanted to visit during the festival of the cranes, which only occurs in November. It is where thousands of cranes (and other birds) fly every November. They offer lectures, workshops, photography sessions, etc. Or you can also just go on a self-guided tour-that's what we did.



Socorro is about 2 hours from Albuquerque and we wanted to be there for sunrise (and later found out, feeding time). We got up SUPER early and made it to the reserve in time for the sunrise. We were exhausted, but were treated with one of the coolest experiences.



There are several ponds along the way to the heart of the reserve so we pulled off of the road to observe. There were several photographers that had set camp but there were also a group of the cranes just hanging out so we thought we'd stop for a bit to check it out and then continue on our way. Over the period of about 10 minutes or so more and more birds started to show up. You could hear them from a distance and flocking together in their traditional "V's" all landing in the same pond.



Observers do a really great job at staying quiet so all you hear is the squawking of the birds. They actually get quite loud. After what seemed like 15 minutes or so of watching them, there was then a little action among a small group of them and the next thing you know a huge flutter, more squawking and ALL of them, which had to have been hundreds, maybe more, flew off at the same time, right overhead. It was amazing! I was fortunate to have even captured it all on video. That experience alone made the early-hour wake-up SO worth it! Rumor had it we were probably a weekend too early. Apparently what we saw was a small group and the cranes hadn't finished coming in to the reserve yet. I can only imagine what that looks like during peak!



After that we continued onward to the rest of the reserve just driving around. Nothing really compared to that experience but the landscape was still really pretty and the early morning time made for a quaint and peaceful experience.



After that we drove home because it was too early to do anything else, plus a nap sounded really good. However, if you're visiting, I highly recommend some hiking in the area and then heading over to the VLA (Very Large Array).

We visited the VLA earlier this year on our way to Pie Town. Yep there's a Pie Town, NM with a restaurant that serves just pie, and yes we drove three hours just to get pie :). Yes, it was delicious.



The museum portion of the VLA I personally found dull, but not for lack of quality or information, simply because that's not really my cup of tea. The hubby really enjoyed it and found it super interesting. I liked the outside portion way better. The satellites are enormous and really cool to watch as they change directions. Structurally, they are also pretty impressive.

If you make it down there, one word of caution: it can get extremely windy. We're talking check your balance windy or you might get knocked over, windy. I still recommend it though. Hey, if you get hungry, I know a great place to get some pie! ;)

The quickest route is to take I-25 to and from Socorro, but if you're looking for a more scenic drive you can take the route through El Malpais. We did this on our way out to the VLA and were glad we did.

Have a great weekend, friends!

#FBF Moab, you be lookin' fine

Last year two of my brothers graduated from high school so as a right-of-passage of sorts, the hubby and I decided to take them on a senior trip. Destination: Moab, Utah.



We rented a UTV (above). Best. Decision. Ever. We explored a trail called Fins N Things and found the level of difficulty and views perfect for what we were looking for. It had just the right amount of puddles as well. To surprise us, the hubs decided he needed to drive through a puddle as fast as he could during one lap. Let's just say by the end of the cruise, hubby's shirt was no longer that color yellow, except for under where his seat belt lays. I'm pretty sure my helmet still has leftover stubborn red dirt that just won't come out. But when all you hear are two teenage boys giggling like the best of them from the seats behind you-you smile and call it worth it.



We visited Arches National Monument, Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point. While I fully admit to being biased here, I have the best family in the world. A road trip with the hubs and two of my brothers could not have been more grand! From non-stop puns and singing at the top of your lungs (<--yay to rhyming), to crazy antics and red dirt stains to two boys sticking their heads out the windows with mouth's open wide-just because (indeed this happened-pictured below), lots-I mean lots of giggles, we capped the weekend off in style and I couldn't have asked for better company!



If you have never been to Utah, or never heard of any of these locations, you are seriously missing out! I was blown away with the natural beauty from each location we went to.



I believe it was at Dead Horse Point (pictured above) where we had an "electric" experience. There was a storm coming in and it was so close my hair, and that of a gentleman we were talking to started standing on end. As we passed under a metal structure, we could hear the humming working it's way through the structure. I had never in my life experienced something like that! While it was cool, we booked it to shelter ASAP!



That aside, It was without a doubt one of the prettiest things I have seen. An absolute masterpiece. From the colors to the shapes and the vastness at each spot and the silence-to just being in nature and soaking it up, it only improved as we moved forward.



What I saw here is more of what I was hoping/expecting to see from the Grand Canyon years prior. Any words I find to try to sum this trip up, do it a sincere injustice. All I can say is make Moab a must see destination on your bucket list. It's that good. Though the pictures also don't do it justice, they are better than any words I would drum up.









Notice the stain :)



Utah never ceases to amaze me with the beauty it holds inside of that state. Each place so different but incredibly breathtaking! I will make it a mission to get us to Zion and Bryce Canyon one of these days. Why does this world have to be so big?
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Have you been to Utah? Which is your favorite National Park?

Adventuring through Colorado

Well hello there friends! I hope your week has started off well!

This past weekend we had a pretty memorable weekend over here. The hubby and I did some exploring up in Colorado. If ever came a time that we had to move, Colorado has my vote hands down!

For years he has been raving about the drive from northern New Mexico to Ouray, Colorado and how he wanted to get me up there. After hearing about it so much I finally just decided to make it happen. I had planned it back in the summer not really paying attention to the timing of it all but it ended up being almost perfect timing. The views were absolutely stunning! It was just past peak season for the fall foliage but still offered up some incredible color.



Originally I had only planned for a trip to Ouray but a couple of weeks ago we were talking to some friends and the subject of Telluride popped up. I got curious so I looked it up and discovered that it wasn't far from Ouray!



As such, we headed up to Telluride first. We stopped to hike up to see the waterfalls, which also weren't at their peak season- I believe due to the snow, but were still worth it regardless. It was about 2-3 miles of hiking. We originally planned to drive up the road since we weren't in our hiking gear, but the road spooked us so we parked a little ways up and hiked the rest of the way. After walking it, we realized the hardest part was already over and the car could have made it up easily. I would recommend 4-wheel drive if you decide to drive it, but have heard others make the trek just fine. Once at the top you get a great view of the falls and it also opens up really nicely to get some great views of the town.

After the hike, we decided it was definitely time to get some grub so we stopped at a cute grill/bar that was actually a restored historical house.



Afterward, we were on the road again, and headed for Ouray.

Ouray is a super cute, quaint little mountain town that offers up some breathtaking mountain views, has some really cute shops and great ice cream! After walking the town a few times (it's only about a mile-maybe) we got said ice cream, walked some more and then decided to call it a night. The following morning we checked out their waterfall as well called Cascade Falls before heading on our way to Silverton.







Not that I ever really do, but I don't think it is possible to say one negative thing about any sites along the way during this trip. There were many noteworthy sites between each destination as well. Some of which included sites like these:









Once in Silverton the hubby took me up to the ski lift area. He has this dream of skiing it one day so wanted to show it to me in person. I love how much he loves skiing, and I think he's actually quite good at it, but poor guy is going to have to do some major convincing on my part to get him up there. When a guide is encouraged and avalanche tools are required for every visitor it doesn't exactly put my nerves at ease. Apparently Shawn White trained there though-so there's that...



Next stop was Durango. As a teenager growing up the hubby and his family spent some time at a resort in Durango so we stopped there so he could show me and reminisce about some of those memories.

Later, dinner was had in the downtown area of Durango and then we finally headed back toward home. We thought really hard about making one last pit stop at Chaco Canyon, since it's on the way, but it was getting later and we really just wanted to get home... Next time!

On our way in to town Albuquerque was experiencing some pretty severe storms. We had the pleasure of being able to see it from the outside and it was pretty amazing. It also later turned pink from the sunset which was even better, but I never thought to snap a picture of that one for some reason. Regardless, to use hubby's words, in terms of views on this trip we were really treated well!



It went by too quick, but was a great little getaway. The hubby laughed every time I mentioned how pretty it was, but trust me friends, if you ever have the opportunity to make that loop, I can't recommend it enough. It was truly breathtaking!

Have a great week! I'll see you back here on Friday for a recap of one of my favorite vacations and places visited so far...Moab, Utah!
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P.S. Ty-if you're reading this, you'll definitely want to catch Friday's post ;)

Tourism Conference + Visiting Friends

Ahh...another Friday is upon us! I am excited for this weekend as we've got a little adventure up our sleeve and it will also be some good quality time with the hubby. He's been out all week traveling for work so I'm very much looking forward to time together.

I was finally able to sit down and dedicate a post to our recent trip to Arizona. Forewarning: It's pretty random. I also tried to cut out as much as I could to keep it as short as possible, just because it was really jam packed. So here's a #FBF to a couple of weeks ago:

Every year I am able to attend a conference for work where others in the tourism industry gather to basically "talk shop." This year that conference was held in Mesa, Arizona. To say we were spoiled would be an understatement. Mesa did an absolutely fabulous job hosting us and welcoming us to their city and the coordinators of the conference put together a great program.

Some quick highlights that I thought were interesting and relevant for this space was some demographics and traveling statistics for the different generations. While I don't really classify myself as a Millennial, I technically fall into that category and tracking this group's habits is on everyone's radar.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Millennials are not only more likely to consider multiple places prior to booking but that we are also really interested in a destination's culture. Visiting museums, the art and foodie scene is high on the priority list as well as having active vs. relaxing vacations. Millennials tend to get a bad rep so I found this statistic refreshing (Well done, fellow Millennials!). Surprisingly, even though they don't make as much as the older generations they still spend on average about the same as the other generations, but average 4.6 trips per year (more than the others in case you were wondering). Who knew?

Also, "Solar Freakin' Roadways"- watch the video. That is all.

I could ramble off more, including a night of fun with "dueling DJ's", but I would run out of time and space, so in a nutshell the conference this year was a success!

After the conference we met up with some friends. We first stopped at this place called Schnepf Farms,



It is located in Queen Creek-not far from Mesa, which I happened to hear about during the conference- I wish I had the time to tell you all about it as this place is pretty spectacular! They have a TON of really cool offerings and completely get the tourism market but are also really creative in keeping their product-FOOD- at the center of everything that they do. They also have some really exciting ventures coming down the pipeline. If you find yourself in the area, they are definitely worth the stop, and pay particular attention around holiday seasons and peach season!



While in Tucson we also visited Tombstone. A cute historic town documenting the happenings of all things western that have occurred in their town, the most notable being the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. For dinner we stopped at La Parrilla Suiza one of the restaurants located on Tucson's famous 32 mile trail of Mexican Food. It was quite good. The food was delicious the service was quick and friendly and the atmosphere was charming. I gave it five stars.







Our time with friends was too short, as always and we miss them dearly, but has us looking forward to the next time. Tucson, we will be back!

O C T O B E R- A Photo Montage of Balloons!

Hi Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend...oh and Hello October! I still can't believe how quickly this year has past. But October is probably without a doubt my favorite month of the year. I fully enjoy all seasons, and am pretty lucky that New Mexico gets all four of them, but fall just makes my heart happy.

Falls in New Mexico mean cool mornings and evenings (perfect for evening fires), the smell of green chile roasting, leaves changing and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta- where hundreds of balloons decorate our sky for an entire week.

I have lived here the majority of my life, have attended an event at the fiesta almost every year and it still never gets old to me. I will walk the length of the field over, and over again making sure to see each of the balloons.

I was joking this weekend that you could probably list off any "must see picturesque destinations" and I would probably take as many pictures at the balloon fiesta that I would at that location. For those who've been, I'm sure you can relate. For those who have yet to attend, it's definitely one of those experiences you really should experience for yourself. It is worth every bit of sleep deprivation and traffic lines. Be sure to grab yourself some hot chocolate and a breakfast burrito for the complete experience ;)

Because the rest of our weekend was mostly uneventful, I thought I would share a collection of some of the pictures I snapped from the fiesta. It was an absolutely beautiful day- perfect flying weather.

Enjoy!





















I'll see you back here Friday. I hope you have a wonderful week!