Fall is here! Fall is here! Fall is here!

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I love the summer heat and I try to spend all day running through it but there is something….cozy about autumn. Chilly nights huddled next to the fire after warm days exploring the riotous colors in the trees.

And hot cocoa. It’s one of my favorite drinks. Not your sugary-sweet American hot cocoa with your marshmallows and cremes. I prefer Mexican style chocolate with the spiciness of chile mixed in. It’s the best!

Fall in New Mexico is marked by many things including losing the 100º+ heat, Balloon Fiesta, Chile roasting season and of course fall colors. We set out to enjoy as many of these as we could.

Crest Hike

 Last Friday we all had the day off and that means family time! We headed up to the crest to get some sun, some fresh air and take in the fall colors. Well, our short hike to the Kiwanis Cabin on the crest didn’t have as much color as I was expecting, but it was a ton of fun to be out in the sunshine and fresh air with all my beautiful ladies.

I mentioned before that the Kiwanis Cabin was built back in 1936 by the CCC. It’s easily spotted when you are hiking the peak trails and it’s been on our family bucket list for a few years. It’s a little sad it took us so long to get up there. It’s a short and easy 1 mile hike (2 round trip) on a very well maintained section of the Crest Trail. I guess coming from the Tram terminal it felt father. That and we didn’t know any better.

On our way back to the truck I spotted this little gem written on a felled tree just before coming back into a golden mountain-top meadow.

Pumpkin Patch/Chile Farm

Yeah that’s right. Everything has a touch of chile in New Mexico. Sunday we spent the morning at Wagner Farms in Corrales. We decided to stay away from the money-grab that McCalls has turned into. Also it was free last weekend.

Conclusion: I liked it. It was a small family farm that felt like a farm and not a commercial money grab. Sure no rides and jumpers and slides, but I don’t want that shit for Halloween. I want to go to the country, pick my pumpkin out of a patch and maybe eat something with corn/chile and have apple cider. Definitely chile.

After starting through a farmer’s market filled with red chiles, green chiles, apples and squash. We took a hayride out to the apple orchard and spent some time collecting apples straight from the tree. We picked out our pumpkins on the return trip and then headed over to the other site for the corn-maze and petting zoo. Though the corn here is a little sad compared to what we are used to in MN and WI:

My 6 yr old shouldn’t be taller than the corn. Just saying.

We did hit Balloon Fiesta this year. It was fun but I failed to bring my phone so no new pictures and we lost a favorite hat. Other than that is was a pretty decent trip. If you haven’t been just check this out to see why you should come. We have some extra space in the office if you need to crash.

That made for a pretty full but fun long weekend and this week has been full too. Next weekend should be a bit better. Lisa and the girls will get to relax.

I’m heading out of town tomorrow for Deadman Peaks Trail Run. It’s easily my favorite race and it’s right in my backyard! Wish me luck or say prayers or whatever you do on Saturday while I run 53 miles on the Continental Divide Trail with a bunch of other crazies.

Have a great weekend folks! See you on the trail.*

*If you do see me on the trail and I look like I’m dying…I just ran 53 miles. It’s ok to share your water or food with me.*