Birthday Week

Meris and I have birthdays a day apart and this year we had an extra celebrant because our friend Melissa came to visit from TX!
For the past couple years Meris and I had been going to visit her in Austin but since I am now at the ranch and Melissa hasn't been to New Mexico in almost 6 years we decided the time was right for a visit. It's crazy to think we all met at Tarryall 11 years ago and are still friends all these years later. She was a breath of fresh air and it was so nice to see a friendly and familiar face. She also helped me out with all the chores (even cleaning!) which was a big plus as my ankle is still healing. We still had plenty of relaxing girl time though.

Meris and Melissa riding

On Meris' birthday we all went on a ride out to Beaver Canyon. I hadn't been out riding in a while so it was nice to see the leaves starting to change.

Distant aspens changing color

Beaver Canyon foliage

Meris and I took her to the Pottery Mesa another day. I didn't have much success with finding any arrowheads or jewelry like I did last time but we had a blast looking and also took a ton of selfies.

Pottery Mesa

I was sad on the day she was due to leave and then Meris came in that morning and asked if I wanted to convoy with Melissa to the McDonald Observatory in Texas. Melissa had planned was to attend one of their star parties. I checked online and there were still tickets available so I bought one. I was excited for a nice little getaway but then I looked up directions online and realized its only a few miles from Fort Davis National Monument and only 1.5 hrs from Big Bend National Park! So with that I was off on a 4 day road trip with an hours notice!

Ant Hill