Cloudcroft!!

It had been raining in Andrews all week long, so we were very worried that our 4th of July camping trip was going to get rained out, too! But, alas, on Friday we decided to chance it and packed up all our gear and headed out! Laura came with us this time and we all knew we were in for a crazy adventure!

As we got closer and closer to the mountains, though, the clouds lightened up, the sun came out, and a beautiful rainbow appeared! This was definitely a good sign! And we totally lucked out, because by the time we got to our camping spot, the rain was gone for good! Never to come back all weekend!
While Shanam hit the trails on his mountain bike the next morning, Laura and I decided to play some golf :) I had only been to the driving range a few times in my life and I've always been secretly afraid to actually play on the course. Silly, I know, but I did gather up my courage and grabbed the biggest club of hers I could find. That made me feel better :) After a few practice swings, trying to work around my pregnant belly, I actually hit the ball and it soared straight onto the green down the hill! I could do it! Come to find out, real golf is just like miniature golf, but bigger :) LOL! The morning was perfect golf weather and the course was breathtaking! Sitting at 9000 ft, Cloudcroft is the 5th highest course in the US! And of course, driving the golf cart through the mountain trails was almost just as fun as hitting the ball :) I hit a few sweet shots and one amazing shot that we all deemed was the most awesome shot that day. (We were teamed up with another couple) My first hit landed the ball close to the lake's edge, and I decided that instead of trying to go around the lake, I was going to go over it. As soon as I hit it, it shoots off and literally SKIMS the top of the water and lands on the other bank!!! We were all in shock! My daddy would be proud :)

This was our sweet camping spot! There's nothing like a huge campfire, a good book, an afternoon nap, tin foil dinners, s'mores, and card games that go on all night!

The next day, we hit the trails! Shanam took off on his bike while Laura and I enjoyed the hike and gorgeous views! In the same time it took us to hike 4 miles, Shanam biked 20 :) That's my man!

The view from the trail was amazing! We could see all of White Sands 5000 ft below!

And this was our view on the 4th of July! We drove up to the highest point and overlooked the entire Ruidoso valley, hoping to see some fireworks :) No fireworks, but we saw plenty of elk and deer! The ride home was quite the event! Whole herds of animals were lurking in the shadows! It made for a very slow and cautious drive, but so cool, nonetheless!