9000 Feet Above Stress Level

9000 Feet Above Stress Level is the slogan for the village of Cloudcroft where myself, Abate, Elmer and Fantu spent a week on vacation in mid-July. It is a slogan well deserved. We escaped the Texas heat and the daily highs pushing the 100 degree mark for Cloudcroft’s daily highs in the low 70’s. Texas was barely seeing 70’s as its overnight lows which in Cloudcroft by the way were 49-52 degrees. Rain showers were brief and fell in the late afternoon on two occasions. It was what I consider perfect weather.

I rented a cabin for the week, a cute little two bedroom right in the village. It was up a very steep hill which my poor car struggled with the first time as it was packed so heavily with people and possessions. As I pulled in I was surprised at the closeness of the next door neighbor and was a bit concerned, but we soon realized that the house was positioned to afford a very private layout and back deck left us feeling we were off alone on the hillside. The deck was large with several sitting areas, a large fire pit and a BBQ grill. I knew that we would enjoy many evenings sitting out on it. The house was beautifully decorated. It was cozy and extremely comfortable. The kitchen was a cooks dream with many gourmet features, I knew I’d made the right choice in a rental. This would be an amazing home for the week.

I choose Cloudcroft because it has a wide choice of trails running all over the Lincoln National Forest. It would be ideal for Abate and Elmer to run and train for the upcoming cross country season. Fantu and I could hike some and I had hoped to do some bike riding but due to a lack of time in the previous months to get back in shape that really wasn’t an option this time. Cloudcroft is also located just above the Tularosa Basin, a high desert that is home to the White Sands National Monument. It is an amazing sight to see and with its large dunes of crystal white gypsum sand it makes for a fun time sledding. Sledding in the summer can be quite an experience as it was around 90 degrees in the desert and the sun reflected off the sand that only intensified the heat. The kids played hard and worked up an appetite that led us to a real gem of a restaurant that served New Mexico’s regional style of Mexican food. In case you are wondering, green chilies dominate the sauces, it was really good with outstanding service. I will return to Tio Lupes on my next trip, and if ever you are passing through Alamogordo stop and give them a try.

Our hikes took us on trails in the 9000 foot mountains, another at 6500 feet led us on a more semi-arid trail mid-way up from the basin. While the temperatures were not as cool at 6500 feet the 3.6 mile hike took us to a very nice waterfall that the kids could play in and around. It was a really good time and we had the place to ourselves.

Well no trip is complete though without doing a bit of shopping. Cloudcroft has a nice assortment of shops (unless you need food) and we were able to pick up a few things to bring home. A shop selling fudge had a nice assortment including one made with chilies. It may sound weird but it was addictively tasty. Pistachios are grown in the Tularosa basin so we of course had to stop and buy a few bags. Again there was the famous New Mexican chili being used to season something, this time it leant it punch to the pistachios and once again they were addictive they were so good.

So 9000 feet above stress level was a really nice place to be. Fantu commented to be on several occasions that she had never seen me relax and she was happy that I actually could sit down and chill out. It was a great week and it was difficult to leave. We have some really good memories to keep us going and lots of great photos. I think they will tell the rest of the story.