Winter Wonderland

We were fortunate to have a beautiful and snowy Christmas week in Santa Fe!  I'm so relieved that we made the decision to not travel for the holidays this year because it gave us the opportunity to enjoy Christmas in our house, start new traditions with Ady, and minimize the stress of traveling.  I am also incredibly thankful that my mom came to visit for the week, sharing in our Southwest traditions and embracing outdoor activities in the mountains, and Ady absolutely loved having quality time with her Nana.  

 Since hospitals don't take breaks for holidays, and winter is a busy time of illnesses and accidents, I unfortunately had to work all week.  However, I have discovered over the years that I don't really mind working holidays.  I enjoy the opportunity to support my patients who are sick in the hospital on holidays, many of whom don't have family or friends visiting at all, and I have some really fond memories of the patients I have treated on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day over the years.  I also feel closer to my colleagues in my department when we're working hard together to make a difference for our patients when many of our friends have the day off.

 When I wasn't working this week I made an effort to get outside and enjoy the winter weather!  The Santa Fe Ski Basin reported 15" of snowfall this week.  I didn't have a chance to ski, but I did snowshoe three times, including two short hikes with my mom when she was visiting and a solo hike today on the Borrego Bear Wallows trail.  When I only have a couple hours, Borrego Bear Wallows is one of my favorite trails in Santa Fe, and it was serene and peaceful today with the light snow resting on the tree branches.  I didn't encounter a single other person during the hike, and my tracks were the first ones of the day in the fresh snow.  

 Besides getting outside and enjoying the snowy week, my Christmas week in Santa Fe consisted of the Christmas Eve Farolito walk on Canyon Road (a favorite annual event of locals and tourists alike), the "Glow" light event at the Botanical Garden, a family-friendly "Carols and Candles" church service on Christmas Eve, eating delicious dinners out four times this week (two new restaurants and two old favorites), date night at the Sunrise Springs Spa Resort (while Nana babysat Ady), and Ady's pure joy on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought!  Santa Fe is such a special place to be for Christmas and we had a memorable week.

 This week I look forward to a New Year's Eve dinner with friends, followed by a few weeks of rest and relaxation until restaurant week (my second favorite week in Santa Fe!).  Stay warm out there!
Hiking Aspen Vista on Christmas Day

A stroll along the Rail Trail on December 26th
Borrego Bear Wallows loop on December 28th


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