Why Taos?

Many of my high school and college friends as well as many of my former business and law school colleagues have asked me how I ended up in Taos -- or rather WHY TAOS?  People who knew me in my "previous life" knew me as a driven individual.  I suppose most of my family and friends expected something other than being an Innkeeper.  Without a doubt, however, I have come to realize that Taos is my home and that this place was patiently waiting while I chased my tail elsewhere.

To quickly summarize, I chased my future career all the time.  After getting a Bachelors and Masters from Trinity University in San Antonio, I went to work for the Air Force who sent me to New Mexico in 1986 for procurement training at Kirtland AFB.  Never happy with what I had, I moved to Dallas where I continued to chase an elusive future of "happiness."  I eventually went back to school and got a law degree, even getting published along the way (See page "x" for the title of my paper).

Even after my career took me away from the Air Force, I kept coming back to New Mexico.  My stories posted to this blog from 2007 tell the story of one ill-fated trip down the Chama River in 1995.  But there were lots of other trips.  Climbing the La Luz Trail outside Albuquerque, visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings, White Sands, and even doing that almost impossible drive into Dog Canyon at Guadalupe Mountains National Park and then spending a few days and nights far, far away from anything but nature.

When I went back to work I'd always have a smile on my face.  Co-workers would ask, "What are smiling about?" Describing New Mexico and telling stories of my adventures here would only puzzle people in Dallas.  "You did what?  White-water what? Cliff Dwellings?  What hotel did you stay in?  Where did you eat?" were common questions that frankly I came to understand had no real answer for those who had to ask.

I now look back on all those years as preparation for Taos.  When guests at La Posada de Taos ask me the question of why I came to Taos, I often jokingly tell them that Taos is a great place to have a mid-life crisis.  I guess that means that Taos is my Corvette?

After years of chasing the dollar and pursuing a career track to the heart attack, I began to realize that maybe I was allowed to define success and happiness for myself.  In fact, I eventually understood that I would never be happy if my success was always going to be defined by how much money I made, what kind of car I drove, whether my teeth were perfectly straight, what neighborhood I lived in and whether I got my hair cut at the top-ranked men's barber in Dallas, Texas (which I did, go figure).

Too bad it took me 17 years to figure that out.

I understand now that those years of being detached from the place where my bliss resides were probably necessary for me to enjoy the life I now have.  Instead of spending an hour or two driving to work each way every day sitting in traffic watching bumpers, I now walk down a flight of stairs open the back door and take a long look at the mountain above town.  Instead of being pulled in a hundred different directions  to solve problems that were primarily the product of work-making inventions, I'm pulled away to help someone make reservations for a balloon ride or a white-water rafting trip.  Best of all, instead of receiving dozens of phone calls and e-mails that took a staff of administrative assistants to help me sift through, I now take every call myself and answer every e-mail personally in an effort to help people come to Taos and have a great time.

Although I intend to get active and be a citizen of Taos through various volunteer efforts, I've also had time to settle in and do things that feed my soul.   I've repaired and maintained a pond complete with fish and water lilly.  I've grown a large vegetable garden that produced a bounty for La Posada's chefs (see pages 3 and 4) to use all summer and early fall.  I've ridden down the Taos Box of the Rio Grande just outside town and have sped through walls of white water for no other reason but to make it to the other side.  I've been on the lifts and the slopes (bunny only) of one of the world's most challenging ski mountains and lived to tell about it.

Most of all, I've allowed myself to finally find my own measures of success and happiness in ways that have added years back to my life.

A Fish Pond Complete with Water Lilly Was One of My First Taos Projects

By the time I left the Big D, little A, double L, A, S, my blood pressure was already through the roof and out of control.  My skin was pale and I felt sick most of the time.  By the time I reached New Mexico almost six years ago, my hair had turned mostly gray and the circles under my eyes had become a permanent scar -- or so I thought.

Here at 7000 feet in Taos, I smile each morning as I drink my cup of coffee and watch the sun rise to light up Taos Mountain a few miles off my back balcony.  My Facebook friends from years back remark that they see the change in my face.  (I always thank them.)

The life returned to my soul when I came to Taos and for that I am thankful every day.

Growing a Large Vegetable Garden at La Posada de Taos was my "Zen 2010."

Taos is a lifestyle, but it's also a place where my soul can take the spiritual journey it has longed for.  Stay tuned. . .