Visit to Cuba

Last weekend we all piled in the car, checked our passports and headed to Cuba. Cuba, NM that is. You'd be surprised how many people have never heard of the place and feel obligated to make some crack about leaving the country or bringing back some cigars. Anyway, some 47 hours later, we arrived tired and ready to get out and stretch.

Our visit wasn't very long as we got there Friday evening and left early Sunday morning but we all had a good time and we finally got to meet Galina (sp? - sorry!). Karen and Ronney also came up for the weekend sans kiddos. They mentioned something about Chase being old enough to take care of himself and Riley for the weekend. Either that or they were in Colorado with Ronney's parents. I can't remember which.

As usual, da boys headed straight for the 4-wheelers and me being the cool, calm, responsible adult, elbowed them out of the way as I ran past them to get first dibs. We did a fair amount of riding but the boys were always asking for more. Now, let me state here that I always require my boys wear a helmet when they're riding and I wear my own to set a good example. Except for this time. My helmet had a light scent of rotting fish (long but unfortunately true story) so no helmets on this trip. We also had more than one person on each ATV. I'M SORRY! OK? I KNOW I'M A LOUSY PARENT!

As I proofread the previous paragraph, I feel inclined to explain the helmet because it sounds rather embarrassing. When we went riding the dirt bikes week before last, we arrived to find some bozo had dumped some trash (tree branches and yard stuff) at our riding spot and it stunk to high heaven. Upon further investigation, I found a trashbag with several rotting fish in it so, with my gloves on, I drug the bag further away and downwind from where we park. Even though I tried to be careful, the stench permeated my gloves. And guess where I put my gloves when I pack up my riding gear at the end of the ride? Yep, in my helmet. And guess what I forgot to take out when I got home? Yep, my helmet and gloves.

I didn't get any pictures but we also went to the mud bog races in Cuba. Never one to turn down the sound of a screaming V8, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the guys (and girl) bounce, slide and claw their way across the mud pit. The kids started getting tired and bored after awhile so we split before it was over. Something noteworthy to no one but me - not one vehicle we saw had a Ford or Chrysler engine in it. At least not that I heard. They were ALL Chevy engines! (And some of those were NICE Chevy engines - like supercharged 540 nice)

Enough yacking. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.


The road to the mine. Rain the night before had everything nice and wet. That's Ronney with Cameron ahead of us.



Cool shot of the trail.



That darn dangerous Ronney setting a bad example for Cameron. Those glasses are not ANSI approved eye protection.



The boys and me. No we didn't ride like this. Cade actually rode on the front rack. Just kidding.



This hummingbird was lucky enough to catch a moment at the feeder without being dive-bombed by an evil little red hummingbird that felt the area was his exclusive territory.



Riders POV on the last section of trail leading to the mine. At this point, we were past all the gnarly parts of the trail.