Thanks to my friend Leslie Ullman, poet and bead artist, I was invited to share her tent space at the Taos Ski Valley Oktoberfest yesterday. Expecting it to be cold at 9,000' altitude, I loaded the car up with sweaters, fleece vest, jacket...and it turned out to be a perfect warm Indian Summer day! With aspens turning vivid yellow against the cloudless cobalt sky. I never wore the jackets and gradually peeled off my mohair sweater and first layer. Crowds of visitors attended this annual event, some in costume.
There was beer, wine, bratwurst with sauerkraut, frito pies, desserts, horseshoes and music...
...polkas, oompah-pah, generally lively and loud. Songs my parents used to sing. Music sailed through the high valley and into the thick evergreen woods. I could almost see the waves of music -- like in an animated movie. The yodeling contest was cancelled (no comment).
The spire that looked so moody last Saturday in misty rain and low cloud shone against the clear crisp September sky.
I displayed a few shawls/scarves, lots of socks, a couple of hand warmers and hats. Didn't sell much. But met a young woman who is going to spend early November polar bear watching in Canada! How cool is that! She bought a pair of hand warmers. Otherwise, it was too warm to think about wool, and Oktoberfest isn't about crafts, it's about beer and music! Leslie and I drank wine and ate a delicious German crumb-thing with thin-sliced glazed apples and a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top (gone before I could take a photo). The ski lifts are closed down after a summer of use and preparations will soon begin to ready them for the ski season opening in November.
Since I'm not a skier and don't love snow and cold, I prefer the Ski Valley in summer and fall. But I do think there should always be balloons.
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