Taos Box of chocolate

After a week of pushing our minds to the limit- mentally physicially and emotionally drained from over 600 multiple choice questions, 225 of which were a practice were the PACKRAT, of which I knew uh 25? It was about time we spend a weekend pushing the other end of our limits. Matt, Foxy, Kela, Lindsey, packed what felt like 8 days worth of stuff for 8 people into the green weenie, we took off to taos! Jamie, Jami, heather, josh, and candice carpooled behind us, equally as loaded down, the rear trailer hitch riding just above the road, following us on a very convoluted 3.5 hour journey dancing our way throught the drive through at DQ, up the high road to taos and stopping off at the sancutary. Free of the car, and 10 egar bodies, we started playing catch with Eliot's (Foxie's 5 yr old son) nerf ball. We all recognize the raging river beside us- and Michela shouts out "Dont throw it to them if they cant catch" Heather launches it to candice and curplunk! the ball goes straight into the water and takes off down stream- all of us dashing down the riverside trying to reach in for it- heather dashing through weeds and over fences- but the river claimed the first of its victums of the weekend....
soon we would find ourselves just like that foam oblonged ball.. bobbing amongst the rapids...
We set up camp around Beer-thirty. 5 different pods (tents) set themselves up, with the mothership- jamie's million person tent in the middle, to be admired. Food, frisbees, footballs, and friends, and fire filled the afternoon and late into the evening. Dance party. A shit show in the most amazing sense of the phrase.
Strong wind... strong wind... moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
The wind began to blow and a fine dust found its way on to everything- we didnt notice until 11 when people started falling off and retreating to their tents.
I stayed up- I love the campfire and people begin to fade away, and the last seven of us crack one last beer and keep talking.
In a bit we make our way over to the tents that have been BLOWN AWAY- the once admired big tent is now completely horizantal- flattened by the strong winds, candice and I are sleeping outside and snug ourselves up against the sturdiest tent as a wind block and tune out the immense ruffling of the tents in the wind. By four Am more than half the group has retreated to the cars, and candice is crumpled by my feet. We are all covered with dirt, especially those why didnt put the flap on, and covered with the filtered fine soot that made it through the screen on the tent. Coffee is made, and we make our way over to the rafting meet up spot. Drive way up the river, climb into wetsuits and splash guards and load up on four different boats. Candice, Ben, Lauren, Sophia Tracie and I take the lead and the rest come following- I loved it when our boat was in the back and we could watch as all the little yellow helmets bownced around through the rapids. We went four a 16 mile adventure down the river- keeping our guides as entertained as ever laughing and splashing, falling overboard and shouting commands through class 4 rapids. In the end the river only clamed one boat as victums- flipping it at the very last rapid before we pulled out.
I was exhausted on the ride home, and after laughing hysterically at the DQ lady who was shouting at an unreasonable volume back at lindsey through the intercome, my small reeses blizzard pushing meover the edge into a coma.