Dave & Dawn met on a blind date in 1977 through a mutual friend and were married in 1981 at the Wayside Chapel in Illinois in front of family and friends.  Dave has been an owner/operator of a machine shop for over 50 years and Dawn has had several jobs after graduating from a Community College including 12 years at a publishing company, (and currently, another twelve years as a librarian for the Angel Fire Shuter Library.) 

They opened a banquet hall and dance club in Illinois which they operated successfully for 18 years.  During that time they took a Christmas vacation in 1986 and came to Taos, New Mexico to ski.  Dawn had visited New Mexico before, but it was Dave’s first visit to the “land of enchantment”.  They enjoyed skiing and sightseeing, the art galleries and many fine restaurants.  They then discovered Angel Fire and Eagle Nest and fell completely in love with the valley.  They originally purchased a Timeshare cabin in Angel Fire which they had for a number of years coming out different times of the year to ski or ride the Cumbres-Toltec narrow gauge train, shop and relax with family and friends.  When they discussed retirement, Eagle Nest, New Mexico was at the top of the list; the scenery and climate are ideal and the local people are very friendly. 

They built the "Mountain Dawn Lodge", this large 11-bedroom home in hopes that their family and friends would visit often.  Unfortunately, the eight grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren spread out in Illinois, Ohio, and North Carolina have such busy lives that visiting is not always possible.  So, they have opened their home as an eclectic bed-and-breakfast.  Dave is an excellent down-home breakfast cook and Dawn helps and does clean up.  They really enjoy meeting lots of different people from all over the country and sharing their home and this beautiful part of the United States. 

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