Thoughts on Taos

This will be my last vacation concentrated post. In some ways New Mexico already seems so long ago. I have a frame filled with some of my favorite landscape shots ready to hang right over the student's head in my office to try to bring a bit of that peace during the chaos of the coming months at work. After Santa Fe we took the high road to Taos while our travel mates headed back to the airport. The high road had some lovely views but honestly we were more impressed by the low road in some ways. You follow the Rio Grande River for much of the way and you have actually more mountain views that both the driver and passenger can enjoy.




This was supposed to be when Mike and I had good quality time together and I got to focus on my photography some. The later happened as planned, the former not so much. Mike forgot his laptop adapter in Santa Fe so he was unable to write or play much online which made for some grouchiness on his part. But he did enjoy the peaceful B&B environment and spent hours out on the porch reading in the chair above with the string of chilis. We stayed at the Adobe and Pines Inn which is 10 minutes from downtown Taos and has a beautiful stream running through it and a zen rock garden with a labyrinth.

The day that we got there happened to be a feast day at the Taos Pueblo, the longest continually inhabited building in North America, with a corn dance. The Pueblo Indians have been living there for over 1,000 years and still maintain much of their culture. You can't photograph the dances so I went back the next morning to get some shots. The sun was already blaring when I got there so I didn't get any great shots but I like this one.

The first night there I took off with my camera right before sunset. I found a great spot where I could park which was the start of a trail with great views of the sunset and mountains. I took several of my favorite shots ever that night. I'm actually still processing the raw images from that night and there are more gems still to be discovered I know. Both of the shots at the top as well as this my favorite tree in New Mexico.

The last morning we were there I woke up before sunset, which shocked my family to death. I saw the sunrise from behind the mountains, visited the Rio Gorge Bridge, drove to D.H. Lawrence's ranch at the top of a mountain, and visited his memorial all before breakfast while Mike slept in.

I will probably be going back there next year to take a photography workshop without Mike. It is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been. Mike didn't really like the vibe in Taos like he did the rest of our travels. There is a certain uptight, rich former hippy tourist feel to it. Santa Fe has a much more laid back scene. I will definitely never go in the summer, prime tourist time again. I was told late September is a great time for taking pictures.

Tomorrow I'll try to get back to some regular blog material, whatever that is....

I'm Back!

We made it home this afternoon from our New Mexico adventure. I am pretty exhausted to say the least. Yesterday I managed to get Eggs Benedict from my breakfast in Taos, hibiscus tea from my lunch in Santa Fe, and ketchup from my dinner in Albequerque all on my cream colored shirt. Quite a collection of stains, and cuisines if I do say so myself.

I have so many pictures to go through it's not even funny. I took over 1,500 shots and I haven't even scratched the surface on processing the raw images and editing them. The top one is from the most amazing museum in between Alb and Santa Fe called Tinkertown. I thought the sign summed up the trip for me. Below is one from an amazing sunset the first night we were in Taos.

I have the next week off too so I should have time to do laundry and go through my shots before we head to the farm on Wednesday. I'll share a few of my favorites everyday until then so please stay tuned.

Dreaming of Sunnier Days

“I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life -- and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”

Georgia O” Keefe

As I mentioned in my previous post I have found myself randomly obsessed with New Mexico recently. It started like 6 months ago. I honestly can't remember what the spark was but ever since I see hints of it everywhere I look, in books, movies, websites, etc. I have talked Mike into vacationing there in June for a week to 10 days. No, I don't think we will be moving there anytime soon but I told Mike yesterday that I thought we should retire there. He gave me a really strange look like he was wondering what I had been smoking.

This afternoon I was playing travel agent for Tif and Chris and looking for an all inclusive package somewhere sunny for their honeymoon. If you are looking for a similar trip let me recommend the Dominican Republic. There are some amazing deals there right now. I don't know if it's because of the earthquake but the prices were even tempting to me on some of the resorts I was looking at.

But back to New Mexico. I've been trying to get my head around our itinerary. I know that we will be flying into Albuquerque since that is the only major airport but I don't think we'll spend more than a day there. From there we will head to Santa Fe for at least 3 days. There are lots of cultural things to do here and beautiful scenery for golfing/hiking for Mike, as well as Los Alamos which as a physics teacher he is already nerding out about.

From there I am determined to head up to Taos via the high road which supposedly has views out of this world (This is the area that Georgia O'Keeffe made famous). I want to hit as many galleries and studios that I can as this is one of the most artistic communities in the world. I don't think there will be as much for Mike to do here so I probably won't be able to get him to stay more than 2 days. We'll stay at a local B & B here which I always love to do when traveling.

Here is where I get fuzzy in my planning. I want to get the full experience and I don't think the trip would be complete without heading southeast to Roswell and the White Sands. I just don't know how many extra days that would add to the trip. I know that it is going to be a half days drive to get there. I think it would be worth it but I also know that Mike isn't the best traveler and I wonder if we might be better served sticking to the Northern territory and really doing it right.
My family took a trip to the Southwest when I was really young. I think I have a memory of the White Sands but Mom doesn't think so since we were there for less than an hour and I would have just been 3 or 4 years old. I have a feeling associated with it of wonder as I felt the sand in my toes, but it could be a created memory from the pictures I've seen from the trip. I would love to see it again if it is possible. I really think I need some wonder in my life after the year I've had.