And the planning goes on and on

Please excuse the long gaps between posts. I don't want to bore you and sometimes it seems that what I have to say is just the same old thing over and over again, at least until the rubber hits the highway. Updates are only merited when I have something new to say or tell.

Planning is ongoing. This last week I made various reservations, some more exciting than others. The updated plan is going something like this:

Wednesday 27 June, pick up the rental vehicle. I've reserved a midsize SUV. It may eat up alot of gas, but it has a higher clearance and more room for art and art supplies. I'll pack up and head towards Austin and San Antonio. I plan to spend the night in Austin and catch up with friends.

Thursday 28 June, driving, driving, driving until I get to Abilene where I'll stay for the night in what my one of my friends refers to as an "HBO Pool". He swears they are his favorite hotel/motel chain. I'll take anything that doesn't start with "Bates". I'll need a good night's rest to prepare for the next day.

Friday 29 June, more driving, driving, driving to Canyon, Texas and the Elizabeth Hudspeth House, now called the Hudspeth Inn. O'Keeffe used to take meals here during the 'teens when she was teaching at West Texas Normal College, now West Texas A & M. I have O'Keeffe's various addresses around Canyon and Amarillo in addition to Palo Duro Canyon to make the rounds of.

Saturday 30 June, more of the same driving, driving, driving. Plenty of coffee and I should make it to Santa Fe where I'll stay in the Ghost Ranch facility in the center of town. This is not
the same as staying at the original Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu although both are run by the same people, the Presbyterians, these days. I've been reading up on the original ranch in a book entitled "Ghost Ranch" by Lesley Poling-Kempes. I'll save all that info for later.

Sunday 1 July through Wednesday 4 July, Taos, New Mexico and the Sagebrush Inn. Time to rest up from the road and adjust to being in New Mexico. The Sagebrush Inn is another O'Keeffe site. She stayed here for the first time in the 1930 after tiring of the bustle at Los Gallos, Mabel Dodge Luhan's house. Here she found the ambiance that she needed to work. According to the website she used Room 301 as a studio in subsequent stays. This place comes highly recommended by friends of mine who have spent time painting in the area. I got a room on the courtyard in the original building. I'm hoping to get some drawing and painting in. There are so many places that I want to go in the surrounding area, too many to mention. I'll just have to see how it goes.

Thursday 5 July through Tuesday 10 July, heck if I know. I haven't made any reservations. At this point I'm planning on going back in to Santa Fe. Hopefully I will be able to use the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum's library and research center. All of my reading has brought up a lot of questions and I am hoping to use primary sources to find my answers.

Tuesday 10 July to Monday 16 July, I'll be staying at the Ghost Ranch facility in Santa Fe and attending "Santa Fe - Folk Art Traditions and Beyond".

Monday 16 July through Friday 20 July it's off to Canyon de Chelly, Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon to look at the Anasazi ruins. An art teacher friend from Houston will be joining me for the next week. There are plenty of interesting places to check out along the way. The Black Place, a location that O'Keeffe traveled to and painted numerous times is near Chaco Canyon.

Saturday 21 July and Sunday 22 July will find me staying at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos. I've reserved the Georgia O'Keeffe room. This is the actual room that Georgia O'Keeffe stayed in on her first extended trip to New Mexico in 1929.

Monday 23 July and Tuesday 24 July are two more no reservations days. All I know is I have to drop my friend off in Santa Fe so that she can make it back to Houston.

Tuesday 24 July through Friday 27 July, I'm staying at the Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu. I've scheduled a tour of the O'Keeffe home and studio in Abiquiu on Wednesday 25 July. I'm staying up on the mesa.

Saturday 28 July through Tuesday July 31, I head back for Texas. My plan is to drive in through West Texas. If at all possible I'll make it back through Big Bend and the Davis Mountains. You'll just have to stay tuned for this last leg. I'm hoping my husband will meet me in Austin and we can drive back to Houston together.

Wednesday August 1 I turn the rental back in and pay up.

Home, where I can begin to put together a scrapbook of sorts as a report on the whole journey. I'm hoping to post entries in 1001 Journals along the way, but that will depend on availability of a scanner and such. We'll see.