A few days and a lot of miles

I keep getting myself off to places with no internet access and no cell phone signal, but that's OK. Just bear with me.

Since you last heard from me I was in Chaco Canyon, Taos, the Enchanted Circle, Taos again and back to Santa Fe. My traveling companion for the last week, Brandy, left me in Santa Fe to fly back to Houston and I headed out to Abiquiu and, about 12 miles further down the road, Ghost Ranch.

The road into Chaco and one of the goat herding dogs

Chaco Canyon was one of the best stops so far. I headed out down a two lane blacktop that changed to dirt.

We encountered a small herd of goats being moved along by three dogs, no shepherd in sight. The dogs stared as we drove by.

A sign stated the obvious, "Pavement Ends", and then there were no fences in sight and open land for as far as the eye can see. It was beautiful beyond belief.

We came to a wash with a sign that said not to attempt to cross it if there was water in it. While we stopped to ponder the question of whether to attempt it or not, two other vehicles pulled up behind us. We all got out of our vehicles and conferred. None of us had been to Chaco before, so none of us knew what the wash looked like dry, but there appeared to be a goodly current. The water was muddy and we couldn't tell the depth. The driver of a Lexus 4x4 decided to take the lead. I figured that he had OnStar and if he got stuck they would come and rescue him anywhere on the planet, so I moved over and let him through.

He made it and the other vehicle followed. Brandy and I looked at each other, took a deep breath and drove through, no problem. The Lexus had waited on the other side to make sure that we made it. We waved our thanks and we all headed out. We stopped in the visitor's center for a restroom break. I bought books and found I that I got a teacher's discount! That led to buying a few more books.

Me standing in one of the T-shaped doorways of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon

Many of the ruins at Chaco are easily accessible. We climbed and took photos. It is a sort of eerie place. The sound of the wind through empty windows and doorways, the call of ravens, the color of dwellings against high cliff walls give a strangely spiritual quality to this place. Due to the difficulty of access and the remote location there are few tourists hopping about. Don't tell anyone! Too many people would ruin it.

Near Nageezi and O'Keeffe's "Black Place"

On the way out we stopped to take photos of The Black Place that Georgia O'Keeffe painted so often. In the paintings it looks immense, but it's a distortion created by the artist, just like her huge flower paintings. The Black Place is a small geological formation of hills that appear black to dark gray depending on the time of day.

We drove on from there to Taos and spent one night in the Sagebrush Inn.

The Sagebrush Inn is where O'Keeffe stayed in 1930 as she tried to distance herself from the social scene at Mabel Dodge Luhan's house, Los Gallos. The Sagebrush Inn has the original rooms from 1918 and quite a few newer wings that have the same basic feel. It also has a jacuzzi and a swimming pool and a bar with live music on the weekends. The jacuzzi was the right spot to head for after all the days on the road. After cleaning up we had dinner in the Los Vaqueros dining room followed by a stop in the bar for music by a little group calling themselves South by Southwest.

In the midst of all this we found that we had landed square in the middle of Taos Fiesta weekend when the Queen of the festival and all her court dropped by with a mariachi band. We finally called it a day and headed for some rest in a nice air-conditioned room.

Entrance to one of the Earthships

The next day we went out to see the Earthships. These structures are built out of old tires packed with earth and covered with concrete. Several have walls made of old bottles that glow like stained glass in the desert sun. We heard Val Kilmer has a place out there, but we didn't go looking for him.

Portal of the Mabel Dodge Luhan House

We checked into the Mabel Dodge Luhan house for the next two nights where I had the good fortune to run into Lois Rudnick, a writer who has written a history of the house and a biography of Mabel.

The Mabel Dodge Luhan House is not air-conditioned, but it cools off so well at night that you don't really need it. It's quiet and calm and restful. The property is bounded by the Taos Pueblo lands on two sides. I spent a part of my evening listening to the coyotes howl back and forth.

Doing my usual, I woke up at about 3:30 in the morning and headed outside to write for awhile without disturbing Brandy. It felt quiet, safe and cool.

If you don't stay at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House for any other reason you should go there for the breakfast. It is absolutely incredible and served up in Mabel's dining room. I'm not going to tell you anymore, except maybe homemade from scratch blueberry pancakes and fresh bagels and lox. Yummmmm!

We drove the Enchanted Circle with a short stop at the D. H. Lawrence Ranch again. I was hoping to run into Mary Barrett, but no such luck.

One last night at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe. I love this place, great location, good breakfast, and happy, unpretentious people and a chance to do some laundry. My second appointment with the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center and a tasty lunch at the O'Keeffe Cafe followed by waiting for the shuttle with Brandy.

Once she was off I hit the road for Ghost Ranch Abiquiu. The name is not quite appropriate, as it is 12 miles past the village of Abiquiu.

I checked in and headed for my room on the top of the mesa. It looks like something out of my old Girl Scout camping days but the view is awesome. I can see Cerro Pedernal from my front door. Another good choice, the price is right and includes three meals a day!

Last night a thunderstorm blew in. Now if you have spent time in the high desert you know what I'm talking about. I could see it coming miles off. The air grew cooler and had a different smell. I raced back to my room, uphill all the way. I made it, out of breath and only slightly damp, before the storm hit. I could see it, hear it, smell it, long before it got to me in full force.

Up on the top of the mesa there is not much between you and the thunder and lightening. I was seeing the flash and hearing the crash simultaneously. It was incredible and awe-inspiring.

Looking down from the mesa, early morning

Morning came with a beautiful coolness. Sunlight on orange and yellow cliffs. Pedernal standing over it all. What more can I ask for?