Welcome to a Life Inspired by Nature, Art & Beauty

After a beautiful welcome to Santa Fe, on we go further North.

Abiquiu is a large territory ranging from high grassland mesas through deep ruddy canyons where remnants of copper mines are hidden; rich green alfalfa fields and graceful old cottonwoods arching heavy branches along the Chama; gold, red & grey layered mesas and forested mountains; and a small adobe village above the Chama River.

I used to call this area home because I lived there; now I call it home because of the place it holds in my heart.

The drive North out of Santa Fe was so familiar, but I didn't pull over until the overlook and cliffs above the Chama River.

Wandering along the cliff top above the river, watching swallows soar below me...

I could feel things...I don't even know or need to know what things...drain out of me as I walked, listened, and took it all in.

There was a choice coming up in a few miles...to go on toward Ghost Ranch with its rose and gold cliffs, and maybe on to the Monastery of Christ in the Desert...or head toward the mountains.

The mountains won.

The road wound past the shockingly low Abiquiu Lake, and along the wide open "llanos" or mesa-top valleys below the famous Pedernal. Just before the village of Coyote, I turned onto a small dirt road and began climbing up into those beautiful mountains. Not far in, there is an outcropping of outrageously colored cliffs...they almost look like candy.

After admiring them for years, I finally pulled over, tucked my camera in a pocket, and started walking.

The rocks are fascinating and colorful, hinting that layers of peach and cream stone lie just beneath the forest all around. Pictures taken, legs stretched, time to move on.

Trees started getting bigger. An old dirt track was what I was looking for, and when I found, my car almost didn't make it through some of the rough parts. The little valley I searched for opened up before me, with another red dirt 2-track road heading further up into the hills. 

There’s an abandoned cabin up that road, but we won’t be going there today. This valley is the setting for a picnic lunch on a sun-warmed rock, and unfolding my easel.

Clouds were blown into wisps across the sky. The colors here were soft, deep, and restful. The air was quiet, yet alive with a breeze through the pines and birds flitting through them.

I quietly painted for what seemed like minutes, but was more like hours.

Shadows were getting long and the air was cooling...time to pack up and head out. The sun sets early in a mountain valley.

It's a hard place to leave. When the road spilled out of the mountains onto the "highway" - a 2-lane affair with occasional traffic - the world filled with late afternoon sun.

I headed toward an area of Ghost Ranch with rocks so red I'd never actually stopped there before...it was almost too much. But it looked inviting in end-of-day sun. Time to explore this place.

Amazing earthen red and coral colors glowed against the equally amazing blue New Mexico sky. For someone who tends to like softer colors, I don't know how I'd paint this landscape...but it's fascinating all the same.

And that “thing” that happens at Ghost Ranch happened again.

Walking through the red-orange earth under a blue, blue sky, stress and fatigue drained away, replaced with warmth and renewal.

I haven't spoken yet about the Pedernal. It is a uniquely-shaped mesa that stands out on the horizon. You can see it from all the way up in Taos. It was made famous by Georgea O'Keeffe, who loved painting it. It has watched over this landscape for a very long time, and is loved by many.

This is my parting shot from a deeply satisfying day: the gate to the "red earth" territory...my trusty little car...and the Pedernal, watching over it all.

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