Farewell New Mexico

Well, the trip has certainly improved since my last post. We've spent more time exploring outside of Santa Fe. We've seen some beautiful places! I think everyone's favorite has been Ghost Ranch, Georgia Okeffe's home for nearly 50 years. It's easy to see how this place can be so inspiring. I don't think I've ever been anywhere more beautiful. The painted hills, rock formations and the light is so different here, more intense. We've also explored cave dwellings and seen petroglyphs that were over a thousand years old at Bandelier National park, incredible!! We've seen double rainbows over the Rio Grande River and visited Taos. All in all, it's been a wonderful trip, we definitely want to come back sometime soon. Farewell New Mexico, for now... Love to you all -Lisa

with my rose colored glasses removed

O.k., so it only took me a day before I started to see the darker side of this place. Santa Fe is beautiful beyond most of the places I've ever visited yet something is terribly wrong here. The whole Canyon rd. art scene is really more about money and less about  art in my opinion. True there is some incredible stuff here but the scene is so stuffy and in my opinion classist and racist, that it's really no fun at all. I much prefer our Portland art scene which I find to be more organic, inclusive and less contrived than this place.  

In addition to the troubling art scene, I've found the treatment of the areas native peoples to be repulsive. In the market today I witnessed several people trying to haggle the price of items being sold by natives on their out stretched blankets. The clothes and jewelry these tourists were wearing probably cost more than most of these people earn in an entire year. Jose and I were talking with a local New Mexican who owns a small jewelry store in the Plaza area and he says people are always trying to barter with him for a lower price. I'm sure this doesn't happen at the up-scale stores just down the street from his. Because his skin is brown and his store is small tourists think they are going to find a deal. Anyway, I think I need to stay away from these places and try to stick to the natural beauty of this place. The cricket are chirping, the moon is full and I'm going to take a warm soak with my honey in the hot tub. Love to you all. Especially my Nana! -Lisa

Santa Fe

 We left Albuquerque this morning and traveled along the Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe. It was a beautiful drive that wound through the mountains. So much red earth and sky here it's unbelievable. The girls saw their first ever buffalo resting along the side of the road, they're so big! We arrived in Santa Fe, bought some groceries and headed for our house. After much frustration and driving around in circles we found it. It's really tucked back off the main roads away from everything and yet still amazingly close in.  We are staying in an old adobe house that's over a hundred years old and it really feels like it too! We are on a dead end dirt/gravel road so there's not much traffic and it's very quiet. After getting settled in we went into the canyon road area and then onto the Plaza for roasted ears of corn and ice cream for the kids, of course! Can't wait to explore more tomorrow. LOVE TO YOU ALL! -Lisa

Albuquerque

Well, we're here. It's been a busy but wonderful day. It's amazing how much can happen in one day. We had breakfast in Portland this morning and tonight we danced in the historic plaza in Albuquerque. It was a beautiful evening! I love the way New Mexico looks and feels. The houses all seem to be the color of the earth which contrast so beautifully against the blue skies with their fluffy white clouds. We walked to the old town plaza which is over three hundred years old.  We were serenaded as we ate our dinner by a wonderful little man who didn't appear to speak any english. The meal was terrific, sopaipillas are so yummy! After dinner we took part in some salsa lessons in the plaza. Something we've wanted to do for a long time but never have gotten around to. It was spontaneous and fun. Tonight we're back at the hotel to rest until we head out for Santa Fe tomorrow. Until then. Love to you all! Especially my Nana! -Lisa