Here I Go...

As I said before, Hillary and I took a couple of days to drive North!

We filtered some Veg-Oil for the car, loaded her up and hit the road (leaving it smelling like french fries and fried dough)!

Taos is about 3 hours North of Albuquerque. Because this state is so sparsely inhabited (compared to what I am used to), directions are fairly easy- very few roads to choose from! We drove through Santa Fe and got to Taos a couple of hours before sundown.

Have I mentioned the MOUNTAINS? and the DESERT? The whole drive, I felt like a small child with my head out the window, hair blowing in my eyes pointing at every mountain, plateau, plain, mesa, and devastatingly beautiful view. Hillary humored me and acknowledged my continuous awe with a validating: “yes, dear, it is truly amazing” after all my exclamations. But, really, she was awe-struck too.

The mountains were enourmous and, like in Albuquerque, we could see exactly where they began and every nook and cranny on them. It felt too large for my eyes to register and it took my breath away (though perhaps that was also the altitude… hmmm).

I wish our tiny cameras could have captured the views in all their glory, but isn’t it kind of nice that technology falls short of that miracle?

We stayed at the SnowMansion, a truly amazing hostel in Arroyo Seca, just North of Taos.

Everything was perfect. The view, the air (it was 70 degrees at 5pm!!!!), the gardens, the accommodations, the tiny little “town” it was in…

There were many options for sleep-space from bunks, to tipis to camping, but Hillary and I reserved a “cabin”

which was about the size of a large tool shed- just large enough for a full sized bed (that’s a twin bed on top of it) and a desk with a minifridge under it. It was perfect!

We slept in, ate a gigantic brunch and walked around town, wondering aloud if we ever, really, had to leave. For a while now, I’ve been considering attending a midwifery program that is in Taos, but, of course, there is so much to consider. Location has been a big issue, as Hillary and I have just been able to quit our jobs to seek a life of discipleship (where-ever that leads us…) and we’re not too keen on having to go back to having to work too much, earn enough to get by, pay rent on some apartment etc. etc. Even if it allows me to participate in this program.

But OH after spending just a few hours at the base of these mountains, we were sold. I suppose I should actually consider some of the other practical aspects of this program before making any kind of (even just a verbalized) commitment, but if it allows me to justify waking up to that kind of view everyday… well….

More Rio Grande! This is South of Taos on our way out of town.

We stopped at Our Lady Guadeloupe Church just off the highway, built in the early 1800s (maybe 1817? Hillary would probably remember, but I don’t), it still looks solid, timeless and so perfectly grand for the tiny, dirt roads around it.

redundant, maybe, but I love both these pictures.

The graveyard for the church

The differences between the markers was fascinating.

and this friend was waiting just outside the barbed wire… guard deer?

(yes, it’s plastic).

Eventually we did come back to Albuquerque and were greeted with happy faces. I made myself an official citizen of Albuquerque by getting myself a library card (and not getting lost on my way there), so it looks like we’ll have to wait a little bit before running away to Taos (like, at least a week, right?)

Peace.