After three weeks in New Mexico and two wonderful visits we are ready to return to the fair state of Minnesota tomorrow, for the first time in eight months! It was stupendously surreal to have our parents visit us in a place that we have grown to love and that feels like home. When you talk up a place as much as we have New Mexico, you really hope you didn’t over sell it. Both sets of parents made a huge effort to make it here to visit us and we really wanted to deliver. Even though both visits were vastly different I feel confident in saying that everyone involved had a wonderful time.
It meant the world to us that they came and that we were able to share this place with people that we love. All were able to feel the enchantment and were blown away by the diverse and beautiful landscape. It was fun for us to see places that we have been before, like Bandeliere National Monument and Santuario de Chimayo, through their eyes. It almost makes you love it more, if that were possible.
Several things in our planning have changed around our time home and we’re embracing the pivot. We know that the one way to make the big messy beautiful planet and the universe that it is part of laugh is to tell it your plans. We are bringing home many treasures from the past eight months, physically and in our hearts, and we can’t wait to share them with our people in person. We are grateful for the time that we will have together and know that it will fly by. We’re just going to try and be as present as possible. Not much more to say. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Sending you a universe of love wherever you are!
❤️Alison
Our last night in ABQ we walked around Old Town. One thing that you can be sure of in New Mexico is that the weather changes all the time. You can have multiple seasons in just one day depending on your location and altitude. This mural was created celebrating the centennial of Route 66. Having never been in NM in April, only January prior to this visit, we definitely noticed how much more green and blooming everything seemed to be. This beautiful Eastern Redbud tree was outside of our place in Santa Fe. My mom and step-dad were the first to visit. They arrived safely on the 9th and we made our move to Santa Fe together. We had a nice relaxing day around town on the 10th and then finished off our evening with a sunset train ride by Sky Railway. Santa Fe Railyard. Dave and I had taken a sunset rail ride once before, but last minute we were upgraded to the VIP experience which was a special treat. There was still live music but a lot less people and we were able to travel in the Acoma, a historic 1937 lounge car and the last running one of its kind. At one point the train ran from New York to Los Angeles and famous people like Judy Garland and Clark Gable rode on it. It was a pretty special treat and the parents loved it! The train has an open air car that you can go out on and take pictures. Even though it was cloudy and a little bit rainy it didn’t diminish the spectacular views!Another day we took them to Bandelier National Monument. One of our favorite stops along the way is Anderson Scenic Overlook where you get an incredible view of Pueblo Canyon. Los Alamos Butte. “Bandelier National Monument is a 33,677-acre United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. The Ancestral Pueblo people lived here from approximately 1150 CE to 1550 CE. They built homes carved from the volcanic tuff and planted crops in mesa top fields. Corn, beans, and squash were central to their diet, supplemented by native plants and meat from deer, rabbit, and squirrel. Domesticated turkeys were used for both their feathers and meat while dogs assisted in hunting and provided companionship.”It is so cool to imagine what life must’ve been like for the people that lived in these homes. Our last night with my mom and step-dad we brought them to dinner at Izanami which is an Izakaya-style Japanese restaurant at Ten Thousand Waves nestled in the foothills outside of Santa Fe and my goodness is it delicious! Seen here: miso sea bass. It was the perfect way to top off a truly wonderful visit. I was happy I was able to say “see you soon!” I made sure that they got to the airport ok on the 14th and met a friend for lunch in ABQ before I caught the Rail Runner commuter train back to Santa Fe. It was nice to have a few days to bum around Santa Fe before Dave’s parents arrived on the 18th. This sculpture is “Yard Dog” created by Don Kennell and Lisa Adler. “Relax Jack” also by Don Kennell and Lisa Adler. This is Zozobra or “Old Man Gloom” also created by Don Kennell and is located outside the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. “It is a statue that honors the giant marionette effigy that is tradtionally burned annually during the Fiestas de Santa Fe. The burning of the effigy is a ritual that symbolizes the destruction of gloom and worries, allowing the community to start anew.” Beautiful blooms on a Crabapple tree. This is a kinetic tree sculpture called “Arbor Aeternia” or “Acacia” is located outside of one of the hundreds of galleries that can be found on Canyon Road in Santa Fe. “Santa Fe Current” by Colette Hosmer outside of the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. This is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. A picture perfect day.Can you tell we love it here? Dave’s parents arrived safely on the 18th. We were able to catch a little bit of our friend’s show at Cowgirl BBQ and got to visit several of the shops. On the 19th we brought them to see the Loretto Chapel. Learn more about the miraculous staircase here: https://www.lorettochapel.com/our-storyOn Monday we brought Dave’s parents to Bandelier National Monument. On the way we got a peep at Camel Rock. You also drive through Los Alamos on your way. Right inside the park there a pull-off where you can get a great view of Frijoles Canyon. They have a nice museum in the visitor center where you can learn about Bandelier and the Ancestral Pueblo peoples that lived there. It is cool to spy the petroglyphs in the cliff dwellings. No matter how many times we come here it never gets old!This is one of the dwellings that you can look inside. They say that you can count the number of floors a dwelling has by how many widows are above the main entrance. This the Long House. “The Long House at Bandelier National Monument was a massive 3-4 story structure stretching nearly 700 feet along the cliff base, containing roughly 217 rooms, suggesting it housed a significant portion of the Frijoles Canyon community.”More Petroglyphs. We already can’t wait to go back! The next day we brought them to Santuario de Chimayo. Even without a destination it is fun to drive outside the city and be in awe of the landscape. Here are some historical facts about Chimayo from Google: Origin (1810): Legend states that Bernardo Abeyta, a member of the Penitente Brotherhood, found a crucifix in the ground after seeing a mysterious light. The Miraculous Return: Attempts to move the crucifix to a nearby church failed; it reportedly returned to the original hole three times, prompting the construction of a chapel there. Construction (1816): The chapel was completed in 1816 and dedicated to Our Lord of Esquipulas. “Holy Dirt” (El Posito): A small room, or posito, inside the church contains a pit of dirt known for healing properties. It is a site of deep pilgrimage. Pilgrimage Center: Over 300,000 pilgrims visit annually, particularly during Holy Week, with many walking long distances from Santa Fe or AlbuquerqueThis is a mosaic of Saint Francis of Assisi on the grounds of El Santuario de Chimayó.El Santuario de ChimayóSanto Niño Chapel near the Santuario was built in 1856 and has some of the most amazing woodcarvings that I have ever seen and was not able to take a picture of. The last day Dave’s parents were in town we went to the cute mining town of Madrid where Dave’s mom could check out some of the galleries and shops and where we met her cousin who lives in ABQ for lunch at the Mine Shaft Tavern. Afterward we made our first visit to the Santa Fe Brewing Co taproom before we returned to Santa Fe.
I can’t say enough how grateful we are for the time we were able to have with our friends and families before returning home. We can’t wait to see more of them soon! ❤️❤️❤️
