I feel re-energized after spending the first part of August in the northern part of New Mexico. There’s something I love in every part of the state, but I’m partial to the northern mountains. It hardly seems possible that I’ve been gone from NM for almost 10 years! But it’s taken me those years to be able to return to some parts of the state that hold a strong personal history for me. Places have always held a strong emotional and memory ties for me. You know how smelling a certain scent can bring back very visceral memories? Place does that for me too.
So I was very excited to show my hubby some of those places that have been special to me over the years. He spent 5 years at school in Socorro but never got north of Albuquerque, and I lived in NM for 16 years and didn’t see Angel Fire or Eagles Nest. Definitely shortcomings that needed to be rectified! 
We spent a whole day driving from Santa Fe around the Enchanted Circle. We had perfect weather–storms in the morning and clear skies in the afternoon.
Here are some photos from the trip!
Santa Fe
1: I went with a writer friend to see the Georgia O’Keeffe museum and was pleasantly surprised to see an AWESOME exhibit with O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams. If you’re in the area, don’t miss it!
2: A beautiful, albeit crazy busy, day on the plaza.
Enchanted Circle
1: My favorite shot of the day. As we drove into Taos through the Rio Grande gorge we were surrounded by scattered storms.
2: A view of the Rio Grande River Gorge stretching into the horizon.
3: Sunset from my condo in Red River (I stayed here for a writing workshop before hubby met me).
Elizabethtown, New Mexico
We were pretty excited to see a ghost town on the Enchanted Circle map! Sorry to say, it was a bit of a disappointment. The only obvious ghost town element are the ruins of the hotel, which you can see from the road. (Interesting side note: the photo of the wall ruins was taken on my iPhone–not a bad picture for a camera phone!) There is an introduction video and building filled with ephemera from the town, but it’s a messy jumble. The marketing/PR demon living inside of me was railing at how much cooler the place could be with a little funding and know-how, but as always, I ignored the demon and enjoyed myself anyway. 
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