Northern New Mexico Road Trip, July 2010

New Mexico's nickname is "The Land of Enchantment", one which I think particularly describes the north-central part of the vast state. To be honest, there's a lot of New Mexico that isn't all that enchanting - arid rangeland, barren desert, rough oil towns. But other parts of the state have a unique mixing of the trio of Anglo, Hispanic, and Native cultures, a special clarity of light that comes from high elevation and dry air so favored by artists, and a spectacular landscape of green mountains, eroded hills, and desert flats. That's probably most true of north-central New Mexico around Santa Fe and Taos. I've been to New Mexico several times. My first visit that was more than just a drive through the state was in November 1991 when I first moved to Colorado for graduate school. My college friend Scott, who had just started graduate school in Arizona, and I decided to meet in Santa Fe for the long Thanksgiving weekend. That began my love affair with northern New Mexico. I went back several times in the late 1990s, once with my brother and once with my parents on one of their visits to Colorado. It has been over a decade since my last real visit, though, and I have an itch to go back, one that was kindled by passing through the state on my way back from Mexico in May.

Planned Dates

Jun 30, 2010 to Jul 06, 2010

Countries

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