Ghost riders in the sky
Yippe-ay-ey!
The winds were howling as we arrived in Abiquiu, NM - Often referred to as O’keeffe country, because she spent most of her life painting the mesas, scenes and other natural wonders of the area.
We made it into town early, so we stopped by Bodes and had a rousing breakfast of pie and coffee. ‘Damn good pie’
The Georgia O’keeffe home tour was really eye opening. I don’t know if I’d go as far to say spiritual, but it made me understand Georgia. We walked from room to room and from ground to ground. I could talk much longer than my fingers are willing to type, but the House was a magnificent creation of its time. Here’s some of my favorite photos:
After a quick lunch we shook off some Tagalong yuppies and headed up the Ghost Ranch where Georgia created some of her most prolific Southwest paintings.
The wind kicked up and it was painful to walk as 70 mph winds sandblasted you with grit from the desert. Paul and I tucked into a cabin and waited for a break in the wind before heading down towards the main compound.
By the way... that’s not a haze... it’s dust in the air.
We made it to the main compound and drove slowly to take it in, but the wind was causing most views to be lost. We turned back around when suddenly.....
A HUGE monsterous cloud of dust overtook our car. I looked up to see things being flung in the air in a circular motion including a roof. Some chairs and metal. I ducked into the passenger seat and yelled “Oh $&@# It’s a tornado!” And 3 seconds later it was done, but I looked behind and our rear passenger window was shattered.
So... we survived whatever the hell that was, but the rental car did not. We ended up sitting in Ghost ranch making tons of calls to insurance and the rental car company, but in all of this madness and with other couples bawling their eyes out about a scratch on their hood... I couldn’t help but think, “This could be much worse. It could have been me in that seat. I’m here in the most beautiful place in the Southwest looking at Georgia O’keeffe’s pedernal and the red mesas.... life is not so awful.”
We made the 2hr trek to Albuquerque to exchange our beloved rental car, and made the 2hr trek back to Abiquiu for our hotel reservation at the Abiquiu Inn.
It’s not how I planned to see this place. This was the highlighted place of my entire trip, but I will hold this adventure close to my heart and conscious and give Abiquiu another try when Mother Nature is not so livid.
On to another adventure.
