whirlwind trip

My Bro

My brother Pete came for a visit!

Pete hasn't been here for about two years and 

I really miss him. All the time.

He's my only sibling (and younger).

I pretty much tortured him when we

were growing up.

But, times have changed and I hope

we are the best of friends now.

I asked him what he wanted to eat while he was here.

He said, "El Pinto, then some more El Pinto, and

finally, maybe let's try some El Pinto.!"

Well, we did eat at El Pinto and a lot of other good places too.

I also asked him what he wanted to do

while he was here. He listed off a few things, 

like go to Old Town and get some NM T-shirts,

meet up with some of his old buddies, etc.

But he said, what he really would like to do it

GO ON A DAY TRIP WITH ME.

The one who tortured him.

Being stuck in a car with me ALL day.

He even said he would drive!

Now, I really am not used to being a passenger

but I agreed and around 9am on a Wednesday morning,

we set off.

The pics are in no particular order:

 Headed out

Headed towards Chimayo

Pete had never been there.

 The trees were mostly still this beautiful grey.

I can see a bit of purple in there too.

 Look at these beautiful colors.

I can see some spring green cropping up in the trees.

 Beautiful gate at Chimayo

 Well, the trees are blossoming at Santuario de Chimayo!

 My favorite shop.

Great place to buy crosses and bolito beans.

 Driving through main street at Chimayo

 Headed towards Truchas

 The beautiful village of Truchas

 Even though this is not that green, 

it would make a beautiful painting.

 Old grey adobe house

 Another old grey adobe house

 Truchas Peaks

 The old adobe houses were speaking to me on this trip!

 Winter colors are still spectacular

 This would make a great 12x24" painting!

 More beautiful colors in the landscape

 Then there's the homeowner with a beautiful old car and A LOT of junk.

 Another 12x24" painting

I don't know what these trees are, they're golden.

 Could be Truchas, Las Trampas, or Ojo Sarco

I took my brother to one of my favorite 

places to eat in Penasco, The Sugar Nymph Bistro.

 We had to get the famous green chile cheeseburgers.

Pete got his with salad.

 I got mine with a mushroom rice soup.

Delicious!!

 On towards Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch.

Did I mention that this was a marathon trip?

 The old Gas Pump place near Pilar

 The beautiful river that runs along the road to Taos

 Blossoms in the background

I see so many colors in this landscape!

 Looking more like Ghost Ranch.

 Pete wanted to know why there are so many different colored layers.

I told him I didn't know.

He says don't tell him. 

We will take a tour next time and find out.

 Beautiful formations

 These are called Elephant something, I think.

If anyone knows the names of these formations,

please let me know.

 Ahhh, there's my Ghost Ranch.

 Still not very green.

 Abiquiu Lake

And we are done.

Do you see the horses in the background? 

Not a huge hunk of spring color, but very, very beautiful.

My brother is gone now and I miss him already.
Come back soon Pete!!

I'm going to TRY to start blogging in a more timely fashion.

I have a lot of cool things coming up,

so stay tuned....

Enjoy the nice windy day today!!

day trip adventures

 I wanted  to take a day trip last Sunday.

I've really been craving a trip up north for the longest time and Sunday 

seemed like the perfect day. 
I invited my friend Carol Hopper, who is also an artist.

Carol came over early and we stocked up with waters,

snacks, chairs, our cameras, and a little booklet called something like 

Day Trips in New Mexico. 

Our first stop was Chimayo and we forgot one thing,

on Sunday it's crowded up there!

Mass was going on so there was absolutely no parking available.

I didn't need to have church pics, 

but Carol hopped out and took a few.

 Art galleries were open, people were selling tamales and chile

and business was really cooking!

Except at Rancho de Chimayo - they closed from 11 - 11:30am

to do the breakfast/lunch changeover, so we missed out. 

We decided to keep going on and eat further up the road.

 We saw this cool old car in a driveway and I was

also attracted to the old Coca-Cola sign.

Are these things from the 1950's?

 We both fell in love with this pretty old gate!

Is this Robin's Egg Blue?

I HAVE to paint this!

 A pretty bright sunflower next to the coffee shop sign.

Love the old adobe wall.

 The old gift shop/store with my favorite old gas pump.

I've never noticed this Russian sage bush before.

Probably because I usually come in the fall or winter.

 My one and only photo of Chimayo taken through an old archway.

Everything is SO green right now.

It was really lush.

 A woman selling Indian bread.

I'm definitely painting her.

I love how relaxed she is.

And I think she's using a tablet. Progress....

 I take a pic of this old yellow truck with a broken windshield

every time I come up here.

The sun hit the crack in the windshield spot on today!

 This was up around Cundiyo and Truchas.

Beautiful stream.

 Old school way to dry clothes.

The way both of my grandmothers used to do it.

 Beautiful hollyhocks along the way.

 Look at that greenness!

I don't think I've ever seen fields and valleys in New Mexico this green.

 This is an old adobe near Truchas.

What attracted me were the shingles.

They were red and green and we saw the same color

 and pattern in several small villages - which makes me think 

that they ordered a big supply back in the day and

everyone got some.

Maybe there was a surplus.

 Thunderclouds in the distance.

This was in Truchas, where I would live if I truly wanted solitude.

 The wildflowers in Truchas were just gorgeous!

The pics don't do them justice,

you really had to be there.

 An old beaten down adobe.

I try to imagine what kind of family lived here

and what happened to them.....

 Mountains and clouds in the distance.

I believe the Milagro Beanfield War was filled here or in Las Trampas.

This scenery made me want to see the movie again.

Tonight!

 Old bell of some sort.

We thought maybe a school bell.

 Cool old house near Truchas.

This house is SO northern New Mexico with the pitched roof   
and the wrap-around porch.

 The valley around Truchas.

Some houses here are perched on the edge of a cliff.

 A mural on the way to Los Trampas.

Carol says, "You could paint this."

So could she, she's an artist too!

 Carol at the Look Out point near Truchas Peaks..

 Little houses.

 I took photos of several descansos.

I love painting them and they are sacred to me.

 More beautiful descansos.

 Oh man, we finally found food!

Let me tell you - I had read about the Sugar Nymph Bistro

in several magazines and I am so glad we found it in Penasco.

The green chile cheeseburger is to die for.

Seriously!

And the warm scones.....

Our last stop of the day - Dixon, New Mexico.

If you look closely, you can see Pedernal in the background,

which is all the way in Abiquiu.

We were only 23 miles from Taos at this point.

A wonderful day, and lots of images for reference.

Thanks Carol!