let me take you on a little trip....

I will admit - 

I get a mad craving to go on a day trip every month.

Sometimes it's not so bad and other days it's like if I don't

hop in the car and go for a drive SOMEWHERE to

take photos, I'm going to lose my mind.

So my friend Jane and I decided to do just that. 

We hopped in the car and headed out to 

Chimayo, Truchas, Penasco, and Dixon.

And if we have enough time, we would also visit

Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch.

Jane had never been to any of these places, 

so it was fun for me to see her "seeing"

places that I love to photograph and paint!

 Our first stop was Chimayo.

Jane went into the church but couldn't

go into the room with the spiritual dirt

because they were having Mass.

Chimayo was green and beautiful.

 Pretty cross in the church courtyard.

 Jane in front of my favorite little store.

I bought a silver cross, some Chimayo heirloom red chile,

and some sun-dried medium red chile.

The smell inside the little store was heavenly.

The owners were cooking bolito beans.

They said bolito beans come

 from an heirloom supplier in Colorado.

They are smaller than a pinto and cook up creamier.

So of course I came home with four little bags

 to make my own bolito beans. Yum!

This is Jane in front of the old gas pump.

I always like to take a pic of this pump on every trip.

 A cool old gate

Leaving Chimayo and heading to Truchas,

we passed through Cundiyo,

where the fields were green and the cows were well fed.

 The river - not sure which one.

You can barely see the Truchas peaks.

 The horses were not sure about us.

 More shades of green!

 A beautiful cross with Truchas Peaks in the background.

And big, puffy white clouds.

 I love this scene.

It's the village of Truchas on one side

and a drop down into pine-covered forests on the other.

I call this "COYOTE CROSSES."
I photograph it every time I come to Truchas.

 Did I mention that there were lilacs everywhere?

Did I also mention that we snipped one little flower and

it made the inside of my car smell like Heaven?

 An old, ramshackle adobe with lilacs

 Jane grabbing a pic of the back of 

an old Chevy pickup truck 

 Truchas Peaks in all their glory.

 An old cemetary

 Driving along, we came across this field

of purple flowers.

I wish we could have gotten close enough to see

what kind of flowers they were.

 As I zoomed in, I saw three dogs

bounding around in the wildflowers. 

Boundng! One pup was laying

on his back with his legs up in the air.

Too bad I didn't get any video.

 Even though the trees in Albuquerque have already gotten

 their green leaves, not so up in northern New Mexico.

the apple trees were in full blossom and so pretty.

 Fields of these yellow wildflowers took our breath away.

I'm not sure what these are either, so if anyone knows...

 Pretty scene in Penasco

 I took Jane to the Sugar Nymph Bistro in Penasco for lunch.

Actually, she bought my lunch, so I guess you could say

that she took me!

This is an old car piece (hood?) hanging on the wall.

 The Sugar Nymph Bistro has green chile cheeseburgers to die for.

I am not kidding.

They also make their own bread for the buns.

And they have cake.

Yes, BIG slices of chocolate cake, carrot cake,

lemon tart, and pumpkin bundt were the flavors of the day

when we were there.

Their $6 pieces of cake can feed four people.

They also have a Sunday brunch that

features homemade scones.

Yum.

After lunch, we headed toward Dixon.

No photo adventure in New Mexico would be complete 

with at least one descanso.

This will make a beautiful painting.

 An old car "sculture" out in the fields.

Views of the hills and mountains coming home.

The layers of blues in the mountains in the distance 

were incredibly beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Layers of New Mexico as we head home.

We never made it to Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch.
Another trip for another day.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip through northern New Mexico!

This week, I am busy painting, and mailing out paintings.

I am gearing up for another adventure and

this one involves plein air painting.

Stay tuned.....

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!