WHAT BENNIE'S BEEN DOING: Week 11 (New Mexico)
New Mexico, Part 1: Santa Fe
One of the great surprises in the New Mexico portion of the sabbatical plan is that two of my new friends I met on the Iona pilgrimage live in Santa Fe! So, in addition to celebrating our second honeymoon in Santa Fe, David and I also met up with Nahum & Shelley for a vigorous afternoon hike...
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Iona Pilgrimage Friends Nahum & Shelley!
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So, after my visit with House for All Sinners & Saints in Denver, I boarded a plane for Albuquerque on Monday, November 5, to meet up with David, who was also flying in from Lexington.
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| Flying over the southern Rocky Mountains |
Due to weird flight schedules David, didn't arrive in Albuquerque until 9:00 pm, but we went ahead and drove to Santa Fe that night, finally arriving at our "second honeymoon" Airbnb around 11:30 pm.
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| Casita Encantador, Santa Fe, NM |
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| Still some fall color in Santa Fe on Nov 7! |
We loved our little casita - an adobe guesthouse hand-built by our hosts. What a treat to stay in such a warm, cozy, romantic place... which we definitely could not afford for our first honeymoon! So, thank you again to Lilly and to TPCC for this wonderful sabbatical gift!!!!!
Though located on the edge of town, it was only a mile and a half walk along the Santa Fe river into the downtown plaza...
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Walking along the Santa Fe River
Yes, they call that a river! :) |
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First Santa Fe Breakfast: Huevos Rancheros - YUMMMM!!!!!
The green chile sauce here was so hot it made my face sweat :)
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| Santa Fe loves horses, too! |
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| And, Dragons!!! |
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| Chili Peppers on the Square! |
Tuesday afternoon, we met up with my Iona Pilgrimage friends, Shelley and Nahum, to hike Atalaya Mountain (9000 ft)! Due to our schedules, we only had time to hike up to about 8,000 ft or so, but still incredible views and we got high enough to see some snow...
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| Santa Fe Friends Shelley & Nahum |
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| Snow on Atalaya Mountain! |
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View of Santa Fe from near the top of Atalaya!
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Due to some miscommunications at Ghost Ranch, David and I ended up spending the next two nights at various locations between Santa Fe and Ghost Ranch. This proved to be quite serendipitous since one of the splurges of our first honeymoon was a day trip to the amazing natural hot springs of Ojo Caliente... and, with the sabbatical grant help, we were not only able to enjoy the springs again, but also stay the night! They don't allow phones in the area with the springs, so I don't have pictures, but go here to check it out: https://ojocaliente.ojospa.com/
I did however, get a picture of the beautiful adobe fireplace near the dining room and my awesome breakfast tacos - YUM!!!!
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| Adobe fireplace near dining room at Ojo Caliente |
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| Delicious Breakfast Tacos with Red & Green Chile Sauce! |
So, after an incredibly relaxing dip in the hot springs of Ojo Caliente, on Thursday, November 8, David and I did make our way to Ghost Ranch for our spiritual retreat. We checked in and took a quick hike...
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| Hiking "On a Lark" Trail at Ghost Ranch! |
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| Worship Area at Ghost Ranch |
Unfortunately however, due to a lodging complication at the ranch, we ended up needing to find a different place to lodge on Thursday night. So, with gratitude for the Lilly Grant, Google Maps and Trip Advisor, we found a delightful B&B just outside of nearby Espanola, "Casa Escondida."
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Casa Escondida, Chimayo, NM :)
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| St. Francis even watched over us at Casa Escondida! |
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Also, another serendipitous moment happened when we found this great restaurant nearby for dinner that is famous not only for it's signature tacos, but also for local character, with a tree growing inside right through the roof!
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| El Paragua Mexican Restaurant, Live Tree decor! |
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| Tree growing out of roof of El Paragua Restaurant! |
I was so taken with the tree and so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of our food - sigh! Suffice it to say that New Mexico was Mexican Food Nirvana for me - as with all the other places, El Paragua was nothing less than Delicioso!!!
So, that's it for our time in Santa Fe, etc. Stay Tuned for the finale of our hiking and spiritual retreat at Ghost Ranch!
