Land of Enchantment

I meant to write a lot when Eric and I headed out to New Mexico last week. But tramping through the mountains and enjoying the sun on my face was enough to keep me away from the computer.

After living in the SouthWest for three years, it was a surprising shock to feel the difference between Chicago and Santa Fe. The sky felt so much closer, the red clay was so bright and the beautiful mountains was such a nice change from the flatlands of Chicago. We packed a lot into five days but I felt like we only did a fraction of things we could have.  

Taos Pueblo was one of the most magical stops on the trip. It is an American Indian settlement that has been inhabited for over 1000 years. The energy here was just unbelievable.

One of the absolute coolest things we did was hike to hot springs in a couple different spots. I felt it was kind of like the cenotes in Mexico but reverse. Cool, dry weather and hot steamy water. Below is a photo I snapped of Eric right before we started to head down. 

I have never been a fan of snow sports. I pretty much view snow as a major inconvenience when it decides to fall. During this trip though, I may have been converted. Seriously converted. We had a pretty big storm the day before we left Taos for Santa Fe. But the next day had beautiful sunshine and white, powdery snow all over the Sangre de Cristo mountains. We rented snow shoes at REI and headed up. Getting to the top was no easy feat, but the view was worth it.

It was nice to be out of the city and in the mountains for a couple of days, but I'm happy to be back. I feel like the next couple months need to be about work, work, work!

All photos by me. (this is also my first attempt at collaging with photoshop). Not perfect, but it's a start.