"Here's a clue, for what it's worth . . . There's a paradise right here on earth"

That's just one line of the song --
We'll get to the chorus in a few minutes.


We're back from The City Different, which is so elegantly situated in the north central region of The Land of Enchantment.

And, as always, the trip was both Different and Enchanting.



I'm just goofy about New Mexico --
don't think I don't know it about myself.

I've seen you all nodding and whispering behind my back, but I'm fully aware that I fly my New-Mexico-Freak-Flag with alarming abandon.

And I can assure you I'm not alone.

Every time I go there, I have at least one conversation with someone who visited and then HAD TO MOVE THERE. Georgia O'Keefe and D.H. Lawrence aren't the only ones --
it happens to regular people, too.

And although we weren't able to shop for property this time, we did have a marvelous week visiting our favorite haunts and discovering new delights.

Gabriel's was better than ever, which is difficult to imagine, and after our first dinner there (you read that right) I glanced across the patio to see this man enjoying what the Gabriel's sign calls "Guacamole as Art."




And I wanted to tell him, "Bill,
while I've long admired
your foreign policy,
your taste in food alone
should have won enough votes
to propel you to the White House."



Of course we also did other things on our trip (to fill up the minutes between meals), enjoying art for the eyes as well as for our mouths.

One of the new artists whose work we most enjoyed was Jono Tew

"Road, Sky and Cerro" (detail), Jono Tew, , oil on canvas

whose beautiful, dream-like New Mexico landscapes were as full of life and movement as the sky itself.

We also visited "The Gauguin of Canyon Road," (self titled) Ed Larson, whose naive style never ceases to please the folk art lover in me. Ed is an artist of many talents and many political opinions, who in addition to his paintings, carvings and assemblage, designs quilts (that I one day hope to see in person).

"Rock Valley Iowa," Ed Larson, 1994, 53" x 42"

Ed doesn't display the quilts at his barn/studio, which is probably a good thing since I've had to clean a layer of dirt (and even a dead fly!) off the paintings we've purchased from him. They're some of our most prized pieces.

And when we're not eating and/or looking at art, our favorite thing to do in New Mexico is drive around listening to good music.

There's a rather grimy music store there that carries a diverse selection of both new and used cd's, and we never fail to find a gem or two to take along on the road.

Some months ago, my photographer (who is also an accomplished musician with an astounding record collection) recommended this band to us


so we were delighted to find a used copy of this cd just waiting to provide the anthem for our trip.

We weren't disappointed.

Along with 4 other diverse musical treasures,
Little Feat sang us to the top of New Mexico


and back on one of our favorite drives.



The beautiful thing about this drive is that you start out in the red rock desert northwest of Espanola



and then climb



through Georgia O'Keefe country



to the high cattle country


"Woodland Passage," Patrick Matthews, oil on canvas

and through aspen forests.



Then it's down, and across the Rio Grande Gorge
which sneaks up on you in the middle of a vast expanse of flat scrubby desert.


With a trip through Taos (and a stop at La Lana Wools, of course!) it's home to Santa Fe
via the High Road



through Carson National Forest



and finally across the Nambe road.

In Hinckleyville,
it's what we call A Perfect Day.



Plenty of air to breathe and breathe,
food for the ears and eyes,
the body and the soul . . .
plenty of room for new ideas to blossom
and old troubles to fade away.


"Fence Country," Jono Tew, oil on canvas

Perfect Days.

Oh yes -- and here's the chorus to the song I promised.
We sang it to the top of New Mexico and back again:

Heaven's where you find it,
Don't you know it's true --
Heaven's where you find it
Standin' right here, right in front of you.

Ahhh . . . Home again.