For those of you who were left hanging by my last entry here, I haven't been outta commission, but rather in commission.As in doing stuff that kept me too busy/tired to blog. ..
So after visiting my Phoenix Phamily for the past weekend, on Monday it was back to business as usual on the road again. I chose the route to Taos, New Mexico, that would take me through the Saguaro (cactus) desert- you know, the type of cactus you see in Coyote-Road Runner cartoons. Yup, that's the only reason I wanted to see 'em. Well and also that the Saguaros are amazing to see in such multitude, like soldiers standing guard, protecting the uninhabited vastness of these dusty lands-while irreverant tumbleweed um.. tumble between them and over them , in their face like the annoying tourist who tries to get the Buckingham Palace Guard to crack a smile.. Photo of the Day above, I just gotta show you those early morning cacti!
Along the way I saw a couple of mildly disturbing signs, one more mildy disturbing than the other. The first, in the middle of the desert near a place called Dry Lake, was a sign saying "The Dry Lake Yacht Club" ..whaahh? And the second 'sign' was seeing half a sheep on its side in the middle of the road- the waist- to- hoof half, which made it wayyy better, since I didn't have to see her face.(I say 'her' because she had a waist.)
The trip was uneventful but cool through Albuquerque, until I got to the Gold and Turquoise (or it might have been the Turquoise and Gold) Information Centre, just outside Santa Fe. Now what I haven't mentioned so far is that, along the way to Taos, I was on a quest to see El Santurio de Chimayo, a Catholic church built in the early 1800s, which houses a small room with a pit, the source of 'holy dirt' believed to have healing powers. When I told this to the old Info Centre fellow, he warned me not to take the scenic 'High Road to Taos' to get to the church , it would take much longer than the Low Road to Taos (along the Rio Grande, but less view-worthy) ,it was too late in the day (4 pm), the church would not be open, that it was very unsafe in the parking lot of the church-and mostly, that Chimayo was the drug capital of the USA so it was a virtual certainty that my car would be vandalized, etc. So, with a flourish, he yellow-markered up the local map he had given me to make sure I was clear on the safest route to travel.
I thanked him and decided, before I got to the door, that I was gonna take The High Road.
I had not come this far not to see it, gosh darnnit,and would take my chances...and it was a holy place so that should offer some immunity from mortal failings. And for me this end of day sun is always the best part of the day... I arrived there in no time, it was very peaceful in its country setting,with hardly a soul in sight ( except my weary one). There were many objects left there from pilgrimages- crutches, photos, rosaries, stuffed animals and the like..I was about to enter the church when the 1st Runner Up For Moment Of The Day happened. A man-whom I hadn't even noticed-walking away from the church turned around and softly approached me, with the late day sun framing his form. He had a tanned, gentle, bearded face, with crinkly smiling eyes,his long grey hair pulled back with a leather tie, a red bandana around his neck, and he was wearing a pale blue denim shirt. He slipped a satchel from his shoulder, reached in, and outstretched his hand to me,offering a bag of soil, saying "Often people forget to collect the [holy] dirt for themselves when they visit the church, so I come very day to collect it to give to them". I took the bag from him, and thanked him, and he just smiled and walked away. It felt surreal..and so special..it actually eclipsed the feelings I had while visiting the church afterward.
I let myself wonder if he was an apparition, if Jesus would go for the denim shirt/ red bandana combo if He decided to appear to someone in a remote New Mexico present day location.. Inside the church, I ran my fingers through the dirt in the pit ,thought a little about stuff, then strolled around and took photos outside of the beautiful pastoral grounds before hopping into my (non-vandalized) car to proceed to The Moment of the Day..(Xtendamix version).
Now I'm sure you have all had more than enough about the scenery thing. But the High Road to Taos was..stunningly beautiful, from start to finish, with every possible opportunity for WOW moments presenting themselves one after another after another..except for the beginning of the road, when a small white dog with a black patch on his left eye bolted from a ranch, running up to block my car,barking like his Inner Rottweiler- and then again, at the end of the trip, miles later, when weirdly enough, another small white dog with a black patch on his right eye, ran up to my car, with less gusto than the first one (likely channeling his Inner Rottie-Lab mix).
So back to the drive- it was rolling meadows, insanely green pastures, majestic ponderosa pines, occasional adobe casitas, cliffs, winding roads up and down, snow-ridged mountains, tranquil ponds, twin white horses standing in the frame created by shimmering yellow-green- leaved trees in the light and shadow of a 5 pm sun ..you get the picture.
After each curve another vista, another vision, it was unbelievable, I could hardly stand it, I could have wept and could hardly breathe with the beauty (or altitude) ,I didn't care, it didn't even matter that there was nobody sitting next to me to share it with...and, nearing the end of it all,I felt something tugging on my cheeks, they felt a little quivery..and then ,I realized that for the entire High Road to Taos there had been a smile fixed on my face..
Oh Happy Day..
...I shall be telling this with a sigh
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