Coming Down the Mountain

I frequently write about “driving down the mountain,” but I haven’t ever offered you a photographic “tour” of doing so. I had to go “down the mountain” yesterday to visit the doctor and Kim drove me, giving me a great opportunity to create a visual tour for you. But, as I was inspired to do so, I also became aware of a change. Kim has driven me down the mountain every week for months now and this is the first time I’ve thought of doing this visual tour for you. Do you know what I think this means? I’M GETTING BETTER! …Or the treatments are working… or… or… or… but the bottom line is, I was INSPIRED! I haven’t really felt this kind of creative energy since getting sick (see previous post An Antidote for Pain). So, whatever the reason, I shot this little visual tour for you while driving down the mountain.

You all have seen quite a few shots of the valley taken from my deck, usually zoomed in like this one. This is the Espinola Valley (pronounced S-pin-oh’-lah) where the Rio Grande River cuts a path through the desert and digs a canyon higher up the valley. And those are the Jemez Mountains (pronounced Hem’-ehz) in the background. FYI my house is at 8500 feet. This for a girl who grew up at sea level.

Here we are coming down the mountain and beginning to enter the valley…

… to a closer view of the valley…

… as we begin to enter the village of Chimayo (pronounced Chi-[like Chijuajua]-my- oh’), the home of the famous Santuario de Chimayo (wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santuario_de_Chimayo). At this point we’ve come down about 2400 feet to 6070 feet! No wonder my ears are always popping.

Leaving Chimayo, we enter what most of us have come to call the “badlands.” It’s a beautiful part of the valley that’s made up of many ridges and mesas and little valleys and canyons, even some small monuments.

And further on into the valley we go…

… to the lovely little village and pueblo of Nambe (pronounced Nahm-bay’). Interestingly, although it always feels like I am going down to Nambe, it is actually higher than Chimayo at 6900 feet vrs. 6070.

And, in about 40 minutes out of Truchas (pronounced True-chah’-ss), we arrive in Santa Fe, having continued to climb from Nambe, finally reaching 7000 feet. Making Santa Fe just 1500 feet lower than Truchas (which is at 8500 feet, remember? “Who CARES?” you may be asking, but clearly I do. In fact I am very impressed by these altitudes, having grown up, as I said, at sea level, so please give me a little room for my glee, won’t you?).

Anyway, I have always loved the mountains that stand as sentinels over Santa Fe, but I have never taken a good photo of them–one that represents their power, beauty and size. I guess you’ll just have to come see them for yourselves.

Eventually I want to do some more tours of the various beautiful Santa Fe neighborhoods (see previous post Christmas in Santa Fe), but not on this day. However, I think the return trip back up the mountain has something to offer. So off we go again.

First we head back up 285/84/St. Francis Boulevard, going north out of Santa Fe (I kid you not–this one highway is blessed with having two numbers assigned to it as well as a name–weird huh?), and we take the 503 exit into Nambe. I always feel I’m as good as home once I make this turn. We are greeted almost immediately by a long promenade of very old cottonwoods forming an archway over the road in some places. They are beautiful throughout the year but I think winter is my favorite season for them.

Nambe is a village of very beautiful old adobe homes…

… and a beautiful old adobe church…

But soon the mountain comes into view and my heart is home.

I come into my village…

… past the historic old adobes, many here since the 1700s…

… and my land comes into view…

I turn up my road…

… and I am home.

Love to you all,

Jeane