New Mexico is My Lover in Disguise!
December 19, 2008 by Angela
Filed under Family Life, Featured, Lifestyle
We arrived in New Mexico on December 12th and I had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to hate living here. I have seen the pictures, done the research, checked out the different cultures online and spoken to many people who have seen and experienced New Mexico first hand. There wasn’t a single person I spoke to who said “I hate New Mexico, and I wouldn’t go back there if you paid me all the money in the world!” I couldn’t understand what was so captivating to these people while listening to their words and stories…I pondered the word pictures they painted for me and tried to imagine the beauty they were explaining.
After leaving the Albuquerque Airport, I didn’t want to look around too much for fear of being even more disappointed than I had already set myself up to be and looking at the reaction from my children, my heart began to sink. We took a shuttle bus to pick up our rental car, and my eyes began to wander a little, taking little glances here and there at the landscape. I thought to myself, “Yup! That’s what I thought…dirt, flat plains, no life.” My heart was breaking in those moments and I did all I could to keep myself from crying. But something happened as we traveled north towards the city! We made a left turn and there staring us in the face was this huge imposing mountain! I saw pictures of the Sandia Mountains but nothing could have prepared me for seeing them in all their glory. I was speechless, awestruck and totally captivated by what I was witnessing. My son gasped with his jaw dropped wide, picked up his cell phone to call his friend in Maryland to tell him all about this enormous mountain. I still lack the proper words to describe this magnificent mountain.
I still wasn’t convinced this was a place I would fall in love with, but seeing the mountains gave me a glimmer of hope that I could enjoy my new state. I wasn’t ready to venture out and see the land yet, so we stuck with the major roads and checked out all the different neighborhoods. There was comfort in traveling the streets because the buildings and houses blocked my view of seeing flat desert land. As we drove north west towards our new home, we noticed that if we looked to our left on Route 40 all we saw was the desert BUT if we looked to the right we saw the mountains…of course I only looked to the right!
Today I decided that it was time to take the bull by the horns and just get out there and drive north to Santa Fe. Most of the early morning I was procrastinating and finding excuses of why we couldn’t take our first trip up to Santa Fe, but the kids were getting antsy so we jumped in the car and made our way north. My daughter Shoshie who is 13 years old kept making this same comment from the time we left the airport through today…she said “Mom, why is it so peaceful here? Do you feel it?” When she first made that statement, I did feel it amidst my inner turmoil, but she kept saying it everyday and as we left Albuquerque heading north, I let go of my fear and felt that peace, embracing it fully.
I’m sure that going south is a completely different experience, but what I noticed as we left Albuquerque traveling north, were all the hills and valleys. It wasn’t lifeless or barren, it was beautiful rich terrain with what looked like perfectly placed evergreen bushes that peppered the hills. Everywhere we looked we saw these lovely hills that dipped down and converged with other hills. It was simply surreal. I loved the way the light hit the hills, casting shadows and creating depth and movement. I loved the hues of browns and reds and how the light created purples and blues off in the distance. At times I could barely catch my breath and I was speechless…beside myself with wonderment.
I find myself becoming captivated and I am beginning to understand what so many tried to explain to me. Pictures can never do New Mexico justice…it is a place that must be experienced to be appreciated.
I never knew that the desert could produce such beauty. Delicate flowers growing wild and entertaining my senses.
New Mexico is also NOT all desert! The more north you go, the more trees there are. I think I’m falling in love!
So now that I have experienced one week in my new land, I have to say that my heart has softened. I do see beauty and life here. Have you ever met a person that at first “wasn’t your type” but as you got to know them you opened your heart and let them in to your world? It’s the person that you never expected to be the man/woman of your dreams and yet for some reason you are drawn to them? As you get to know the person and they open up and show you their world, they begin to ignite passion and feelings that you never felt before…well that is how I feel about this place! New Mexico is not what I expected, and although it is definitely not my type of land to live in, I feel a sense of peace and passion. It’s strange but true. I am discovering that New Mexico is erotic as well. I never thought a land could be sexy, but here I am strangely aroused. I think New Mexico is my Lover in disguise.
John J Savo, the Authoring Auctioneer on Fri, 19th Dec 2008 11:18 pm
Great pics. Good luck in your new adventures.
(Stumbled this. Everyone has to see these pictures.)
Margaret (Nanny Goats) on Sat, 20th Dec 2008 4:23 pm
I’ve never been to New Mexico. What a dump! (just kidding)
You make it look and sound wonderful. Good luck on your new venture!
Angela on Sat, 20th Dec 2008 4:31 pm
Thank you John and Margaret! You guys and AngieSS are my favorite bloggers. You all make me smile everyday!
The Muse on Sat, 20th Dec 2008 5:03 pm
New Mexico is part of Heaven that has fluttered to earth! You are seeing the beauty…:)
Rachel on Tue, 23rd Dec 2008 9:10 pm
Welcome!New Mexico is a magical. I have lived a number of places but New Mexico is home. I embrace the mountains set against the huge blue sky and marvel at the brillant orange/pink/red hues of a winter sunset. I love that sandhill cranes are my harbinger of fall and spring and hummingbirds abound in the warm months in between. The people here are as open as the skies. I hope you continue to enjoy and explore. It is a very special place indeed.
Angela on Tue, 23rd Dec 2008 9:44 pm
Thank you for the warm and poetic welcome Rachel!
jan4insight on Sat, 27th Dec 2008 10:39 pm
Welcome to the Land of Enchantment! I grew up in Maryland, and have lived in NM over 20 years, the last 12 years in Albuquerque. NM is definitely home - the only place I want to be. I’m glad you started to see the beauty of the SW right away; wait til you’ve gone through a full year of the sunsets and you’ll be totally hooked.
Btw, how did you like your first Albq snowfall yesterday?
Cheers, Jan
Angela on Sun, 28th Dec 2008 12:32 am
Thank you for the warm welcome Jan! It was fun to watch the snow fall, but we got a taste of it last weekend also. I look forward to discovering more of NM as time passes.
johnny on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 1:12 pm
MrheIx Thanks for good post
Bonnie on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 1:39 pm
Angela _ i am so glad that you are finding beauty there. the desert is certainly a different place, but I think the wonder of its very survival makes it even more beautiful. it is such a delicate balance but so colorful and powerful at the same time. I’m glad you love it.
that last picture is amazing!
Angela on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 1:43 pm
Thanks Bonnie, you were my biggest inspiration for writing this piece. The way you spoke of NM I just couldn’t get my mind wrapped around until I saw it for myself.
Thank you for inspiring me everyday and for being such a great friend!
I love you.
JOURNEYTIME on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 2:28 pm
Angela.
Thanks for the visit.
It looks like you have ended up in paradise–I wish you the best of luck.
Your images are spectacular–but being somewhere especially there conveys the energy and a certain mystery.
Thanks
Derick
Angela on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 2:32 pm
Thanks Derick,
I am hoping to explore the places that I fear most…the barren desert. I want to see the beauty there also and find inspiration in places I fear.
JOURNEYTIME on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 3:09 pm
Angela,
Reading some of your postings and what you have been through—what is there to fear???
You have been through the desolate desert in the city–where you are should be a walk in the park( a sandy one at that)
take care
derick
admin on Mon, 29th Dec 2008 3:21 pm
I think it’s a part of the human condition to fear what we don’t understand and once we get a glimpse of understanding, new life emerges and changes the things we visually behold in our mind’s eye. It isn’t a fear like being scared, but more a fear that I won’t like what is surrounding me.
kipstreg on Mon, 5th Jan 2009 8:31 am
Great story,great photos.You will find that in the desert,the stars seem to multiply by the thousands..wonderful to experience. Best of luck with your new home.
Virginia on Sat, 10th Jan 2009 9:21 pm
I just found your blog, through a combination of Duke City Fix and BlogHer. I know you’ve been here about a year now, so I’m a little late in saying welcome, but welcome to NM and ABQ, nevertheless. You have a great blog. Hope to run into you one of these days.
Angela on Sun, 11th Jan 2009 2:52 pm
Hi Virginia, we actually have only been here for a month now. Thanks for the welcome.
hennared on Thu, 12th Feb 2009 7:05 pm
Ahhhh… here we go. I see you do discuss your new home on this blog!
Land can be sexy.. oh yesssssss! I knew I could not be the only one who ‘got that’ concept
I remember well when I first moved to Tucson, fearing I would not like it, depressed by the much of the city itself… and the mountains did not take my fears away, I still missed my California mountains. But over time, I fell in love with the nakedness of the desert mountains. I fell in love with canyons. And walking in the desert in springtime… ‘the enchanted fairyland’ it is, all those alien-like desert plants, tenacious beauties, they are! I’m so pleased you are experiencing your new home with an open heart and mind.
Angela on Thu, 12th Feb 2009 7:20 pm
I’m looking forward to exploring the desert in the springtime now. I love your descriptive “alien-like desert plants, tenacious beauties they are!”
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Robin Easton on Fri, 20th Feb 2009 12:49 pm
I know this is not your most recent post but I felt compelled to respond to it. You writing is beautiful and are you photos. I relate to this so strongly. When I cam to New Mexico in 1995 I was coming from a few years in my childhood state, Maine and prior to the several years in Australias truly lush rainforest. I initially thought I would not adjust to the desert and dryness. I also had basically traveled all over creation since leaving Maine at 18. In fact, I’d traveled so much that I thought no where would ever feel like home again. The entire planet was my home. BUT one day I, after living several years in NM I was out on a hike at TENTS ROCKS and I was way up at the top looking at the 360 degree views and it hit me like a powerful blow: I had finally found HOME.
There is truly something about NM that creeps up on you, and seduces you, gently, over time with it’s seductive sunsets, warmth and wide open spaces, it’s scent of mesquite, it’s blue skies and perpetual sun, it’s ancient Native American ruins and caves, it timeless land and windblown rock, it’s sense of freedom. It sedcues like a patient and skilled lover.
You touched me heart with this post. Beautiful writing and sentiments. Thank you for sharing this. Such a gift for me.
Hugs, Robin
Robin Easton’s last blog post..What is Intimacy?
Robin Easton on Fri, 20th Feb 2009 12:50 pm
PS Sorry about the typos. When I feel passionate about something I make a LOT of typos. I usually reread for them but forgot to. Thanks
:)
Robin Easton’s last blog post..What is Intimacy?
Angela on Sat, 21st Feb 2009 11:40 am
Thank you so much Robin. Are you currently living in NM? I can’t wait to discover more, let me know some of your favorite places so that I can take my family.
Meagan on Thu, 10th Sep 2009 9:52 am
I’m so glad I found your blog. My family and I are moving to Albuquerque at the end of the year and I have been feeling very much like you initially felt. I had never been to Abq. but visited this summer after fining out we were being relocated there. I fell in love with the mountains, but admit I’m still pretty nervous about how I will feel about living there. I’m so excited about the new experiences we will have, but every time someone says something negative about Albuquerque (it’s so brown, high crime rate, poor schools, etc.) it takes a little piece of my excitement away. After reading your blog though I know I’m not alone and that there is hope that NM is where our family was meant to be.