O'Keeffe Country and Beyond

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra.

And so we did one day last week. We came to our first fork in the road outside of Abiquiu and discovered Echo Amphitheater, the Brazos Cliffs and Chama. Another fork climbed to over 10,000 feet into Southern Colorado where we gazed at one of the most incredible valleys I've seen in some time - the Conejos River Valley. And then from there we followed another fork that descended back into New Mexico and followed the spine of the Southern Rockies past Taos and into Santa Fe. I still can't believe the variety of landscape we saw in a relatively short distance (round trip from Albuquerque) of 417 miles.

The Conejos River Valley

I'm still an "old fashioned' road tripper. I love the smell and feel of paper road maps in the morning (before taking off on one of my adventures). A GPS just doesn't do it for me. And when I get lost I usually give it a few tries before consulting that paper map again. It's fun to see if your intuition is correct. I've discovered many jewels along the way as I was trying to get back on my route.

So, on this morning our original destination was O'Keeffe country (Abiquiu). But with the recent rains we decided that going through the Jemez valley then west on Highway 126 to Cuba then taking Highway 9... wasn't a good idea. I read that part of Highway 126 was dirt and that might pose an issue for our Toyota commute car. Therefore, we decided to take a more classic route to Abiquiu - up I-25 to the Relief Route around Santa Fe then following Highway 84 into O'Keeffe's backyard.

Along Highway 84 into Abiquiu

The trip from Albuquerque to Abiquiu was easy. We made good time and watching the landscape change north of Santa Fe was amazing. How did people make it through this rough terrain on foot or in wagons? It must have taken alot of dedication.

The abandoned adobe along the way to Abiquiu

We almost blew right past Georgia's home because Abiquiu isn't much of a going concern but you can't miss Bode's. This place is a great general store with all sorts of funky items for sale. It reminds me of a place I used to stop when heading to the California coast in a past life.

Right across the highway is the little 'burg of Abiquiu. We visited the church and drove through some of it's dirt streets.

Near the church

The street that leads to Georgia's home

We were in search of one of those roadside picnic tables so we headed out of Abiquiu towards the reservoir (and Ghost Ranch). We didn't expect what awaited us as we climbed out of the Abiquiu valley.

We found that picnic table strategically located so that we could take in the entire valley (I can really see how this area inspired Georgia O'Keeffe!)

After our lunch we came to our first fork in the road. Should we head back to Albuquerque via Highway 96 and 550? Or do we keep following Highway 84 north? Something said.....head north! Not too far past the reservoir we were rewarded with our first gift for taking that fork in the road - Echo Amphitheater.

It's an easy walk, along a paved path, right up under the lip of the canyon. The acoustics are unbelievable. You can literally hear a pin drop from the parking lot! We also had a bit of a scare when a small portion of the canyon wall came crashing down.

After Echo Amphitheater, the climb out of the valley was substantial. The landscape changed rapidly and Highway 84 snaked it's way through some spectacular open valleys.

As we came into the Tierra Amarilla valley I started to scan the horizon for the Brazos Cliffs. We had never seen these cliffs before but heard so much about their beauty and ruggedness from my father who used to fish in the Brazos Box. I was scanning the country to the west when my wife said "oh my god....." As I looked east this is what I saw:

It was hard leaving the Tierra Amarilla valley with all of it's lush grasslands but we continued north across the Rio Chama and into the village itself stopping to fuel up on some caffeine.

Rio Chama

The rail station for the famous Cumbres & Toltec line

While sitting in the cafe we contemplated our next move. We could head to Albuquerque via Highway 64 to Tres Piedras then Highway 285 to Espa.... It certainly would have been a spectacular day at point. But when things are going so well I can't help myself. We scanned the map for roads north of Chama and found Highway 17 leading into Southern Colorado and over Cumbres pass. Looking north all we could see were more beautiful peaks and dark clouds. We were sold. Colorado here we come! And so we followed the rail line right up to the border.

At the border looking north into Colorado

At the border looking back into New Mexico

At one point the road reached the same altitude as Sandia Crest but we kept climbing! Then as we reached a plateau the rain began to fall. We only drove through this storm for about 10 minutes before it completely cleared up. Then the road took a dive. It was so steep that I had to apply the brakes all the way down just to stay on the road itself. But through the trees we started to see the spectacular Conejos Valley.

Upon reaching the floor of the valley we had to pull over just to take it all in. We had never seen the Colorado Rockies before and if this was just a preview then I have more trips to plan. The vertical heights of the valley walls and the layers of mountains were stunning. We spotted a fly fisherman at the river's edge working the waters. It was perfect just like a scene out of a movie.

Reluctantly, we checked the clock and realized that it was getting late. Highway 17 followed the river as it descended out of the valley and into more open land.

At Antonito Colorado we came across another fork in the road. We decided to take Highway 285 back into New Mexico. The road leads you south into wide open country where you can see the spine of the Southern Rockies run down as far as Santa Fe.

San Antonio Mountain along Highway 285

An hour or so later we found ourselves back in Espanola where we had passed through that morning. In terms of the route we had completed one big circle. However, in terms of what we experienced it was more than just miles on a map. We saw millions of years of geology not to mention hundreds of locations where we wanted to build our dream home. Up north is so.......free, clean, green, blue, fresh........

This Four Corners region holds so much. I can't think of anywhere else on earth where there is so much diversity. Can you?