I really didn’t feel much remorse when leaving the Snowmansion.  I knew that it was time to move on.  I cleaned my room had a cup of tea with Emily and went on my merry way.  I decided to take the scenic route to Santa Fe via a winery that was closed, but it was lovely.  My first night in Santa Fe I stayed in the hostel the whole night.  It was nice to sit and not feel obligated to clean anything... it was still a hostel so there were plenty of people to talk to.  I love that about hostels - you may be traveling alone, but you are never really alone unless you want to be.  I talked to one guy named Mark for many hours in the courtyard over a bottle of wine.  He had been keeping bee’s all day :)

Santa Fe didn’t impress me much.  Maybe I was just tired and coming off the chaos of the hostel, but Santa Fe felt very crowded to me and very touristy.  Lots of things to look at - art and shops and anything else, but it was all very expensive for an unemployed nurse.  The drive from Santa Fe to Durango, though, was beautiful.  I had only seen Northern New Mexico in the winter and NOW I get what everyone is talking about.  

Durango was nice too.  I certainly see the appeal of the town, although I can also see how it could feel very isolated and small after a short while.  I stayed at a very nice hostel and ate at the brewery.  I shopped the shops and called it a day.

I changed my mind at the last minute and instead of hitting up Telluride to opted for Ouray.  The drive was along “The Million Dollar Highway” which felt like I was driving through a Colorado postcard all day.  Ouray, like all the little mountain towns, is nestled in between the peaks and has one main street that is lined with cute shops.  Ouray is also known for its hot springs, which of course I had to check out.  They also have a brewery with delightful beer.  Overall I pretty much love Ouray.  Hope to go back soon.

Next stop is Colorado Springs for no other reason then to see my friends.  Jon and Hilary were nice enough to gather the troops and host a little gathering at Jons house.  It was great fun, as always.  It was heartbreaking to see the fire damage along Hwy 24 and the NW corner of town, but it was interesting to get the insight on the fire from those who were living there. 

I arrived in Denver on Saturday and went to a concert at Red Rocks that night as a “welcome home” gift to myself (Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson, Gregory Allen Isakov).  I unfortunately had to go alone, but just like every time I do something alone, it worked out just fine.  I met another lady who’s friend had to leave early so we paled around together and had a great time.

I will say, though, that traveling alone is starting to wear on me.  It’s not that I’m uncomfortable or anything, it’s just that I am learning that life is better shared.  And while I value my alone time I am very much looking forward to sharing the joys and burdens of traveling with a partner - hopefully sometime very soon :)

BUT today is Monday and I have just moved into the cutest house in Denver with a girl named Ariel and I think this will be a great thing.  Denver will be a challenge for me. I’ve never been a city girl before - in fact it’s safe to say that cities have always stressed me out a bit.  But this is why I feel like I should live in one - so I can face that and learn to be comfortable in cities. And besides, cities have people and Lord knows I am tired of being lonely. 

Here’s to the next grand adventure :)

My last week at the hostel was a bit lax. Thursday was spent recovering from the 4th and cleaning.  Friday was spent in the garden.  Trying to soak up every ounce of dirt under my nails and sun hurt that I could manage in a day.  I successfully watered the entire garden by myself, which I feel like is a good omen and rite of passage as far my learning is concerned. It rained in the afternoon, so my day in the garden was cut short.  In the evening Teagan and I went to watch Easy Rider in the back yard of KTAO.  They projected the movie onto the side of bus outside.  Part of Easy Rider was filmed in the Taos area back in the 60s, so it was cool in that way but otherwise a fairly terrible movie.  

Saturday we had plans to go camping on Kenny’s land in Colorado.  In the morning I cleaned with Sara and even though we tried our best to clean as fast as we could we still didn’t leave until after 2.  Kenny’s directions were fabulous but we knew we did something wrong when it takes him an hour and half to get there and it was taking us over 4 hours.  The road got a little rough for my little Saturn and although I felt like I managed the road very well there came a point where we couldn’t go any further.  We pulled over and hiked the rest of the way.  Or at least we thought it was the rest of the way... we had actually passed the turn a couple miles back, but the hike was lovely anyway.  It was a great team effort to get us there.  The girls were great support and watchful eyes for road signs, etc. and Davis was great to have around because he could direct me around sharp curves or build me a road where there wasn’t one, or throw boulders out of the way if needed.  We ran into Kenny’s neighbors, who he had just met about 45 min before we spoke and they could direct us to his house.  I love the way the universe unfolds :)

Kenny’s land is beautiful.  It has just rained and I swear there is no other smell like the smell of the Rockies after a rain.  I instantly had a swell of pride and excitement to be HOME.  It felt like it all hit me at once - the realization that I am in fact Home and it all felt so right.  We unpacked the car, got a tour of his unsettled land and popped open some beer.  Kenny had just built a sweat lodge that day (because why not, right?) and the goal was to break it in tonight.  It was a very mild sweat, but it was a lovely beautiful experience none-the-less.  Dinner had been simmering in the fire all night and it was a delicious bean soup with the salad that we picked from the garden that day.  It got cold pretty quick, but I was thankful for my fancy sleeping back and Hannah’s willingness to cuddle. Kenny also has two dogs that melted my heart and they also cuddled with us all night long - filling in the nooks and crannies of our bodies.

Waking up under the trees was lovely.  I have missed camping like this.  The fire was already started by the time i rolled out of my nest and we cooked up a hearty breakfast of potatoes, eggs and left over bean soup.  We hung out for a few more hours feeding the horse and shooting the shit and then we took off.  Hannah and Lisa were starting their hitchhiking exposition so we dropped them off in San Luis and wished them well.  The rest of us rocked out to some good ol’ tunes all the way back to the Snow Mansion.  We wanted to get back at a reasonable time to help clean.  I’m glad we did - they were very appreciative. 

Sunday night there was a very intense sweat followed by a family dinner cooked by Mouna.  It was the perfect last night.

wow, what a wild ride the last couple of days.  I believe I last wrote after my sisters left.  Monday was a good day.  A troop of 60 boyscouts left that day and Sara and I had to clean all 60 bunks, and the rest of the hostel.  But most everyone was helpful and it helped that I was in a refreshingly good mood after my sisters visit.  I was even getting along with Subra.  Monday afternoon Sara and I snuck into town and chilled at a coffee shop for a few hours so I could catch up on some emails and decompress after a hectic morning. 

Tuesday was a pretty bland day.  I woke up and got straight to work. It was hot and everyone was in a distant mood.  The garden was conversation-less which was remedied with music - but even still there was just a weird worn out energy to the day. I weeded all morning and then began to thin the lettuce, which was surprisingly time consuming and exhausting. After lunch Sara and I were in the mood to do acupuncture so we stuck Teagan.... and while delightful it was still pretty “blah” as far as the energy flow is concerned. 

And then a beautiful thing happened - the clouds came over the mountain and it started to rain!  We saw it coming and raced out there and scattered horse shit around all the plants and just like that new life was given back to our quirky home.  Everyone is dancing and laughing and getting along.  AND THEN we all wind up at Mouna’s and Kenny hands out these mushroom chocolates and before you know it we are all having a wonderful trip together.

I love mushrooms.  This was only my second time doing it but both times have been so incredible. Opening my mind to another dimension and gaining insight into the world and my life - who I am and who we all are as humans interacting with the earth and each other.  It’s truly a beautiful thing.  Not to mention entertaining.  It was extra great because everyone was there.  Teagan was working the desk so she came later, but otherwise everyone was in the same boat. Sara and I spent a lot of time together and it was further confirmation that she is indeed a genuinely beautiful person and that we were meant to be friends here. This experience (both the hostel and the trip) would have been far more uncomfortable without her presence. 

Surprisingly I did wind up back in my cabin and was half way between sleep and wake for the rest of the night.  Even more surprising is that I woke up at 7am or so and helped Emily harvest peas for the market today and felt fine.  We all got straight to work on all of our little tasks.  We promised Mouna that we would clean her whole house for her while she is away.  We cleaned a lot yesterday but then we decided to make lemonade while tripping on mushrooms and the house looked like shit again.  But we all bucked up and got it done.  We also started drinking mushroom tea in the morning, which helped.  

It’s the 4th of July today!  And without a doubt this one will go down as one of my best 4th of July’s yet.  Coming off a great trip into a lovely community of people was remarkable.  But the whole atmosphere of today - the huge parade through the little town of Arroyo Seco, the street food, and good vibes.  I came back and took a long nap on the couch in the smokers shack - that was incredible.  The epitome of laziness in my book - it was heavenly.  Kenny, Teagan and I went into Taos and bought a whole ton of food and beer and we through a very impromptu and very delicious family dinner. Kenny was so generous and bought everything and then we all took part in crafting it together.  It turned into fajitas, a cabbage salad, corn on the cob and watermelon - a perfect 4th of July meal.  I was so overjoyed by this simple occasion - between the cool weather, another dumping rainstorm, and the compradore I couldn’t help but love this place and love my life. I spent the afternoon applying for jobs in Denver, and I am so excited to move on with my life, but somehow this strange little hippie town has wormed its way deep into my heart and I feel changed in ways that I can’t express yet. God Bless America :)

My sisters came to visit!!  I try to not be too excited for most of Friday because it would make it a very long day.  Instead I work really hard in the garden all day.

Well, first we start the day with a meeting with Subra.  He’s looking ahead and realizing that most of this staff is leaving in the next couple weeks and - oh my gosh- the garden girls might actually have to do a shift inside.  He held a meeting just to “make sure that was ok with them”.  We also discussed the dishes situation - which is out of control, mostly due to our staff.  It was a fine meeting, but then I had to take it one step further with the garden girls to try to air out some of this animosity that has been brewing... I’m not sure they liked that very much.  I really only asked them to do their own dishes, but for some reason they got mad and were talking under their breath all day.  Fuck ‘em - I don’t care if they don’t like me, I’m only here for one more week and I want that last week to be good.  It feels dumb to sit and bitch about the same issue over and over again without discussing it- so I discussed it and maybe it will get better.  Ugh, whatever. I can’t wait to be with adults again. 

I will say that I have become increasingly confrontational since moving here and I also have an exponentially worse “potty mouth”.  Not saying for better or worse, just noting the change.

Anyway, I really was in the garden all day.  Weeding, planting seeds, weeding, planting starts, weeding, etc. I did take a short break this afternoon (after an amazing homemade falafel lunch) to head into town again.  Sara has convinced me that I need to try this “Diva Cup” thing to catch menstrual blood, and since I’m about to start I thought I should get it today.  hmm.. we shall see.  I’m down to try anything once :)

My sisters roll in earlier than I thought around 7:45.  We are all starving and go out to a nice mexican food restaurant.  I take them back to the hostel, introduce them around and we check into our tipi.  They seem open to the idea of it, this will be good.  We’re all pretty tuckered out and hit they hay early.

We wake up with the sun.  Since there are no walls or doors to block light or sound we are awoke by a rooster and fellow campers rousing.  This is fine so we can get a good start on the day.  Breakfast is at the Taos Cow and then we head into Taos to shop around for a few hours.  Around 1 or so we are ready to start drinking wine :)  Our goal was to make it to a winery close to Santa Fe, but logically time would not allow.  Instead we ate lunch in Espanola and on the way back hit 4 wineries.  

First was Black Mesa.  I think they were my favorite.  Really tasty wines, all the grapes are from New Mexico. Next we hit La Chiripada which was so cute and little.  I felt like I was walking into someone’s living room - and I think I was, actually.  It was a family owned business and the son was serving us wine.  He and his sister actually started a brewery that we were going to hit up today too.  Next was Vivac Winery right on the side of the highway.  I only had their port because I was driving, but they also served specialty chocolates which I enjoyed as well.  This was probably my least favorite just because it felt too popular and too sleek.  But they did have a band playing out front and lots of people were there dancing and having a good time.  We hung out for a bit to let the wine settle to safely embark on our next leg.  Our last alcohol stop for the day was at Blue Heron Brewery.  It was decent beer.  I had the Pilsner, which was good, but the others I tasted were alright.  Doesn’t hold a candle to Asheville beer :)  Well, as you might imagine we were all pretty tipsy and giggly so we stayed at the brewery for a good long while and munched on some cheese and crackers. I really wanted to show them a New Mexico sunset so we obliged Emily’s craving for buffalo wings and took them to-go and watched the sunset.  I wanted to take them all the way to the gorge, but the sun was setting too quick and so we just pulled over and soaked it in.  Another good show by Mother Nature.

We just decided to eat the wings in our tipi along with the snacks we all bought (but forgot to bring with us on our adventures today).  We laughed and had a grand ol’ time.  But then it was time for bed.  I forgot how “city” my sisters are.  Emily brought a huge box of toiletries and can’t stand bugs.  Catherine is doing her best to embrace it, but I know she’s not comfortable.  They said it was too much like camping.  I tried to warn them, but oh well... I hope they still had fun...

Sunday was fairly tame.  We got up and ate leftover oats from another batch of Boyscouts that is staying here.  We head to the gorge and take our tourist pictures and then I convince them to go to The Earthships with me.  I thought it was very interesting.  I really like the idea of a self sustaining house and I hope that some of the technology can make it into mainstream housing soon.  It’s getting hot and we’re all tired so we head back to the hostel for lunch.  I picked us a nice salad and made a dressing and we topped it off with ice cream from the Cow.  It was really delicious and really nice to have them here.  

They scooted out around 1:30 and I took a nap.  It’s exhausting entertaining people!  I’m hoping tonight is a fairly chill night so I can get a good nights rest and work in the garden tomorrow :)