The Best 57 Miles Ever

It was a bit of a let down not to squeeze in one delicious New Mexican breakfast before we left Santa Fe, but the kids aren't really into green chilies on their eggs, or eggs in general for that matter. So, we ate a quickie breakfast at the hotel and off we went toward Durango, Colorado. This was supposed to take us about 3.5 hours.

What an incredible route. In fact, I'm going to say this is my all-time favorite drive ever. The desert changes remarkably in Northern New Mexico. Hills, mountains, mammoth rocks and quirky formations, a menagerie of colors top to bottom. Camel Rock showed up out of nowhere and I'd forgotten all about it!

Grandma's favorite thing to say was, "I just don't see how people can live out here." I couldn't agree more, the urbanite that I am. When I saw the sign for the town of White Rock, Peanut and Little Man in unison screamed, "Hey! I've been there!" It took me a minute to realize they were talking about White Rock, BC where we go in the summer sometimes. Ha! I decided to check out the White Rock view to get a reaction from the kids. Doodle was asleep and missed the entire thing, but the other two were actually in awe and fired-up about the enormity of the canyon. It has an incredible view of the Rio Grande Valley. Added enthusiasm came from the vast numbers of hawks flying over head, and these tiny yellow birds dashing about that we could never get a close enough look to identify. After this visit, I'm rethinking my plan to skip the Grand Canyon. Maybe they actually would notice more than the chipmunks? On our way out of town, we noticed some people in a park preparing for some kind of a Kite Festival but we were too early to enjoy it. A vendor, however, was able to sell us 10 Red Vines and life was good.

Next came Bandalier National Monument and this was a very calculated stop. It was a big decision for me to skip Taos, as I adore it, but I wanted the kids to stay interested and pleasant, and I already knew the heat was against me. The ruins in Taos are too sprawling and too touristy and the town is too pretentious for my little darlings. Having chosen correctly, Bandalier was exciting and manageable (if you call carrying Doodle on your back up a cliff manageable), and sure to be a lasting memory. The kids had just made it down the ladder from a once-a-cliff-dwelling now a hole-in-a-cliff, when Little Man announced to everyone within earshot that he needed to poop. This kid has excellent plumbing so we heeded his need. He barely made it the 1/2 mile back, but the important thing is that he did. (Our family has clearly met it's quota for pooping in inappropriate places on this trip.) They had a great kid-friendly gift shop and a good snack bar, too, so we picnicked outside and hit the road.

The sign said 57 miles to Chama and I was already enthralled with this part of the country. The nutty thing is that I'd driven this route before, more than once, and yet I had absolutely no memory of it's substantial uniqueness and beauty.

Then Abiquiu showed up out of nowhere! My neighbor had just told me about this magical place -- Georgia O'Keefe country -- because Peanut had recently taken a big interest in her art. We've been discussing how artists are "inspired" and here we were in Georgia O'Keefe's own backyard. Just look around and her inspirations are obvious. We hopped into the Abiquiu Inn, bought some last-year mini calendars for $1 which thrilled the kids, and we learned where her house was so we could do a drive-by. I told the kids we were the luckiest people in the world but they already knew that apparently. I was in Southwest Heaven.

On the road again and wouldn't you know, in the distance we saw the most stunning layered rock canyon? I kept pulling over to the side of the road for pictures and Grandma announces, "This has to be the longest hour I've ever driven!" Shocking! This was the most amazing hour I'd ever driven in my life! What a magnificent day we were having! Who cares about Colorado at this point?

Well, these glorious cliffs also had a sign: Echo Rock and I just had to turn in. Grandma grunts, "Ah, you gotta be KIDDING me?!" I drag her out of the car. "Look! The path is paved like you like. Come on!" We were just getting onto the path when she spotted a tiny lizard, and the kids became overjoyed. I knew it was going to be a great detour! Peanut arrived at the natural amphitheater first. Suddenly the canyon shouted at us "Myyyyy Preeeeeciousssss!" Grandma and I burst out laughing and now even she was into it. We were alone here. Lucky again! This place was so intimate yet grandiose and otherworldly, that suddenly I began to ache for the familiar to share it with. I wanted Tomcat to be here with us and I wanted my neighbor Green and her kids, my kids' best friends, to be with us. We all began to shout each of their names and soon the canyon was booming with names that we missed from home. Our hearts needed this.

We got to Durango, CO (after one more teeny-tiny detour to see Chimney Rock) just before sunset, 10.5 hours later.