The summer heat was getting to us, and we’d been talking about taking a trip, so Sean and I threw ourselves into a week-long road trip to Santa Fe. Our goal was to make it to Meow Wolf, a huge interactive art experience built in an old bowling alley. And camping in the cool mountains sounded nice.

We did so much in a short period of time, so I’m going to let the pictures tell most of the story:

Our first stop was Caprock Canyons State Park in Texas. Caprock Canyons is actually part of the Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the United States (behind the Grand Canyon). I hadn’t even heard about this place before researching for our trip! It is gorgeous, and this park hosts a bison herd year-round. It was too hot to stay more than a night, so I definitely want to go back to do some hiking.

The next day we drove west, stopping at Cadillac Ranch on the way. Along Interstate 40 you’ll find ten Cadillacs buried nose-first in an empty field. It isn’t worth a special trip, but is definitely an interesting stop if you happen to be passing by.

After passing into New Mexico, we stopped for a quick swim at the Blue Hole, which brought some relief from the midday heat. The water is a chilly 62 degrees, so we didn’t stay for long.

That night in Taos we ate dinner at Bella’s before relaxing in our huge room at the Casa Benavides bed and breakfast. It was a welcome treat after a stormy night of camping and so many hours in the car.

We had time the next day to wander around Taos before making the relatively short drive up into Carson National Forest, where we would camp for one night.

I liked our campsite a lot but was disappointed to see the Red River so developed for fishing. It felt a little artificial to me and was crowded on this beautiful day, not exactly the wilderness I was hoping for.

After a comfortable night in camp, we made our meandering way toward Santa Fe. Our first stop was a natural hot spring along the Rio Grande. The drive there was an adventure down rutted dirt roads that made me feel gratitude for my car’s high clearance and all-wheel-drive. You can’t really see Black Rock Hot Springs from the road and there isn’t signage (except for a small painting on the side of a the cliff), so I relied heavily on the printed directions I’d brought.

The drive out was harrowing. We had to continue up the switchbacks along the other side of the canyon, relying on directions given to me by a man who was eating a tuna salad sandwich AND a raw chili with one hand. We kept to the left and drove along dirt roads, surrounded by nothing but baking desert, for 6 miles. We couldn’t even see the highway until we were right on it, and it was a huge relief! We took 64 down to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge rest stop and paused to eat lunch and take some pictures of this scarily-high marvel.

We continued down the scenic “High Road To Taos”, stopping briefly at a couple old churches and marveling at rock formations.

Once in Santa Fe, we checked into the stylish El Rey Court, where we’d stay a couple nights. We immediately jumped in the hot tub and pool and redeemed our cocktail vouchers at the bar (included when you book online).

Santa Fe is full of good food and we came with recommendations in hand. For dinner it was Green Chile Cheeseburgers at the Santa Fe Bite and breakfast was Carnita Ranchera at Tortilla Flats (so good!)…I miss the chilies already.

The entire next day was spent at Meow Wolf, which I can’t even begin to describe here. It is huge, detailed, and enjoyable on multiple levels.

After all that action, we had to somehow make it back to Austin. I found a campsite along the way, up in the mountains in the Lincoln National Forest, where we could escape the heat. We found the campground nice but  the sites were crowded with families (we arrived on a Friday). The nearby town of Cloudcroft was full of tourists and shops selling ordinary trinkets, but the Cloudcroft Brewing Company offered tasty pizza and beer flights, which we enjoyed (responsibly) before hitting the road.

After passing through flat desert, salt flats, oil fields, near-ghost towns, and the creepily-industrial area that hosts the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (where we store radioactive waste…for 10,000 years. Yikes!), we finally made it into Texas and our campsite at Monahans Sandhills State Park.

The dunes are beautiful and soft, and it was a pleasure to watch the sun go down here, and to catch a glimmer of the milky way. It is a great place to take some photos and perhaps spot a quail or roadrunner.

This trip was very inspiring for me, especially seeing the art in Taos and Santa Fe. I feel energized and bolder and have already created two paintings based on my experiences there.

I want this enthusiasm to continue. I want my artwork to be more playful, simple, and bright. I want to give myself permission to play more.