Heading Out West...

For years now, my boyfriend Destin has told me story after story about his love for New Mexico.  To sum it up, when he was a kid (boy scout), he went to Philmont Scout Ranch, then later worked there when he graduated from high school.  If you know anything about Philmont (which I didn't), it's the mecca for Eagle Scouts/Cute hippie outdoorsy types.  When I first told him about this workshop in Santa Fe, I thought his head was going to explode.  He was excited to live vicariously through me.  I do hope one day we can go there together, obviously, because after this trip I feel an even deeper connection to who he is as a person (blah blah mushy stuff blah).

I'd been in contact with Stevie so frequently through email I felt we were already friends.  I was so excited it was time to finally pack and get ready for a completely different climate.  I had already been warned.  Drink lots of water.  Don't drink alcohol.  The air is much thinner up there, they said... I am getting ahead of myself.  The flight to New Mexico was a piece of cake.  It was REALLY early and I had a layover in Dallas.  Once I got to the airport, I got to my gate, the flight was on time, everything waa golden.  Here is my plane from Dallas to Santa Fe.  There is a single row on the left (no overhead storage) and a double row on the right (with very small storage overhead.  SO so small.

I have NEVER had anyone tell me what the landscape over New Mexico looks like in some areas.  I had no idea the irrigation systems for some crops made ginormous circles all across the landscape.  I am talking ALL across the landscape, which began my interest in the look of the landscape itself, especially the geometric patterns. 

The way the ground suddenly changed so drastically fascinated me.  I am so happy I had a window seat to see this amazing natural beauty from above. 

Once we touched down at the airport, I had a major "awwww" moment.  If it wasn't the darned cutest little airport I'd ever seen.  So charming.  There was absolutely no question of where I needed to get my rental car, thankfully.

After settling all the paperwork for renting a car for the first time, I found my wheels in the parking lot.  It was definitely highly sensitive on both the gas and brake pedals.  Definitely took a bit of getting used to.  (Later, I realized how grateful I was to have a car to get myself around. Lesson learned, folks)

I arrived in Santa Fe REALLY early that day and knew I couldn't check into my room yet.  I put the address for my hotel into my phone and was at least headed in the direction of where I was staying.  Once I figured out the general direction, I realized how close it was to all the main things one would want to see and explore in Santa Fe.  The hotel was nice enough to let me park my car there while I walked around town until check-in. (I should have gotten a better photo of the hotel)

At this point I was starving.  I took notice of the street signs (or so I thought) and headed toward the center of town.  As I walked, I found it hard to find a place serving lunch or even food at all.  I finally made it to the plaza and walked around for a while before finally deciding on The Plaza Cafe.  Obviously located in a great place, I was able to walk around and shop close by the restaurant.  

This was the first meal I had in Santa Fe.  It was called "Street Tacos."  It was steak, onions, cilantro, avocado, ect. with rice and awesomeness... Unfortunately when I travel, my stomach isn't always feeling fabulous when I first get somewhere, but I ate as much as I could.  The sauces it came with were incredible.

From there, I wanted to see as many local shops and galleries as I could before meeting everyone at 5:30 to head to the big welcome for the folk art market's artists.  I walked around to see what places had to offer to sell.  I wanted to see what locals artists were creating, what art was popular in the galleries, as well as figure out where the best places to find authentic Native American art and other items to buy.  Here is a photo of the plaza.  Generally there are vendors, both food and art/jewelry, selling their wares around.  There might be someone playing music or singing.  I found every time I visited it something different was happening.

I finally wandered back to the hotel (after getting lost, but no matter, getting lost in Santa Fe is really fun) and they let me in a little early.  The interior of the lobby was nice. Even their elevator had a fun metal mirror.

I was given a roommate and our room was adorable.  Everyone attending the Crizmac workshop stayed in this hotel, the Inn of the Governors.  Here was our room.  

Now remember, I was forewarned to stay hydrated, so I kept drinking water and refilling my water bottle.  By the time I got into the room, I felt a little tired, but ready to go when it was time to meet everyone downstairs.  I met my roommate beforehand.  Her name was Marty and she teaches art in Illinois.  We walked downstairs to meet everyone.  We walked as a group over to Santa Fe Railyard Park where the artist procession was happening.  As we walked up, artists were standing around and talking, some were resting inside the building, and some were taking photos for people.  This was my first market, so the idea was that the artists were dressed in their country's authentic clothing, jewelry, ect., while holding a sign so you knew where they were from.  This was basically like the opening ceremony for the Olympics, but for ARTISTS.  It was mind blowing, truly. 

I wasn't sure what to expect.  Most of the ladies I had spoken with so far didn't know what to expect.  We walked on to where the festivities were happening.  There was a stage, food vendors, and a sea of colorful people.  The electric energy in the air was exciting.  We stood around and listened to the music while deciding what to eat.  I was dying of thirst and decided to try a Santa Fe local favorite, which was watermelon lemonade.  Yeah I am not big on watermelon, but I wanted to be adventurous and I knew it was better than my old standby the soft drink.  Again, I knew I needed to stay hydrated...  It was pretty good, if you like watermelon.

So after wandering around for a bit, we found Stevie and Nancy waiting for the actual artist procession to begin.  They had picked out a killer spot where the artists had to stop to get their photos taken.  Finally the procession began and the energy of the crowd was incredible.  I have a video I took, but for some reason "eblogger", who I use for this blog, keeps giving me an error from every browser I use, so I give up.  Maybe I will have a post just for videos later on.

It was about this time I started to feel a little weak, a little woozy, and a little nauseous.  I told everyone I was heading back a little early, because it was an easy route and I could tell something just wasn't right.  I managed to snag this beautiful photo on my way home.  I was feeling a bit bummed as I walked back to the hotel, so I think I needed this moment to reflect on.

I ended up going to bed pretty early that evening.  What I didn't know at the time was I had altitude sickness and I was unprepared for how to fully deal with it (and what was to come).  I will blog about my first full day in Santa Fe tomorrow, but don't worry, I wasn't sick the ENTIRE time I was in New Mexico and I managed to see and do a ton even though I felt like poo a good portion of the time.  Goodnight!