Taos, New Mexico
May 10–11, 2022
May 10–11, 2022
I had already visited with my friend Mary Hanrahan in Santa Fe back in February, but she had cautioned me to avoid coming up to Taos at that point, since it would be very cold and snowy. I was determined to see the town I’d heard so much about, so from southern Colorado I dipped down to northern New Mexico. I wound up driving right up to the edge of the Hermit’s Peak and Calf Canyon fires, which have (as of 5/18/22) burned over 300,000 acres of national forest, destroyed homes, displaced people and livestock, and killed countless wild animals. Much of Mary’s and my time together was spent bitterly decrying the Forest Service’s decision to hold a prescribed burn on a day with 50 mph winds—who’s surprised that it got out of their control?—and sharing our sorrows for all the suffering people, animals, and plants, while the massive clouds of smoke and steam loomed above us.
But we also ate delicious blue corn shrimp enchiladas with red and green chile sauces, beans, posole, and Mexican beers at Orlando’s New Mexican Cafe, drank delicious cocktails from The Lounge at Rolling Still, and visited Mary’s former workplace, the Harwood Museum of Art. I got to spend a few meditative moments in Agnes Martin’s octagonal room (stealthily captured on camera by Mary, unbeknownst to me until afterward), as well as lots of other stunning New Mexican art, but the high point was Debbie Long’s solo exhibition, Light Ships. I can’t do it justice, and no photos were allowed in the space itself, so I recommend reading more about it on the Harwood’s site or on Long’s own website. I will say that our time spent inside Willa, the light-and-glass-based work created inside a 1978 Sportscoach RV, was both magical and transformative. If you ever have a chance to experience one of Debbie Long’s light ships, you must.
I stayed in the rural outskirts of Taos (technically in El Prado), on gorgeous land owned by a friend of Mary’s. In the morning, I took the dogs on a long walk down into the deep canyon where the Rio Hondo meets the Rio Grande. Mochi drank from the Rio Grande for the second time on this trip! We tried to take a dip in the Granby Hot Springs, but as you can see from my photos the river level was too high and the “hot” spring became more of a tepid, silty spring. Nevertheless, it was a lovely walk of four miles or so, and I had two very sleepy dogs by the end.
But we also ate delicious blue corn shrimp enchiladas with red and green chile sauces, beans, posole, and Mexican beers at Orlando’s New Mexican Cafe, drank delicious cocktails from The Lounge at Rolling Still, and visited Mary’s former workplace, the Harwood Museum of Art. I got to spend a few meditative moments in Agnes Martin’s octagonal room (stealthily captured on camera by Mary, unbeknownst to me until afterward), as well as lots of other stunning New Mexican art, but the high point was Debbie Long’s solo exhibition, Light Ships. I can’t do it justice, and no photos were allowed in the space itself, so I recommend reading more about it on the Harwood’s site or on Long’s own website. I will say that our time spent inside Willa, the light-and-glass-based work created inside a 1978 Sportscoach RV, was both magical and transformative. If you ever have a chance to experience one of Debbie Long’s light ships, you must.
I stayed in the rural outskirts of Taos (technically in El Prado), on gorgeous land owned by a friend of Mary’s. In the morning, I took the dogs on a long walk down into the deep canyon where the Rio Hondo meets the Rio Grande. Mochi drank from the Rio Grande for the second time on this trip! We tried to take a dip in the Granby Hot Springs, but as you can see from my photos the river level was too high and the “hot” spring became more of a tepid, silty spring. Nevertheless, it was a lovely walk of four miles or so, and I had two very sleepy dogs by the end.
