"It was all so far away - there was quiet and an untouched feel
to the country and I could work as I pleased."
Georgia O'Keefe
Georgia O'Keefe
I must confess to a love affair with Taos. I approached this famous place with mounting anticipation. I crossed the Rio Grande, a vast cleft in a moonscape geography and came to the the rolling hills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The pines were pretty but it all seemed so miniaturized compared to the forests of British Columbia. I think I travel in part because I wonder if the place I am about to see has everything I think I might be missing. I was thinking of this town's most famous resident, Georgia O'Keefe. I admired Georgia. She painted from her soul at a time when it was difficult for women to be successful in the arts. She had left New York knowing that she needed a more natural and rural place to tune into her muse. She lived in an adobe house called "Ghost Ranch" and she would lie on the roof at night and look at the stars. A prolific and vastly original output ensued that has enriched us all subsequently. I was intrigued that other seekers of some fame had lately come to Taos, it being an artistic mecca. The truth of it is that I drove in and walked around this small and dusty place. I had trouble getting a read on it. A string of red peppers hung from a store and the quick take on the restaurant menus did not draw me in. In short, I was unable to find a latching point. The ranch was closed. I got into the truck and moved on. Pulling over to rest I had a nightmare that I was being boarded by robbers. In a somewhat unsettled state I made my way to Santa Fe.
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| All of these photos are from post cards that I bought and are by Bill Bonebrake. |