I must confess that I did not take a single picture during this week of Santa Fe’s Wine and Chile Fiesta.
Not of food, that is.
View from the Santa Fe Opera
And that’s because I attended Saturday’s Wine and Chile festivities, enjoying offerings ranging from oysters to lamb chops, and wines from sauvignon blanc to some excellent pinot noirs. Two hands were needed to manage both food and wine; no room for a camera on this foodie foray!
But on an upcoming trip to the Paso Robles area, pictures will be taken. Paso Robles is one of my favorite pinot regions. The cool sea breezes and warm days produce remarkable pinot noirs; but more on that later.
The Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta
The Wine and Chile Fiesta in Santa Fe is a gathering celebrating the food of Santa Fe, matched with many of California’s best wines. Dinners at various restaurants throughout the week offer food and wine pairings, with most meals in the $150/head range. So many restaurants, so little time! But I passed on the individual dinners, lunches and various culinary events to attend the Grand Tasting at the Santa Fe Opera.
Santa Fe Chile Rista Photo Credit: Unsplash
Peaked white tents set up in the upper parking area at the Opera provide shade and seating, while thousands of people meander among Santa Fe’s favorite restaurants. Accompanying them are wine producers, many of whom were from California. And they brought some wonderful wines for tastings, ranging from a Silver Oak Cab to a Paso Robles Justin series of reds.
Takes on local food, like stunning grilled shrimp tacos were scattered among the offerings. But most of the food choices transcended geography, and were simply delicious. Wagu Beef; fried oysters; raw oysters with a green chile salsa; paella; honey pork on arugula salad; the list goes on.
I obviously decided that this event was not for the diet conscious, although much of the food, served in beautiful, artfully arranged, small portions, was actually fairly healthy. Well prepared crustaceans, fish, meat and vegetables met with some excellent wine offerings to create a fun and memorable afternoon.
90 wineries poured samples of every varietal imaginable Photo Credit: Unsplash
Not to leave out the art community, this year’s Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta poster artist was Ed Sandoval, who currently hails from Taos.
The history of this event goes back to 1991 when Mark Miller, Al Lucero, and Gordon Heiss got together to organize a one day food event that would grow into the world class, one week celebration that the fiesta is today. Over three bottles of Joseph Phelps 1985 Insignia at Cafe Sena, the first Wine and Chile Fiesta was launched. The full story behind all this on the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Festival site, www.santafewineandchile.org.
Seventy restaurants and ninety wineries made this year’s Wine and Chile Fiesta a total success. Sommeliers, guest chefs and local chefs all provided food and demonstrations throughout the week. If you’re a serious foodie, this week in Santa Fe is one to put on your calendar for next year. Proceeds from the event go back into restaurant and culinary education in Santa Fe.
Downtown Santa Fe
More Foodie Forays With CancerRoadTrip
Life is short. Good food nourishes one’s body and soul. Here are a few other (among many!) foodie posts on my travels.
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Using sound for healing is an art thousands of years old. Sound, after all, is energy and it was discovered long before X-rays and sonograms and many other modern medical wonders.
And sound can heal.
A chance meeting brought a form of sound therapy into my life. In addition to the omnipresence of lymphoma always lurking in the background, I’ve been dealing with Dupuytren’s Contracture which is causing my fingers to curl and become severely crippled. I am quite concerned about loosing the use of my right index finger, and thus the use much of my right hand.
The medical options include needle aponeurotomy, steroid injections, and enzyme injections. These interventions tend to last only for a short period of time. Surgery does not offer any good statistics or guarantees either.
In short, these options address the symptoms, but not the underlying disease. Welcome to modern medicine.
So I’ve been on a lookout for options. That’s when travel serendipity struck yet again.
I was invited to give a talk about CancerRoadTrip. Afterwards a woman came over and introduced herself: Laurie McDonald.
Meeting Laurie is so Santa Fe. Here is a highly educated and accomplished woman with a resume that would kick butt anywhere. She has a BFA, from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design; an MA, from the University of Houston; has studied sound therapy in New Delhi/Chennai, India with the Nada Centre for Sound Therapy (and earned a CNCMT); and is a Certified Acutonics Practitioner, in Santa Fe, New Mexico (www.soundtherapysantafe.com). And an author (Travel for STOICS). And a pioneer in working with sound therapy and vets for PTSD; and a film maker with clients such as the Whitney Museum of America Art in New York.
For me, the combination of acupuncture with the energy of sound made sense for a connective tissue issue. I’ve had superb results from acupuncture over the years. I’ve used it for tennis elbow; for general well being; to manage horrific chemo side effects.
As a result, acupuncture is among my first line choices for healing. Combined with the energy of sound, it made sense to me for a connective tissue problem. So I thought I’d give it a go.
Laurie warned me to keep my expectations low; she made no promises. But I’m a few weeks into this now and I’m seeing real improvement, particularly in my right hand. If I can just stay the progression, I’d be happy. But progress! Beyond my wildest dreams.
But it shouldn’t be. Over time, through travel and travail, I’ve come to look for healing disciplines that treat the cause, as well as the disease. It’s here that modern medicine bats .500. I’m on a quest for the other half of that equation. And sound for healing may be part of that equation for me.
To discuss sound for healing, let’s start with a look at acupuncture, because my current explorations are combining both.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture
The history of acupuncture goes back over 8,000 years, long before modern medicine even existed. Think about the centuries of practice and experience in this tradition. The Chinese use it for everything from healing to anesthesia during surgery.
The basic principle, derived from thousands of years of use, study and observation is based on Taoism which promotes a balance between yin and yang. Using over 2,000 acupuncture points that have been identified in the body, fine needles are used to adjust the flow of energy and restore health and balance. Acupuncture is also used in pain management, as one New York Times reporter learned from personal experience.
Richard Nixon’s opening of China opened the door for acupuncture to be introduced to the U.S. But is was when New York Times reporter James Reston successfully used it for surgical pain during an emergency appendectomy while in China, and his ensuing articles about his experience, that mainstream America started to notice.
Over the centuries, acupuncture has become a vital part of healing for many people. Given my experiences, the idea of accessing the acupuncture points using sound vibration made enormous sense. Particularly in dealing with the connective tissues issues in my hands.
Sound For Healing
Using sound for healing is part science, part art, and part ancient tradition.
Sound is simply the vibration of matter. And humans are systems of vibratory matter.
Matter tends towards harmony. The process is called entrainment. Entrainment explains why metronomes synchronize and why people can bond deeply over a conversation. Humans vibrate in resonance with their surroundings.
The ancient Tibetans and other cultures understood the importance of sound. The Tibetans used the deep rich song of singing bowls in their healing practices; the shamans of Peru use the repetitive beat of drums to bring on a deep meditative state. In our own culture Martin Luther King, knowingly or not, used the sound of his voice and the cadence of his speech to resonate with his audience.
Sound is energy. How do we use it? What impact can it potentially have on our lives and health?
From Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, MD
Sound can change our immune function. After either chanting or listening to certain forms of music, your Interluken-1 level, an index of your immune system, goes up between 12 and a half and 15 percent. Not only that, about 20 minutes after listening to this meditative type music, your immunoglobin levels in your blood are significantly increased. There’s no part of our body not effected. Even our heart rate and blood pressure are lowered with certain forms of music. So, it effects not only our soul and our spirit, but it effects us on literally a cellular and sub-cellular level.
Sound transcends time and traditions. It brings up memory and emotion.
And if both the ancients and the neuroscientists are to be believed, perhaps sound is a channel to the mind and the body’s memory of emotion.
Photo Credit: Fancycrave, Manali, India
Sound and Harmony
Researchers have discovered that cells resonate at particular harmonic frequencies. When these cells are healthy, they vibrate at “optimum balance,” like tuning forks. Obviously, disease is dissonant or disharmonic, having a negative effect on cells.
Cancer, like many other diseases, may reflect an imbalance in the body. Modern medicine often does an excellent job at fighting disease, but finding deeper personal, emotional and psycho-spiritual healing is what many cancer patients need.
I have come to believe that finding peace and harmony is a critical part of healing. Cancer fractures your life. Futures are gone; relationships may change; physical after effects may impact your ability to do things.
The need to heal, and to regroup, is a need for harmony.
To my mind, it’s about finding that energetic balance, whether it’s through the coherence of meditation and heart such as HeartMath; through acupuncture or yoga; through massage or sound.
Everyone is different and everyone resonates (no pun intended) with different modalities. The key is finding something that suits you.
So it is I’m on an exploration of sound for healing, at least for my hands.
Laurie McDonald uses a system called Acutonics, which uses vibrational sound on acupuncture points. This system was developed by Ellen Franklin, PhD and Donna Carey LAc in Taos, New Mexico.
Acutonics brings together the wisdom and efficacy of Oriental medicine, psychology, science and the arts, with the energy of sound. Precision engineered tuning forks are chosen for their specific vibrational frequency and are placed on the various points in the body. The harmonic combinations and the use of acupuncture points are used to manage, move and rebalance energy.
The idea behind using sound for healing is simple, while the execution is more complex.
Practitioners may study for years to develop the fine sensibilities of providing vibrational sound healing. The tuning forks provide feedback. Is the sound moving smoothly, or encountering resistance? Is the harmonic frequency the right one? Are the acupuncture points chosen wisely?
Is sound healing?
***
Synergy in Sound for Healing
Sound does more than simply resonate within the body. It has the ability to touch deep into one’s psyche and emotion and it is here, science is coming to believe, that healing occurs. Neuroscience is catching up to age old wisdom, recognizing that mind and body are one.
Candace Pert was a scientific leader in this quest. Her book “Molecules of Emotion” chronicled her successful quest to show that neuropeptides linked the mind and the immune system. Her research showed that your thoughts impact your biology.
The mind and body, she argued, are one.
If thoughts are energy that release neuropeptides, what of sound that touches an emotional chord within?
From Dr. Gaynor’s book, The Healing Power of Sound:
“According to Beverly Rubik, a leading expert on energy medicine, energy fields form inside and outside the body carry information that changes and perhaps even regulates cells throughout our bodies. …Sound waves are yet another form of energy that can conceivably influence neuropeptides and their cellular receptors. And if we recognize that our own biological healing systems are influenced by energy fields, we can begin to understand why sound and vibration are important new tools for healing.”
Gaynor relays a story of one patient, who finds peace with his cancer by delving into the pain of his adoption. Using sound for healing, he connects with his pain, and in connecting with it, he is able to release it. Years later, he is living with cancer, but otherwise healthy.
Anecdotally, I hear many, many stories of how deep healing impacts biology. What helps us to reach deep? Is sound perhaps one modality?
If mind and body are one, is the resonance of energy through sound part of the neuroscience of healing?
Can sound help us by-pass our social conditioning to find a deeper internal resonance for health?
What are the sounds in your life?
Photo Credit: Marius Masalar
***
CancerRoadTrip is a trip of curiosity, soul and deliverance.
Curiosity because I can’t help myself; soul because it’s what gives life substance; and deliverance from the constraints of my culture. I sense a deep need to see more, to experience more and to know more than the superficial tumult of the waves on the modern surface of our society.
My life has, and continues to be, a journey. Starting with the existential threat of cancer with all it’s emotional ups and downs; to discovering the transformative effects of meditation; to acupuncture; to sound; to other cultural perspectives of health.
Independent of cultures, certain healing traditions seem to emerge in my travels.
From the stories of the Tewe people, to the shamans of Peru, there is a story of soul, connection and harmony that is missing in our mass produced, consumeristic, judgmental society. The connection is deep, it is of the earth and it is spiritual in nature. The Ka Ta See talk of finding one’s song. Here the idea of sound becomes a metaphor for soulful exploration and harmony.
Barbara Culbertson (shaman, friend, and wise woman) said to me that our lives today are 180 degrees from the wisdom of the ancients. I agreed when she said that, but as time goes on, I wonder just how far we’ve veered from our connection to the earth and our place in the universe.
Photo Credit: Joshua Earle
What is it that opens the doors to deep connection?
What timeless modalities unite us with the wisdom of the past, to find the truth of the soul?
And what impact does this synchronistic way of life have on our health, our families and our communities?
More Reading on Sound For Healing
Mitch Gaynor, integrative oncologist and author of The Healing Power of Sound, sadly died recently. His insightful, out of the box approach to complimentary healing has much to teach all of us.
In this book, he explores the cultural traditions and techniques of using sound for healing and for soulful exploration. This is an amazing book. If the idea of using sound for healing intrigues you at all, this is a must read. And, as always, your purchases through this website are greatly appreciated.
Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles, and the ground breaking Yale oncologist says of this book:
“This book is about healing your life through rhythm and harmony. Read it and learn how to orchestrate your life.”
As an aside, I’ve had the pleasure of having Dr. Seigel enter my life twice. The first time was in the eighties, at Yale. He gave a talk about the emotional and psychological aspects of healing. Needless to say, the neanderthal mindset of the surgeons in the room dismissed him (actually, they weren’t even that polite).
Some years later, I spoke to Bernie again. We talked about Anti-Cancer Club. He told me you can’t heal or effect change by being against something. It took me some time to see the wisdom in his comment.
He quoted Mother Teresa:
“I was once asked why I don’t participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.”
–Mother Teresa
It’s only now, many years later, that I truly understand the profound wisdom of this philosophy in life, in one’s soul and in cancer.
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Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom as the creature is known, was created long before Burning Man was even an idea. Each year, residents of Santa Fe write down their woes on pieces of paper, which are then stuffed into the fifty foot figure made of wood, chicken wire, and papier mache. Everything from pathology reports, to mortgage papers to cremated ashes finds its way to Zozobra.
Then, on the Friday before Labor Day, Zozobra is set spectacularly ablaze. In the fire, all the gloom and doom contributed by residents, perishes for the year.
The event traces its roots back to William Howard Shuster, Jr. who, in 1924, started Zozobra with a private party. His inspiration for Zozobra came from the Holy Week celebrations of the Yaqui Indians of Mexico; an effigy of Judas, filled with firecrackers, was led around the village on a donkey and later burned. Shuster added some personal touches, like a costumed dog parade and the Hysterical-Historical Parade
Zozobra may have started as a bit of a spoof, but it’s now thoughougly ingrained in the Santa Fe calendar. Accompanied by the the Desfile de LosNiños––the Pet Parade––and the Hysterical-Historical Parade, Zozobra opens the celebration of Fiestas which date back to 1712.
This year for Zozobra, I avoided the crowds of 50,000+ people and watched from a nearby hillside house. It’s an annual event that allows your worries to go up in flames, with the hope of a bright and unencumbered future. What more could one ask for? Absolution from worry (if not sin) for the remainder of the year, wrapped in a Santa Fe party!
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I wear many hats, from research, to travel, to writing, to photography. Networking and meeting people. Filming and making pitches. Let’s look behind the scenes, here in Santa Fe.
The Blog: Behind The Scenes
What’s a day in Santa Fe like with CancerRoadTrip? Here are some looks at daily life.
I’ve been able to establish a bit of a routine that includes daily exercise, walking with my Urban Poles or hitting the elliptical when time is tight; a matcha latte with almond milk in the morning (matcha for its antioxidant support, in lieu of coffee); having a few favorite things with me.
Wind chimes ring at my front door; Clarence (the gargoyle, in the slider above and picture below) looks over my small office; an old and favorite bracelet waits for me every morning. Weekends at the Farmers Market, events like Indian Market, an evening out at the Opera to see Madame Butterfly, and activities like hiking fill in the balance.
The Blog: Working from Wifi
My office in the casita
“I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the lover of it. I live it.” – Maya Angelou
There is good and bad about writing a blog and being something of a digital nomad. The good is that you can work from anywhere. The bad is that work is always with you. I’m grateful to be truly passionate about what I’m doing.
A blog can open many doors. It forces me to get out and constantly explore. (See Life Lesson #1) It means interacting with people from all over the world. It means on-line learning to develop your skills.
And of course it’s all a bit of an adventure.
From the first year, some milestones:
Twitter has grown from zero to over 10,000 followers, reaching to over 1.1 million people/month (and growing!)
Instagram is coming up on 10,000 followers soon
Visited 8 countries, 11 states (some more than once)
Photography entered my life as a new found passion and I’ve just added a super zoom lens to my bag.
And last but certainly not least, I have simply survived the last year.
I’ve resettled, re-energized and re-oriented my entire 60 something life since events sent everything reeling, and the way I view things has changed dramatically.
I’ve worked hard to develop non-judgment, less I drive myself crazy over the perceived injustices of life. The Buddhist sense of impermanence combined with the stilling of my mind has allowed me to find a place of peace. I work on this daily.
Being homeless for some months, I’ve found that I don’t “need” many of the habits that had once made up my life. I can happily exist in many situations, under many conditions. I adopt the disciplines that promote my well being; I allow the rest to be.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation–we are challenged to change ourselves.”
–Viktor E. Frankl
Yet through all this, some things remains constant. I am someone who likes having a home base. I admire the people who can be permanently nomadic, but it’s just not for me.
When I landed in Santa Fe, everything seemed to just click. With this lovely casita, I have wifi, computer and camera. Here I find a timeless connection to the land, the energy and the people that simply fills my soul.
Life is good.
The Blog: Life Through The Lens
Artifacts on the window ledge, O’Keeffe style
“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.”
–Alfred Stieglitz
I take my camera almost everywhere with me; there’s much to learn and explore through the viewpoint of a lens. The endless creativity of the medium has thoroughly captivated me.
The addition of the Gallery section of the blog, and the unrelenting appetite of an Instagram feed, have pushed me to constantly take pictures in my travels, often daily. As I look back over the last year, I see great improvement. I am hoping the next year sees still more.
I have signed up for two photography classes this fall. One is technical; one is more hands on.
I pity the poor instructor because I already have enough questions lined up to fill a semester.
The Blog: Life Lived Through the Lens of a Story
From the PowWow in Albuquerque
“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn.
Tell me the truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”
– Native American Proverb
We learn through the stories we tell.
Isaac Dineson once said that “To be a person is to have a story to tell.”
At heart, the best stories are really about a journey into the soul.
The cancer story is one of challenge, seeming defeat, perseverance and triumph. It’s about life and death; about presence and love. It’s about all the things that make us human and allow us to learn and grow.
I know we will all choose different routes and destinations because we all carry different stories. But along the way, our paths will intersect and resonate. Where they cross, where our emotions and experiences meet, are timeless truths to be shared.
The Blog: The Story In A Name
What’s in a name?
CancerRoadTrip. What does that conjure up?
Fighter, warrior, survivor.
We seem to want to label people, experiences and viewpoints.
But there is no label that captures this cancer experience. To try to label it, to simplify it and to apply it to everyone, ignores the many dimensions of people and their experiences. It ignores the uniqueness of each story.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. –Shakespeare
And yet names define us.
They’re a marker, an identifier, perhaps an inspiration. They tell a story.
It is here that I need your help.
As you know, we’re gearing up to give away healing journeys. I am (for the moment) calling the people (the cancer patients, survivors and the friends and family impacted by these events) who embark on these journeys with us as “Journeyers”.
After all, cancer is a journey; healing is a journey; ultimately life is a journey. Are we not all travelers through our times?
But perhaps there is a better word than Journeyer.
Traveler? Pilgrim? Explorer?
Voyager?
Can you think of a better one? Send me your thoughts either in the comment box below or via email, pat@CancerRoadTrip.com.
What’s a name that inspires, motivates and connects with you?
The Blog and The Journey: CancerRoadTrip
Everyone’s CancerRoadTrip is different.
Some people learn by physically challenging themselves; some through introspection. Some quickly embrace a new life; some not.
Whatever the choice, it’s an evolving path of uncertainty pulled by promise, given to everyone, embraced only by some.
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.”
– Søren Kierkegaard
Which brings me to an interesting conversation that challenged my view of CancerRoadTrip.
Sean Swarner, Cancer Survivor, Mountaineer and Adventurer
I’ve been acquainted with Sean Swarner for some time now. Sean is a force of nature and then some. He has climbed the highest mountains on all continents (starting with a successful first summit on Everest ); gone to both the North and South Pole; completed the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii; summited numerous other mountains many times.
All on one lung.
Because two different terminal childhood cancer diagnoses left him with just one functional lung.
Most recently he took on the North Pole and the film, “True North: The Sean Swarner Story”, has been nominated for an Academy Award.
Sean and I reconnected recently and we got talking about the incredible self knowledge that can come from experiences of being in and challenging nature. About setting goals and working through them; about the incredible power of one’s mind.
The challenges Sean has chosen are the stuff of legend. Climbing the highest mountains, going to the most remote areas, defying the bounds of what was considered humanly doable, not to mention beating terminal cancer not once, but twice.
Perhaps a bit of physical adventure should be a part of CancerRoadTrip moving ahead.
Which brings up my own life and level of physical fitness. It is not where it needs to be, and all of a sudden I realized that I might miss out!
Kilamanjaro
What if we were to add Kilimanjaro to the CancerRoadTrip lineup? Or another more physically oriented retreat?
Right now, I’m not fit enough to go.
So I have started a serious fitness program which is long overdue. I’m 61 years old and quite honestly in the worse shape of my life. The combination of (multiple rounds of) chemo, a failed hip, off the charts stress, weight gain and being on the road have taken their toll. While I’m doing some light hiking and moving, I’m not “in shape”.
Getting in shape is my numero uno mission behind the scenes.
“Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life was meant to be.”
– Steve Pavlina
Behind the scenes, my fitness is now an absolute priority. I want to be present, to experience everything I possibly can, for as long as I can.
***
I didn’t know where CancerRoadTrip would lead when I started. The journey has become the blog and now the blog is becoming an adventure beyond me. One that I look forward to sharing with many, both in person and vicariously through the new website.
Cancer challenges and changes our lives. Many of us need to regain trust and confidence in ourselves and our bodies.
We need to plot a new path forward.
We find ourselves with an urgency and renewal of life that only comes from confronting death and the dissolution of all we perceived to be real. Physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually we need to find a new footing, a new way forward, one step at a time.
“The power of storytelling is exactly this:
to bridge the gaps where everything else has crumbled.”
– Paulo Coelho
When all else has crumbled, it takes courage to move ahead. Courage to face mortality, and then life. Courage to make self care a priority. It takes courage to listen to your heart and soul to possibly follow a new path and create a new story.
If there is any good news about cancer, it is that it can be a wakeup call, to patients, friends and family.
Are you living your best life?
Are you feeding your soul?
If you could…
What would you do?
And even more importantly,
Where would you go?!
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I have been waiting to write about Ghost Ranch and Georgia O’Keeffe. What can one say?
It’s stunning; it’s beautiful; it’s inspiring?
That the landscapes O’Keeffe painted are equally awesome in person?
Art lovers plot their pilgrimages to view the landscapes of Georgia O’Keeffe. But they are limited to (a very good) tour of the ranch where the guide matches up O’Keeffe’s paintings with the landscape.
Because, alas, her seven acre house in Ghost Ranch is off limits to the touring public.
Guided van tours take visitors to various locations to view some of the vistas that Georgia O’Keeffe made famous in her paintings.
Or at least it usually is.
But as serendipity would have it, I was able to visit the interior of both of O’Keeffe’s houses, at Ghost Ranch and at Abiquiu.
***
Ghost Ranch captivated me from the first time I drove down the long, unpaved drive. A steel gate with the name of the ranch opens discretely at the roadway. From there the road climbs, as the motion of the tires kicks off a dust cloud that moves along with the car.
Washboard, dust and rock wind through the desert in a semblance of a road, up the hill. And then, the landscape that inspired O’Keeffe emerges.
Moonrise at Ghost Ranch
The beauty is astonishing. My first visit was in winter, and winter may remain my favorite time. The cottonwoods have no leaves; the stream, the Rito del Yeso, is meager and partly frozen; but the landscape stands out, immutable through seasons and time.
Cottonwoods line the partially frozen stream through Ghost Ranch in winter
I find myself drawn to the area; I can totally understand what O’Keeffe saw in this landscape. But the sheer guts it took to relocate here and live twelve months a year at Ghost Ranch is quite astounding.
In the 1930’s Ghost Ranch was only accessible by a dirt road that wound its way from Abiquiu. There were no signs or markers except for a skull mounted on a fence, which would later become the ranch logo. Yet this remote locale attracted the celebrities of the day, such as Charles Lindbergh, Ansel Adams and John Wayne. Later it would host scientists from Los Alamos. And included in the mix was Georgia O’Keeffe.
The old road to Ghost Ranch
Here is some short video on Ghost Ranch (complete with bugs on the windshield!). You’ll notice not only her house, but the red hills–the Chinle formation –that appear again and again in her art; the towering cliffs; and of course the iconic collections of rock and bone.
Visiting both the O’Keeffe houses is an opportunity to see behind the scenes, into the artist’s daily life and perhaps catch a glimpse of her vision. What surprised me most was how different the houses were.
Had I only visited Ghost Ranch, I would have had a very different sense of O’Keefe. I would not have seen the serenity and extraordinary sense of place she created at Abiquiu.
Had I only visited Abiquiu, I would not have understood the true grit her life at Ghost Ranch exemplified, nor her camping and painting forays into areas such as Bisti Wilderness.
Together, both residences offer a glimpse of the incredible range, curiosity and talent of Georgia O’Keeffe.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s introduction to New Mexico was through a visit to Taos in 1929, and later through her stays at Ghost Ranch. It was love at first site, and she would return and eventually resettle in New Mexico until her death at age 98 in 1986.
The American West, Ghost Ranch
Ghost Ranch comprises 21,000 spectacular acres in northern New Mexico, about half an hour north of Abiquiu.
And as history has it, it’s haunted.
It was originally named Rancho de los Bruos (Ranch of the Witches) by the Archuleta brothers, a pair of cattle rustles from the 1800’s. The brothers would steal cattle, lead them up through the stream to hide any tracks, and tuck them away in Box Canyon which was the perfect corral. The sound of the wind whistling through the rocks were rumored to the the wails of men who had sought to reclaim their stolen cattle.
Needless to say, while the property was avoided, it was not haunted.
Nor was it to shunned for long. In 1928, Roy Pfaffle won the deed to the ranch in a poker game. Carol Stanley, his wife, recorded the deed in her name and named it Ghost Ranch. When they divorced, she moved to the property and created an exclusive dude ranch that attracted a celebrity clientele.
After O’Keeffe’s first visit in 1929, she returned again and again, renting a house from Arthur Pack, writer and editor of Nature Magazine, each time. Pack eventually purchased the ranch from Carol Stanley in 1935, and in 1940 O’Keeffe purchased Pack’s house and made Ghost Ranch her home. In 1945, she purchased a house in Abiquiu, about 20 miles south, where she could enjoy a garden and establish her studio. Ghost Ranch then became the “summer house”.
The Abiquiu house is open for tours; the Ghost Ranch house is not.
Not usually, that is.
However as luck would have it, I was able to tour the property that is otherwise closed to the public. I wasn’t able to take any any interior pictures. But to have the experience of walking in her home, seeing her environment as she saw it and to have stories and art come together was truly a special experience. All my thanks to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum who made this possible.
The power of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings draw from the deep soul of the landscape as well as from her imagination. To walk in her steps, to see the views from her house much as she saw them, was an experience that touched me deeply.
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.– Georgia O’Keeffe
Cerro Pedernal, viewed from Ghost Ranch. This was a favorite subject for O’Keeffe, who once said, “It’s my private mountain. It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.”
This is the actual view from the courtyard of her Ghost Ranch house, taken during my visit, July 2018
O’Keeffe expressed her love of Ghost Ranch in a 1942 letter to the painter Arthur Dove:
“I wish you could see what I see out the window—the earth pink and yellow cliffs to the north—the full pale moon about to go down in an early morning lavender sky . . . pink and purple hills in front and the scrubby fine dull green cedars—and a feeling of much space—It is a very beautiful world.”
In addition to the artistic legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe, Ghost Ranch also includes the Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology and Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology. It is the site of numerous retreats and workshops. Plus horse trails, hiking trails and a wonderful labyrinth.
Labyrinth at Ghost Ranch, NM
Plus of course the house where City Slickers was filmed:
“City Slickers” was filmed here, at Ghost Ranch
Unbeknownst to many, New Mexico is one of the leading sites for film projects, attracting major stars for major productions. Most people are amazed at the breath and sheer numbers of film credits associated with this state. From traditional western to sci-fi, New Mexico is the location behind many well known films. Talk to the locals, and nearly everyone has a film story to tell, as an extra, as a worker on the set, or as an observer. Here is a small selection of films set in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico (click the image to learn more about the movie):
Ghost Ranch is not just for film buffs. It’s for everyone with an appreciation of history and beauty, whether you come at it from the perspective of geography, outdoor adventure, art, film or travel. It’s a special, timeless place, immortalized in rock and stone, paint and film, with something of interest for everyone.
From Santa Fe, the road winds north through Espanola, to Abiquiu and then to Ghost Ranch. Ideally, if you have time, stay at either Ghost Ranch or the Abiquiu Inn and explore a bit. There are also several AirBnB’s in the area.
From Santa Fe to Ghost Ranch
If time is tight, here are a few thoughts:
Are you into the outdoors or horseback riding? If so, plan to spend the bulk of your time at Ghost Ranch. Stop at The White Place (Plaza Blanca) outside of Abiquiu on your way to or fro.
The White Place
Into art? Spend a bit more time in Abiquiu, visiting O’Keeffe’s house and connect with The Abiquiu Art Project. Plan ahead for both. House tours for the Abiquiu house are very limited and the Abiquiu Art Project requires reservations and for the artists to be available.
As one starts to explore New Mexico, one discovers the extraordinary depth of culture, history and outdoors. Ghost Ranch is part of that exploration–have fun!
More Reading on Ghost Ranch and the Legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe’s ladder at her Ghost Ranch House
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“Labyrinth” according to Merriam-Webster, is defined as a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.
But the labyrinths in my travels are not mazes, but uni-directional paths that offer a very soulful, and some would say spiritual, experience.
Labyrinths are said to date back to the Greeks in Knossos where designs started to appear in the 5th to third century B.C. Later, in the 12th century they would start to appear in Europe and elsewhere. From Egypt to India, to the Hopi Mesas, to English village greens, the labyrinth became a world wide architectural and artistic phenomena. Perhaps one of the most famous is at Chartres which measures 42 feet in diameter and whose construction dates to 1201.
Labyrinths, often constructed of simple stones, create a path that twists and turns, seemingly doubling back on itself, while always moving forward. The meandering walkway follows a precise path, offering an opportunity to take a journey within and reflect upon whatever arises.
The experience of walking a labyrinth is simultaneously thoughtful and mindless. It is mindless in that you are not required to think, but just to be in the moment and follow the carefully laid out path before you.
It is thoughtful in that it is essentially a silent meditation.
Walking is a chance to pause, to reflect, to not think if you choose.
And in entering this space, time disappears. Here, now, one’s focus is simply on the present.
***
There are many theories about these curious structures. They appear in drawings, mosaics, as imprints in coins and art, in gardens and on land. The Greeks used a labyrinth symbol in their coins on Knossos:
Labyrinth on a Knossos silver coin 400 B.C.
The famous labyrinth in the Chartres Cathedral, 1750
This coin is an example of the seven circuit style, aka the classic labyrinth (versus the Medieval labyrinth). The Medieval pattern was often embedded in church floors such as at the Cathedral at Chartres, and was said to represent the intersection of faith, life and philosophy.
As colonial influences spread, so did the labyrinth. But many labyrinths seem to predate these migration patterns. From Wikipedia:
Equally puzzling are the labyrinths found carved and painted on cave and temple walls in India and on tribal objects from Sumatra and Java – how and when the labyrinth reached these remote areas remains difficult to fully explain. Likewise the occurrence of the symbol amongst rock art in the American Southwest – was this an independent discovery of the design, or a European introduction?
A Trail of Travel Serendipity
Labyrinth at Ghost Ranch, NM
On a recent trip to Ghost Ranch I came upon a labyrinth; and then I met a woman in Santa Fe who was part of the Labyrinth Society. And on this summer day, the Labyrinth Society has a walk at Museum Hill. So I thought I’d attend.
Music accompanies the labyrinth walk outside the Folk Art Museum on Museum Hill
Serendipity seems to unfold before me. I walked up to the table where I was greeted. And I got talking to one of the women at the welcoming desk.
The woman, it turns out, also had cancer some years ago. “It changed my life for the better,” she confided. I knew what she meant. Knowing that one’s time is limited, makes us appreciate the great gift of life.
And labyrinths are part of that gift. They are an opportunity to stop, to reflect and to simply be. It’s a time out in a busy day. This day at Museum Hill, at mid-day, the leaves tussle in the afternoon breeze carrying the soft melody of the guitar, and twenty people or so slowly weave their way through the green and red pavers of the labyrinth in front of the Folk Art Museum.
The Labyrinth Society has an online labyrinth you can “walk” with your mouse. But if at all possible, I suggest you go exploring for a real labyrinth experience. As I got to. My chance conversation led to a morning with Santa Fe Labyrinth Resource Group founder, Marge McCarthy.
Exploring the Labyrinths of Santa Fe
The official list of labyrinths in Santa Fe includes about a dozen different sites. In addition to the public sites, labyrinths can also be found in communities and private yards.
Perhaps the most prominent labyrinth is the one at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, downtown.
The labyrinth at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi lies under the left(eastern) bell tower.
Evening light spreads across the stone labyrinth at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
A bench offers a place to pause at the church’s labyrinth.
This particular labyrinth is set off to the side so the casual visitor might overlook it. It’s a classic Chartres style labyrinth, that is found throughout Europe, Scandinavia, India and North Africa.
Labyrinth historians categorize these circuitous paths based on their shape, the number of circuits and the time period. They can be left handed or right handed; have 7, 9, 11 or more (or fewer) circuits. But all labyrinths have one thing common: the are unicursal, ie. a single path that takes an pre-planned and intricate path into the center and back again.
Labyrinth Construction
Labyrinth construction varies widely. Some labyrinths are more formal, made of carefully laid stone as part of a plaza. Some are casual, rocks in concentric circles in a field or even ridges of earth. Some are cut into turf. They can be permanent or temporary, as in the case of a labyrinth on canvas.
All labyrinths follow basic rules of construction, where the labyrinth is carefully measured and laid out, prior to building.
And, according to Marge McCarthy, a dowser should be employed to determine the location and entrance of the labyrinth.
Dowsing involves not water, but energy. The person or shaman doing the dousing is seeking to align the energetic center of the labyrinth with the energy of the earth. Marge tells an interesting story of having several dowsers out to a particular labyrinth. And each found the exact same location.
Once the center is established, the lines are carefully measured and laid out. Depending on the size of the construction team and location, hours (or even days!) are then spent bringing the labyrinth to life, as the concentric rings are carefully constructed. Exacting measurements at the beginning of the process insure a properly aligned end product.
If you’ve never walked a labyrinth, it’s something to put on your list of things to try. It’s experiential. The emotion of finding oneself “lost” while on the path; the turning points; the arrival at the center and the act of departing can have deep impact. I know that these curious pathways are now on my travel list. Here are a a few of my favorites from the Santa Fe area to date:
Aldea Labyrinth
Aldea is a residential community north of Santa Fe, and the labyrinth here was spearheaded as a community effort some years ago. Marge hadn’t been out recently, so we weren’t sure what we would find. But we found a well cared for labyrinth in a field with views of the distant mountains:
Aldea labyrinth was a community effort.
Aldea Labyrinth
There is something a bit magical about finding a labyrinth where one might not expect it. Who built it? Why here? Every labyrinth has a story.
Frenchy’s Field
The Frenchy’s Field Labyrinth is made of clay and straw. It requires frequent maintenance.
The Santa Fe Interfaith Council sponsored this labyrinth in 1998. This seven circuit labyrinth (there are seven concentric circles, thus a seven circuit labyrinth) is high maintenance. The combination of adobe type materials, hot sun and torrential downpours weathers the ridges that make up the pathways.
It’s located in Frenchy’s Field, on Agua Fria which runs along the river. The park has been owned by a host of owners, starting with the Pueblo people and more recently, many recall Frenchy’s Sunshine Dairy, which lent their name to the park. It’s a gathering place for everything from walks along the river, to laughter yoga, to Tai Chi.
Prayer flags wave from a primitive shelter at the start of the labyrinth.
Public and Hidden Labyrinths
Some of the better know labyrinths around town include the Christ Lutheran Church at 1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road, a modified seven circuit Chartres style; the labyrinth at the Museum of International Folk Art; the Railyard; the Santa Fe Community Yoga Center; Southwestern College and Community Church.
At a busy intersection, surrounded by trees is the labyrinth at Christ Lutheran Church, Santa Fe, NM
But tucked away, just to the north of Santa Fe is my favorite labyrinth. It’s small and nestles near an arroyo. The location I cannot disclose. But the pictures I can share:
The path to the hidden labyrinth
“Those that don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
–Roald Dahl
A small 5 circuit Labyrinth tucked away near Santa Fe
There is something magical about coming across a labyrinth in the middle of nowhere. Mind, body and spirit join the earth in a walk as old as the ages.
May you discover the wonder of labyrinth walking in your travels.
Labyrinth Walks in Santa Fe
Upcoming Labyrinth Walk in Santa Fe
Path of Forgiveness Sunday, August 26, 5:00pm Harp music by Kathleen Cosgrove
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place
A short Ted talk on the impact of labyrinths on one young woman:
More Reading on Labyrinths
Lauren Artress reintroduces the ancient labyrinth, a walking meditation that trancends the limits of still meditation, and shows us the possibilities it brings for renewal and change.
‘Walking the Labyrinth’ has reemerged today as a metaphor for the spiritual journey and a powerful tool for transformation. This walking meditation is an archetype, a mystical ritual found in all religious traditions. It quiets the mind and opens the soul. Walking a Sacred Path explores the historical origins of this divine imprint and shares the discoveries of modern day seekers. It shows us the potential of the Labyrinth to inspire change and renewal, and serves as a guide to help us develop the higher level of human awareness we need to survive in the twenty-first century.
The first time Helen Curry walked a labyrinth she was moved to tears and then “was filled with peace and possibilities.” Here, she shares her years of experience with labyrinth meditation and shows how others can find serenity and guidance by adopting this increasingly popular practice. Unlike mazes, which force choices and can create fear and confusion, labyrinths are designed to “embrace” and guide individuals through a calming, meditative walk on a single circular path. The Way of the Labyrinth includes meditations, prayers, questions for enhancing labyrinth walks, guidelines for ceremonies, instructions for finger meditations, and extensive resources. This enchanting, practical, and exquisitely packaged guide helps both novice and experienced readers enjoy the benefits of labyrinth meditation, from problem-solving to stress reduction to personal transformation. Includes a foreword by Jean Houston, the renowned author and leader in the field of humanistic psychology, who is considered the grandmother of the current labyrinth revival.
Laybrinths and mazes are found all over the world and have been a source of wonder throughout history. This work explores the many aspects of labyrinths from their architectural, astrological and mythological significance to their iconographical , mathematical and artistic fascination. It is an introduction to such different labyrinth forms as rock engravings on Trojan castles, medieval manuscripts, church labyrinths and Baroque garden mazes. He traces the origins, developments and changing meanings of this mystic form from the Bronze Age to the present day. The labyrinth’s dominant position in Western civilization is supplemented by explorations in other cultures around the globe, including those of Egypt, India and North America. By taking a close look through the centuries at different cultures and across the continents, the cultural and historical significance of the maze takes on a new light.
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Museum Hill is just outside of town, so the average visitor, often overcome by the seduction of turquoise, woven fibers and art in and around the Plaza, might overlook this site which hosts world class museums ranging from Folk Art to Native American pieces.
My advice: Don’t be average!
Tucked away in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, this elegant ensemble of buildings also sports a cafe (with a Sunday brunch and jazz Friday evenings) and the International Folk Art Festival in July. There are four museums–plus the Botanical Gardens– gathered here.
Each museum is certainly a stand alone entity, but one of the things I find interesting about Museum Hill is that it offers a blend of the history of peoples who have gone into creating such a unique culture in and around Santa Fe.
Though the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, one gets a sense of how the Spanish sensibilities of art and culture have come to be intertwined with modern day living.
The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture looks at historic and contemporary Indian culture.
The Folk Art Museum is a quirky museum with a quirky gift shop, that hosts the International Folk Art Festival drawing a global audience of artists and collectors each July. It is said to be one of the best parties in Santa Fe!
And the spectacular jewelry displays at the Wheelwright Museum (and in its gift shop) will more than make up for shopping time away from the Plaza.
This cluster of buildings on Museum Hill is arranged around a beautiful courtyard, that includes stunning sculpture, places to sit and a labyrinth just outside the Folk Art Museum. Plus views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains overlooking the museum plaza. Like all of Santa Fe, it combines history, art and spirit with a depth of soul that celebrates a living, evolving heritage.
The labyrinth at Museum Hill. Labyrinth walks are held periodically by the Labyrinth Society. More on the many labyrinths of Santa Fe in an upcoming post!
The Four Museums
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art at Museum Hill
Designed by John Gaw Meem in 1930
This museum is dedicated to the art of the Spanish colonial period, with a focus on Hispanic New Mexico, and it is fascinating. It highlights the impact of Spanish influence on the culture of the region. The Spanish Colonial Arts Society, which runs the museum, also hosts Spanish Market. This year the market will be held July 28-29 on the Santa Fe Plaza.
Spanish Market highlights colonial artists in a display of woodcarving, tinwork, colcha, pottery, ironwork and other traditional Spanish art forms which can be traced back over 400 years. It’s part of a weeklong celebration ¡Viva La Cultura! that includes lectures, culinary events, music and more.
The history of the The Spanish Colonial Arts Society and the Museum goes back to 1913 when author Mary Austin and artist/author Frank G. Applegate officially founded the group. One of their initial efforts was to purchase a church in Chimayo. The church known throughout the world was El Santuario de Chimayo, the Lourdes of America. In 1954, the renovation of the Plaza del Cerro at Chimayo was also spearheaded by this group.
Pilgrims to Chimayo often leave crosses in memory of loved ones
Through the generosity of an anonymous gift of land and financial help from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. the current museum came to life. It’s a wonderful architectural example fo the Spanish Colonial period (designed by renown architect John Gaw Meem in 1930) as well as a spectacular collection of Spanish art. It’s well worth a visit.
Entrance to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Museum Hill
The late 1800’s saw a rise in interest in western and particularly Indian culture. The railroad, plus a bit of word of mouth, lured visitors to the southwest. Among the visitors was anthropologist Edgar Lee Hewett who had a mission to study and preserve the Native American artistic, cultural and intellectual achievements. He founded the Museum of New Mexico which later merged with John D. Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Anthropology.
To the side of the main entry is a courtyard where several sculptures greet the visitor outside the building:
Museum Hill, like the rest of Santa Fe, is a celebration of art and culture.
Bronze outside of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture at Museum Hill
And in the main concourse, the stunning Warrior Sculpture:
Warrior Sculpture in central Plaza on Museum Hill
Art is an integral part of the culture in Santa Fe, inspired in part by the 19 New Mexican Pueblos, eight of which are located between Santa Fe and Taos. The history and presence of the pueblos is an integral part to understanding the region.
Taos Pueblo
Close up of sculpture at Taos
The mission of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology serves as a center of stewardship, knowledge, and understanding of the artistic, cultural, and intellectual achievements of the diverse peoples of the Native Southwest. It’s a fascinating museum for the visitor willing to step off the beaten path.
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian at Museum Hill
The Navajo medicine man, Klah, was born in 1867. During this period the U.S. government had started its efforts to annihilate Indian culture through forced imprisonment and later, for the children, placement in Christian boarding schools.
Luck would bring together Klah, who had a deep interest in the preservation of the Navajo culture with Mary Cabot Wheelright, a sympathetic wealthy Bostonian from the Cabot family. This combined force created a permanent record of the vast knowledge of the medicine man and other Navajo rituals. Weavings, medical lore and additional Navajo traditions have been carefully preserved and are available only to others of Navajo descent.
The joint efforts of Klah and Ms. Wheelwright eventually evolved into the Wheelright Museum. And what a museum this is!
Tucked away just down the road from the main museum plaza, this gem showcases beautiful art and in the Martha Hopkins Struever Gallery, a history of native jewelry traditions. Don’t let a bit of distance deter you from visiting this museum. In a town brimming with art and history, this is one stop you want to make.
The Wheelwright Museum was founded in 1937 which makes it the oldest non-profit museum in New Mexico. It offers a stunning display of traditional and contemporary Native American Art, including solo shows by living artists, and it is home to the Jim and Lauris Phillips Center for the Study of Southwestern Jewelry which is one of the most comprehensive collections of Navajo and Pueblo jewelry.
The museum offers a blend of history and contemporary artist culture, keeping alive many of the traditions of the southwest and its people. The jewelry exhibit ranges from old to new; from traditional to contemporary; and each piece has a story to tell. Docent tours are worth seeking out. As is the gift shop downstairs which features a range of old and new jewelry, rugs and other items.
Necklace by Charlene Reano (Santo Domingo Pueblo) 2006 Abalone, Spondylus
The traditional squash blossom design has Moorish roots.
A stunning display of older jewelry fashioned by the regional pueblos.
Museum of International Folk Art at Museum Hill
Folk Art at the Museum of International Folk Art, Museum Hill
What is folk art? From the museum:
Andean hats from the Museum of International Folk Art on Museum Hill
Generally, folk art is ART that:
May be decorative or utilitarian
May be used every day or reserved for high ceremonies
Is handmade; it may include handmade elements, as well as new, synthetic, or recycled components
May be made for use within a community of practice or it may be produced for sale as a form of income and empowerment
May be learned formally or informally; folk art may also be self-taught
May include intangible forms of expressive culture like dance, song, poetry, and foodways
Is traditional; it reflects shared cultural aesthetics and social issues. It is recognized that, as traditions are dynamic, traditional folk art may change over time and may include innovations in tradition.
Is of, by, and for the people; all people, inclusive of class, status, culture, community, ethnicity, gender, and religion
The museum’s core collection was donated by its founder Florence Dibell Bartlett. Today the museum boasts over 130,000 items form more than 100 countries around the world.
Once a year the Museum hosts the International Folk Art Market:
Here are a few pictures from this year’s market:
The festive entry beckons one into the 2018 Folk Art Market in Santa Fe.
All that glitters isn’t gold. Here at this vendor it’s gorgeous silver!
Earrings and much more at the Folk Art Market.
Color galore!
Kites and then some
If you go to the International Folk Art Market, you may want to splurge on early morning tickets. They cost a bit more, but they give you entree to the market starting at 7 am, before the crowds, the heat and the afternoon thunderstorms!
The four museums and the botanical gardens are clustered together, just off Old Santa Fe Trail. Exploring the area takes you through some beautiful residential areas, plus gives you the opportunity to sample the local terrain that the early settlers and traders rode as they crossed the country.
The museums and botanical gardens are all grouped together, just off Old Santa Fe Trail
Museum Hill is outside the old part of town, but easily accessible.
Public buses, private tours, free shuttles and Uber/Lyft all provide transportation. I recommend stopping in one of the tourist offices to get the most recent information on transportation schedules to Museum Hill. And while you’re there, have some fun exploring the incredible number of things to do in northern New Mexico.
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Traveling with cancer presents its challenges but on this day, I tried to see the opportunity. It was Day One of CancerRoadTrip, one year ago.
My first stop was in Sonoma, one of those places I’ve enjoyed for more than 20 years. The rolling hills, the ocean, the lines of grapes wandering over the hillsides all come together to create a small piece of heaven on earth. And don’t forget the oysters and wine!
Traveling With Cancer: Day One in Sonoma
These pictures are from my first day out on Cancer Road Trip, just about one year ago. My car was packed for four seasons. Winter boots were stashed in the Thule carrier on the car’s roof. Summer clothes in a bag in the back.
I didn’t know how to use my camera yet. I hadn’t had time to consider all the dials, settings and possibilities. It was, for the moment, a task not a companion.
Between cancer and business, fair weather friends were long gone and I found myself traveling with the words of Eric Clapton:
Once I lived the life of a millionaire
Spent all my money, didn’t have any care
Took all my friends out for a mighty good time
Bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine
Then I began to fall so low
Lost all my good friends, had nowhere to go
I get my hands on a dollar again
I’ll hang on to it till that old eagle grins
‘Cause nobody knows you
When you’re down and out
In your pocket, not one penny
And as for friends, you don’t have many
When you get back on your feet again
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend
I said it’s strange, without any doubt
Nobody knows you when you’re down and out
Perhaps being down and out had its positive side. I could move along, beholding to no one. I stopped at Cornerstone Garden to stretch my back; I had a bowl of wonderful mussels in Sonoma for lunch.
Artefact, an architectural salvage place in Cornerstone Gardens that I loved to frequent. It was here that I found that perfectly funky piece of teak root that doubled as a piece of natural art for my backyard. This of course required two round trips, one to buy the piece and another to transport it!
Lunch!
Day One of traveling with cancer was one of adventure, possibility and sadness.
I was still in that in between land of attachment to the events and possessions versus the freedom of the road. Over time, less would become more and the adventure would overshadow the past.
But on Day One of my road trip, nothing was clear. Other than heading to Vashon Island to regroup, I had no idea where I was going to go or what I was going to do. I’d ruled out a lawsuit based on cost and stress. Half a million dollars for lawyers just wasn’t in my budget. Nor was wasting three years of my life on a group of grifters.
It was once again time to start over again.
My travels through Sonoma covered familiar territory. It was wistful and a process of relinquishing all that had been. As I drove through winding roads and vineyards, I remembered driving similar passages with Whiskey Oscar in tow. I remembered parties at vineyards and weekends with friends.
A stop at Chalk Hill reminded me of wine dinners and good times. The glass structure to the left of the indoor riding rink housed a French limestone fireplace and opened to a patio overlooking the vineyards.
I remembered being without cancer.
And I remember an unforgettable night, in Sonoma, when I received a message that they had misdiagnosed my cancer.
After months of research, I had applied for a clinical trial at Stanford. It was a vaccine trial, where an individualized vaccine was created and placed into your body. The research made sense to me; it wasn’t chemo; I wanted to try it as a first line offense.
I was sitting at a table at a lovely event in Sonoma, enjoying great food and wine. A phone call came in, but I was too slow to pick up. Instead, I retrieved the message:
Stanford rejected you.
Their biopsy results show you have a different type of cancer.
Call the office on Monday.
I just stared at my phone. A deep, dark pit of doubt and fear opened and threatened to engulf me. It would be a feeling I’d become familiar with as I navigated life with cancer.
The rejection of the clinical trail was devastating. I’d carefully constructed a safety net of data and information to guide me through what lay ahead. I’d researched clinical trials; talked to researchers and doctors; made what I thought was an informed decision.
And it was all for nought.
I was back at the beginning again with no knowledge, no plan, and perhaps no future.
I went through the rest of the three day weekend smiling, chatting, eating and drinking. But it was an out of body experience as the months of research, hope and effort went down the drain. And I still didn’t know what the diagnosis would be on Monday.
As I drive through Sonoma I think about all of this. I think about the comfort that my wonderful bedroom and the wind chimes just outside the window gave me through the various rounds of chemo. I think that it is all gone and I don’t know what to do.
Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.
Other than just go forward.
In those early days of travel, I was living on an edge of an abyss. Above was life. Below– I didn’t know and I didn’t want to look too closely. I was sure the stress would manifest itself in a re-emergence of cancer, just as it had before.
After the Rituxan (my personal drug from hell and my first unsuccessful offense against the cancer), the 6 infusions of RCVP (a chemo cocktail used to treat non-Hodgkins lymphoma) every three weeks bought me some time.
But the cancer soon came raging back. A tumor wrapped around my aorta was a source of concern. Another at the base of my skull. And tumors too numerous to count throughout my body.
And now, on the road, traveling with cancer, and quite homeless for the moment, I just didn’t want to go there again, yet I was sure that was where I was heading.
When you can’t change the direction the wind, adjust your sails.
–H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
So I battened down the hatches and I drove.
Driving, for me, is simultaneously an act of engagement and disengagement. I drive. The terrain in Sonoma is such that one wears the road, particularly driving a manual transmission. I concentrated on what was immediately ahead. And I entered that wonderful space of now, where nothing exists except the moment.
So started CancerRoadTrip.
Oysters and Wine
Oysters and wine. Trepidation and joy. Not necessarily in that order. A walk on the coast; a visit to beautiful gardens. And a winding road into the country towards an unknown destination.
I find solace and wisdom in metaphor. And on Day One of CancerRoadTrip, traveling with cancer, disappointment and doubt, I definitely needed some solace.
One’s destination is never a place but a new way of seeing things. –Henry Miller
Traveling With Cancer: From chaos comes order, in time.
Life isn’t always easy. There are times when all we know is shattered and unrecognizable and the only option is to somehow move ahead. I’m grateful I was able to trust in the journey, although I had many doubts along the way. But it is paying off, in new places, new experiences and in new perspectives.
And goodness knows I always love a bit of adventure!
My wind chimes may be packed away; my possessions in boxes; but traveling with cancer I find comfort in the words of my ancestors:
May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. May the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again may the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand.
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This is Bisti/De-Na-Zen and it is wild. It’s inhospitable, with no water and little to no vegetation. Its combination of mesas, buttes and badlands are intimidating to the uninitiated. It’s untamed except by the winds of time.
The Bisti Wilderness Photo Credit: John Fowler
Hoodoo rocks in Bisti/Se-Na-Zin Wilderness
In its own way it is both soulful and graceful, even in the harshness of mid-day light.
Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, Utah Photo Credit: Jen Milius
Hoodoos are also found on the Colorado Plateau and in the Badlands of the Great Plains; in the southern Tyrol in Italy; in New Zealand, Taiwan, Canada and France. As well as many other places.
Hoodoos–also called tent rocks, fairy chimneys and earth pyramids– are mainly found in the desert. They are formed through erosion and frost wedging. Frost wedging is a process where melting snow seeps into crevices, and freezes. This action is powerful and bit by bit, weakens and erodes the layers of sedimentary rock. This relentless process of erosion means that hoodoos have a relatively short geological lifespan.
I had visited the South Dakota Badlands back in 1995 with Whiskey Oscar. I left her on the ground while I helicoptered over the terrain. (It was after all an aviation themed adventure!)
The South Dakota Badlands
Looking across the prairie to the South Dakota Badlands
Interestingly, on that trip (pre ubiquitous internet access) I didn’t even know that this National Park existed. Driving along Route 90, the prairie suddenly gave way to this curious set of rock formations. I stopped; met two guys with a helicopter (seriously) and we were off! I like to think of that being just another story of travel serendipity.
Serendipity or not, put Bisti/Da-Na-Zin on your more esoteric list of must visits. It’s a most unusual place, and the photo buffs in the audience will just love it. I look forward to returning when the weather gets cooler. Preferably, not on a camping expedition.
This book by Abiquiu artist Walter Nelson continues Walter’s tradition of venturing into land seldom visited. He once took a thousand mile trek into the Arizona and New Mexican desert following the trail of Coronado. You can read more about my meeting with Walter here.
From Amazon:
“Few people have ventured into the remote, uninhabited badlands of the Navajo Reservation in northwest New Mexico known, by the artist who made it famous, as the Black Place. During the 1930s and 1940s Georgia O’Keeffe and her friend Maria Chabot braved the harsh conditions of baking heat in summer, bitter cold in winter, and ferocious winds to make many camping trips to the area that inspired one of the great outpourings of creativity in O’Keeffe’s artistic life. Photographer Walter W. Nelson, who shares with O’Keeffe what writer Douglas Preston calls “a great affinity for geology” went in search of the Black Place twenty years ago and has returned over thirty times to photograph it, first in black-and-white with a large format 8 x1 0 camera and over the last five years, in color with a digital camera. The two seasons of his title refer to the fact that in this region virtually devoid of vegetation, only the presence of snow visually distinguishes the landscape from the non-winter months. Inexhaustible in scope, with geological complexity dating back some 66 million years, the Black Place must be patiently experienced for its mystery and infinitude and deep secrets of time.”
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Chaco Canyon is well off the beaten path. There are no gas stations, no water and no accommodations.
But don’t let that deter you!
I visited Chaco a few weeks ago. It was a camping trip. Now those of you that know me, know that this girl doesn’t camp unless it’s with an RV magically delivered to the site, fully stocked, with clean sheets. Preferably with a nicely stocked wine refrigerator. But, in keeping with my Lessons from the Road, I decided to stretch my comfort zone a bit.
Chaco is located a little over 3 hours north of Santa Fe. Most of the road is paved, and even the unpaved portions are very drivable. Including the twenty one teeth rattling miles from the highway to the park. Expect washboard, lots of dust and the occasional rock. Welcome to the west!
Chaco interested me primarily because it seemed to continue a theme of ancient peoples and migrations in the American Southwest. Unlike many national parks that are very user friendly, Chaco is very rudimentary. Dirt roads, no shower, no water, camping and not much else.
But what one might miss in amenities, one finds in nature:
Sunrise at Chaco Canyon
Wildlife in Chaco Canyon
Sunset in Chaco Canyon
But first one must make camp.
I managed to borrow everything I would need. I had a very nice North Face Tent that slept six, just for myself. An inflatable pad, a sleeping bag and a collapsible chair, and I was in business.
Except of course, for putting it all up.
But it all came together in time for dinner and sunset.
Chaco was once the premier civilization in southwest North America. It was built between 850 and 1150, and comprised of numerous villages and buildings connected by perfectly straight roads that ran for hundreds of miles, all leading to Pueblo Bonita. Along the roadways, fires would provide navigation, much as lighthouses did at sea.
The extent of this network and the importance of Chaco as a scientific, cultural and business center cannot be over emphasized.
This was the single largest Anasazi settlement of its day, with five story sandstone and wood buildings and many kivas for spiritual practices.
The area was hunted, farmed and very much alive.
“The Canyon pulsated with life.”
Some facts about the Anasazi settlement at Chaco Canyon
“One hundred years before the first gothic cathedrals were built in Europe, the master architects and stone masons of th Anasazi were building great kivas that could hold 500 people.”
From the National Park Service Website:
For all the wild beauty of Chaco Canyon’s high-desert landscape, its long winters, short growing seasons, and marginal rainfall create an unlikely place for a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture to take root and flourish. Yet this valley was the center of a thriving culture a thousand years ago. The monumental scale of its architecture, the complexity of its community life, the high level of its community social organization, and its far-reaching commerce created a cultural vision unlike any other seen before or since.
The cultural flowering of the Chacoan people began in the mid 800s and lasted more than 300 years. We can see it clearly in the grand scale of the architecture. Using masonry techniques unique for their time, they constructed massive stone buildings (Great Houses) of multiple stories containing hundreds of rooms much larger than any they had previously built. The buildings were planned from the start, in contrast to the usual practiced of adding rooms to existing structures as needed. Constructions on some of these buildings spanned decades and even centuries. Although each is unique, all great houses share architectural features that make them recognizable as Chacoan.
Chacoan architectural remains at Pueblo Bonita
During the middle and late 800s, the great houses of Pueblo Bonito, Una Vida, and Peñasco Blanco were constructed, followed by Hungo Pavi, Chetro Ketl, Pueblo Alto, and others. These structures were often oriented to solar, lunar, and cardinal directions. Lines of sight between the great houses allowed communication. Sophisticated astronomical markers, communication features, water control devices, and formal earthen mounds surrounded them. The buildings were placed within a landscape surrounded by sacred mountains, mesas, and shrines that still have deep spiritual meaning for their descendants.
…Pueblo descendants say that Chaco was a special gathering place where many peoples and clans converged to share their ceremonies, traditions, and knowledge. Chaco is central to the origins of several Navajo clans and ceremonies. Chaco is also an enduring enigma for researchers. Was Chaco the hub of a turquoise-trading network established to acquire macaws, copper bells, shells, and other commodities from distant lands? Did Chaco distribute food and resources to growing populations when the climate failed them? Was Chaco “the center place,” binding a region together by a shared vision? We may never fully understand Chaco.
Entree to the park is via CR 7900 and 7950. Twenty one miles of dirt road, a few Indian houses, and sandy mesas keep the timid at bay. The last four miles are rather rough, particularly near the Escavada Wash, but once one reaches the park the road is paved, if poorly maintained. An eight mile loop through the site provides access to all the major archaeological sites and petroglyphs.
Detail of the route into Chaco Canyon Source: nps.gov
Map detail of Chaco Canyon and the 8 mile loop that provides national park access. Source: nps.gov
There is one campsite, and reservations are recommended. (It would be a shame to drive all the way out here and be unable to stay. And there are no accommodations for many miles. The closest town is about an hour away.) Plan ahead, check any park restrictions (such as no open fires) and roadway access, and bring lots of water. This is the desert and there is no potable water in the rest facilities at the campsite.
Part of the lure of Chaco is its mystery. Why was the Chaco chosen as a location? Why after 300 years did the Anasazi suddenly pack up and leave this hub of spiritual life, science and commerce and move to Mesa Verde, further north in southwestern Colorado?
Remains of a multi-story sandstone and timber building at Pueblo Bonito, at Chaco Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage site
This short video gives some perspective the largest city ever built by the Anasazi:
In it’s prime, Pueblo Bonito and the surrounding communities were vibrant hubs of civilization. It’s been speculated that Chaco Canyon was a celestial center for study; it was certainly a major trading post; it had deep spiritual traditions which no doubt traveled with the Anasazi when they departed.
When the Anasazi left for Mesa Verde, the lineage of the people continued, but Chaco did not. The reasons for the disappearance of the Anasazi are not clear. It may have been weather related: as it was for the Santa Clara Pueblo residents who moved from their cave dwellings, east to the Rio Grande as a result of drought. Or their disappearance may have had other reasons.
We may never know the reasons for the demise of this civilization, but the architecture, religion, and ceremonies of the Anasazi have been passed through to subsequent generations. From the adobe buildings that dominate the region, to the traditional Indian dances celebrated at cultural gatherings like the Gathering of Nations, the Anasazi heritage lives on. This history forms a rich tapestry in northern New Mexico that blends native Indian, Spanish and American cultural elements to create a truly unique place, with a deep sense of place that reaches back hundreds of years.
And as for the camping: It was just fine! Cold at night. Relentlessly hot during the day. And a sand storm.
THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. It is the summation of 20 years of research. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region. Aerial and time lapse footage, computer modeling, and interviews with scholars show how the Chacoan culture designed, oriented and located its major buildings in relationship to the sun and moon. Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Chacoan people, regard Chaco as a place where their ancestors lived in a sacred past. Pueblo leaders speak of the significance of Chaco to the Pueblo world today.
The film challenges the notion that Chaco Canyon was primarily a trade and redistribution center. Rather it argues that it was a center of astronomy and cosmology and that a primary purpose for the construction of the elaborate Chacoan buildings and certain roads was to express astronomical interests and to be integral parts of a celestial patterning.
While the Chacoans left no written text to help us to understand their culture, their thoughts are preserved in the language of their architecture, roads and light markings. Landscape, directions, sun and moon, and movement of shadow and light were the materials used by the Chacoan architects and builders to express their knowledge of an order in the universe.
From Amazon:
Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico contains a remarkable set of Ancestral Puebloan buildings. Occupied between AD 850 and 1150, Chaco appears to have been the cultural and political center for much of what is now the Four Corners region. Many sites in the Chaco Culture National Historical Park have been continuously studied for more than a century. Vivian and Hilpert wrote this encyclopedic handbook to help organize the extensive amount of information available for Chaco, as well as to stimulate speculation and encourage further exploration. The result is a highly accessible but thorough reference.
The Chaco Handbook includes more than 270 cross-referenced, alphabetical entries, more than 100 illustrations and maps, plus histories of Chaco’s development and ensuing archaeological research. Entries address important Chacoan and related sites, place-names, archaeological and ethnographic terms, objects and architectural features, and institutions and individuals. This second edition includes a new preface, a new chapter on professional explanations for the “Chaco Phenomena,” additional entries, and revisions to existing entries. Useful to anyone with an interest in the Ancestral Puebloans, including specialists, this handbook will guide readers to greater exploration of Chacoan culture and the Chaco world.
From Amazon:
The Anasazi of Chaco Canyon by Kyle Widner.
Perhaps the most fascinating chapter in Southwest history is the tale of the mysterious, “vanished” Anasazi Indians. Their tremendous achievements can be found in many places, including the spectacular cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. But the crest of the Anasazi wave was in Chaco Canyon, a shallow, windswept wash in northwest New Mexico. Here in Chaco Canyon, 1,000 years ago, strange and unexplained events unfolded; events which continue to intrigue scientists, visitors, and those interested in the Anasazi.
During the years 850-1150 AD, the Anasazi built multi-story buildings comparable in size to the Roman Coliseum in Chaco Canyon. Advanced astronomy, water works, and agriculture flourished. Exotic artifacts from Central America were traded over routes spanning thousands of miles. And after 300 years, the Anasazi carefully sealed everything up, left Chaco Canyon, and never returned.
The Anasazi of Chaco Canyon offers insight into the unknowns of the “Chaco Phenomenon”. In addition, it draws on the latest Anasazi research, personal experiences, and interpretations of oral traditions, leading the reader to a startling conclusion. What happened in Chaco Canyon? Why did the Anasazi choose this foreboding location to construct spectacular Great Houses?
More Posts on the Rich Heritage of the American Southwest:
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Inspiration, joy & discovery through travel. Oh, did I mention with supposedly incurable cancer?
What's on your bucket list?
Thank you for stopping by!
CancerRoadTrip is about making lemonade out of lemons.
As you read my story, you may want to start at the beginning to "grok" how CancerRoadTrip came to be. You can click here to start at the end (which is actually the beginning) and read forward! The posts are chronological, with the most recent posts appearing on the front page.
Mitch Gaynor, integrative oncologist and author of The Healing Power of Sound, sadly died recently. His insightful, out of the box approach to complimentary healing has much to teach all of us.
The first time Helen Curry walked a labyrinth she was moved to tears and then “was filled with peace and possibilities.” Here, she shares her years of experience with labyrinth meditation and shows how others can find serenity and guidance by adopting this increasingly popular practice. Unlike mazes, which force choices and can create fear and confusion, labyrinths are designed to “embrace” and guide individuals through a calming, meditative walk on a single circular path. The Way of the Labyrinth includes meditations, prayers, questions for enhancing labyrinth walks, guidelines for ceremonies, instructions for finger meditations, and extensive resources. This enchanting, practical, and exquisitely packaged guide helps both novice and experienced readers enjoy the benefits of labyrinth meditation, from problem-solving to stress reduction to personal transformation. Includes a foreword by Jean Houston, the renowned author and leader in the field of humanistic psychology, who is considered the grandmother of the current labyrinth revival.
From Amazon:
From Amazon:
Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico contains a remarkable set of Ancestral Puebloan buildings. Occupied between AD 850 and 1150, Chaco appears to have been the cultural and political center for much of what is now the Four Corners region. Many sites in the Chaco Culture National Historical Park have been continuously studied for more than a century. Vivian and Hilpert wrote this encyclopedic handbook to help organize the extensive amount of information available for Chaco, as well as to stimulate speculation and encourage further exploration. The result is a highly accessible but thorough reference.
