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so i went

January 11, 2012

the road in

i hadn't thought about the snow. it was wet and muddy as we neared the actual canyon. i looked to see if the shovel was in the truck, nope. so we parked and just walked there.

the only time i caught Chinche…the minute i turn the camera toward her she disappears.

skeleton of a centipede

this and the pic before are of the road out, the road to the canyon road. this is what you see in all directions. hundreds of miles. there used to be more trees. desert trees. but otherwise, it is exactly like it was when it was born. out there in the distance, you can't see it, it is hidden, is the valley. there is the RioGrande River, farms. it is sparsly populated. but everything there is human made. you could say, artificial, compared to the canyon land and all the lands surrounding. i like to think about this. it's a big thought. how everything was invented and created by human beings that came here.

this is where the frontage road along the freeway splits off into Polvadera road. the turnoff to the canyon road is about 10 minutes from my house. i wanted to take some pics of downtown Polvadera but my windshield was dirty and Sun was riding low and straight ahead. another time.

this is one of the more picturesque on the maybe 2 blocks of town.

this is more common. the guy who fixed my tire last week was telling me how it used to be "back in the day". he grew up here. his family were land grant people. he said there were many more homes, now all fallen back into the earth…adobe… and that everyone had gardens for their chilis and beans. chickens. goats. trailer houses were unheard of. there was a general store and the building i showed you was a dance hall. there was a cock fighting arena.

this is the road to my road.

my neighbor

those peaks to the right of the tree are the roof of an extremely beautiful home. it's just over the irrigation ditch. that's an interesting thing about New Mexico. we don't have "neighborhoods" here that are socioeconomic in design. there will be a junky trailer home directly next to a very elegant one. it's just how it is.

that's my house. straight ahead.

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57 responses to “so i went”

Valerianna

January 11, 2012

I’m always amazed at how different the land is from here to there. I love seeing your environment. The canyon is amazing, really, wonderfully ancient feeling stones. I love how that tree in the sneak peek photo of the nice house is so prominent. Such a rising, leaning statement, beautiful. Thanks for the glimpse into your outer world, the world beyond your garden. I feel I’ve seen a lot of the garden, but not much beyond.

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Nancy

January 11, 2012

This brought me much much happiness! I will be back when I gather my words.

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grace Forrest Maestas

January 11, 2012

the beyond. yes. i thought of that. i will include
the beyond here now.
the pics of the canyon are not the DRAMA that the canyon
really is. the canyon is way more than this. but, then
again, i don’t know exactly how i can show you scale.
will have to think about that.
and this is a pretty much “nothing” area of the state.
i acquired an acre of land near Cuba which is up in the Abique area of Georgia Okeefe’s Ghost Ranch. THERE it is stunning. like breath taking. but there’s no water available there even tho it’s on a seasonal lake that the fish and game stocks with trout. but anyway…it’s Here
that i ended up somehow. and even if there Were water
there, i think i’d stay here. it’s my Place.
that’s a cottonwood tree. cottonwoods are what create the Bosque, the forest along the RioGrande. i’ll go take some pics of that. it’s also close by.

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deanna7trees

January 11, 2012

oh i so enjoyed seeing this. i might have to come back with my sketchbook. nice that the pictures enlarge for a close up view. thanks for the tour.

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handstories

January 11, 2012

and so we went too! thank you. that big blue sky amazes everytime. & if i squint, i can imagine you standing and waving in the last photo.xxo

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Jacky

January 11, 2012

Grace thanks for the journey…what a remarkable environment you live in. I hadnt expected to see snow. The sky so blue, the land so stark. It looks like a place of extremes. This land looks so tough and strong…and yes ancient. It must be anamazing place to live.
The canyons, the old dance hall, the dirt roads… thanks for sharing this all with us Grace.
Jacky xox

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grace Forrest Maestas

January 11, 2012

the brown part is the ROOM that Jenny and i made by
smashing out the wall of the house. the little whiteish
thing on the far left is that ugly awning where the
sparrow camps out. and the big aluminum thing behind
is the Albatros, the garage/shed thing of corregated
aluminum panels. it’s bigger than the house.
if you were coming, i would have you take the freeway to
the truck stop in Lemitar. then call. and i would
“talk” you here on your cell. and yes. i would be
standing out in the road waving…

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grace Forrest Maestas

January 11, 2012

for whatever reason, your words have made me cry.
yes. it IS a remarkable environment. we have had
over a foot of snow twice since the second week in
December. this is not normal.
the land IS tough. and it IS strong. i guess these are
the words that make me cry. cause a new little tide of
tears came with the typing of them. it’s amazing in
so many ways. it is so many things, simultaneously.
i’m glad you like it. i’ll show you more of its faces
as time goes on.

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grace Forrest Maestas

January 11, 2012

WHAT are you sketching????????????????

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grace Forrest Maestas

January 11, 2012

i guess the tearyness began here….that these pics
brought happiness??????????

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deanna7trees

January 11, 2012

those magnificent rock formations.

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Valerianna

January 11, 2012

Are you still moving to California then? If this is your PLACE??

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Yvonne

January 11, 2012

I so enjoyed seeing your neighbourhood and the canyon – thank you. The third photo made me think of a giant Aladdin type figurehead wearing a turban – the shadow goes down the centre of the nose. I have been to NM once and loved it – I find the canyon landscape very appealing.

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Linda

January 11, 2012

as you know, i love new mexico. what always comes through is the blue skies.
i thank you for the reminder of how wonderful it is.
i too can see you in all the pictures
i want to drive up that road. i loved ghost ranch and that area. it is stunning.
i hope your tears are of joy or heartfelt…

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Nancy

January 11, 2012

For some reason Grace these photos took me to some very special memories from my younger years and from some of my more recent travels. These are the type of lands I end up visiting when I go for trips (day or otherwise). The dryness, the emptiness, the big sky -feels so comfortable to me…like home. My travels, my lands are not the exact same as yours, but similar, quite similar. And both of those places my youth & recent years travels are very sweet to me.
That tree really is grand…I’m from cottonwoods too.
I love the markings on your neighbors face, very spirit cloth like to me, very stitch-able.
Thanks again for the day trip Grace. 🙂

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jude

January 12, 2012

there is lots of brown. and it comes in many colors. blue and brown. i would like it there.

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KaiteM.

January 12, 2012

the Canyon grace, it’ so old and so full of spirit, i noticed that i took a sharp breath in. extraordinary, i would love to spend some time there.
and then your house, i couldn’t help but see that everything looks so dry – is that because of the cold Winter?

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ali

January 12, 2012

oh, wow–amazing, wow, breath of canyon air; grateful for your sharing

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velma

January 12, 2012

amazing and stark and lush and secretive and so UNlike here. i love that.

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Michelle in NYC

January 12, 2012

I sent you this email already with my snapshot attempts at getting closer — “I just kept wanting to get closer but I could only do it on the screen and with the macro, still, I think I see cloth patterns and definitely dolphins and a laughing man with a mustache and a child;s head..and more. But I can’t find the way to show it all unless I draw them–Maybe I will, but for now this is enough–I couldn’t smell the wind, of feel the cold. Your own photo sequence was a travelogue. Hope you’re glad you went, and hope you didn’t get a chill. Thank you for sharing them.” — Now, I’m returning to read this wonderful thread of responses, and your heartfelt answers, and add my agreement with all of them, Especially that the land is awesome, arid, daunting in it’s stark beauty and strength. It’s elemental, like you.

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Eva Ucgatwork

January 12, 2012

Hi Grace,
Looking at your pictures I long to jump on a plane…well,guess the destination!
We hiked some canyons in the Grand Gulch area in Utah and in Grand Staircase Escalante…it’s an experience I will never ever forget!
The picture of the old dance hall made me shiver…all those stories that building could tell – amazing!
When I come across places like that I always try to imagine the people who lived there.
Let’s make a bet: You will never leave “The Land of Enchantment”…it’s where you love to be! California is great, but so different!
If I lose – you’ll get a real nice piece of cloth from me! I hope to get an even better one from you…”HA” (Quotation:Jude)
eva

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grace

January 12, 2012

oh sigh…probably. most certain ly likely. unless
something changes on daughter’s end. which it could…
no one ever knows anything for sure.
i have had this Place awhile. have loved it.
things need to happen sometimes…that karmic ripening…

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grace

January 12, 2012

yes. some places touch us so deeply.
his face is Fine, isn’t it.

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grace

January 12, 2012

ok then. wait till things dry up some. i’ll go back
for more. there is a place that is so otherworldly.

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grace

January 12, 2012

the canyons take you in.

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grace

January 12, 2012

tears of love. when i get all full of love about
something i get teary.
the area around Ghost Ranch is singular in all the world.

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grace

January 12, 2012

yes. lots of brown and lots of kinds of brown.
in warmer months it is amazing the array of subtle
greens. not green like in the midwest or east, but
desert greens and ecru/yellow/golds
and blue. the sky here is enormous, like enormous.
a complete sense of standing on the crust of the planet.
the Rim as i like to call it.
some WANT to like it, but it’s hot. or at least my
end of the state…north, not so much…cool there. but
they get SNOW. something to give and something to take
everywhere.
i think you would like the EXPANSIVENESS…similar to
the Sea

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grace

January 12, 2012

yes…it’s as old as old can be. literally.
it is Winter. seasons here. everything dries up,
except for the trees in the mountains, the pines, juniper,
cedars. and here the mesquite. there is really rain
only during Monsoon in summer. the run off from the
snow on the mountains provides moisture.
and i should say that this is south central New Mex.
it varies greatly different parts of the state.
am looking forward now to taking pics as spring comes on,
showing you the changes………
and it IS quite similar to some parts of Australia, isn’t
it?

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grace

January 12, 2012

yes!!! canyon air to you in your amazing city!!!

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grace

January 12, 2012

great words…stark and lush lushly stark yes.
it is extraordinary.
coming from Michigan, more similar to your Place
i could not believe it.
and still, driving the roads, just this huge huge
sense of EXPANSIVENESS
and almost always…you can see for literally hundreds
of miles in all directions
SO easy to understand native cosmology…it just LIVES
here. is simply there.

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grace

January 12, 2012

i receive that…its elemental, like you…as such a
deep deep validation.
i will take more pics. more close. i was in a state of
mind this trip.

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grace

January 12, 2012

EVA, the bet is on.
either way though, i win.
i just don’t know. we’ll see what needs to happen.
the “people who lived there”…not so much different,
their descendants. people here cling strongly to their
Ways.
i need sometime to write about two people who have great
meaning to me. two old ones. they are gone now, but
i can see them in their adult children and i remember
all the “gifts” they gave me. for now, their names…
Rafaela and Alfonso. sometime i’ll tell their stories.
thank you for reminding me…love,

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helen salo

January 12, 2012

Wow! I am very intrigued by the “brown” as I’ve said before. Such a contrast from Michigan where you used to live. I do see why you yearned for the area, it seems so peaceful and spiritual. Amazing the feelings that nature invokes. I do see why it would be hard to leave.

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helen salo

January 12, 2012

Forgot to say THANK YOU I truly enjoyed this little journey! Nice job with the camera.

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helen lee

January 13, 2012

THANK YOU Grace for this adventure. so completely different from here. huge and dramatic….so much SPACE. I would love its sculptures and my Man would go weak at those SKIES…..

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Deb G

January 13, 2012

Such a different kind of beauty than what I am used to. The closest I’ve come to visiting some place like this was on a road trip. We were driving through Eastern Washington and the land just went on and on… We were on our way to Texas but the car broke down and Eastern Oregon was as far as we got. Thank you for sharing Grace. Beautiful.

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Rene’

January 13, 2012

Is this San Lorenzo canyon?
Beautiful.
I once walked there on Good Friday with a dear, dear friend and left offerings amidst the rocks. I miss it, and her, very much.

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grace

January 13, 2012

OH MY GOD
an expression i have come to really dislike, but…..
~OH MY GOD~
where ARE you????????????????????????????????????

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Rene’

January 13, 2012

New Mexico. . .
A ways from you, still, but New Mexico.

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grace

January 13, 2012

phone is 575 835 9363

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Rene’

January 13, 2012

It’s okay?
No intrusion intended.

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grace

January 13, 2012

i couldn’t get all the way back there..the mud
but i took something, to leave, remembering

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grace

January 13, 2012

beyond okay. way way beyond ok

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Rene’

January 13, 2012

how lovely. . .
I must leave for town in just a few minutes, and I would like time – not just 10 minutes. . .
It will be several hours, but I will call when I get back home later this afternoon.
yes, lovely. . .

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grace

January 13, 2012

i will be here..waiting.
this could not be MORE PERFECT

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nance

January 13, 2012

on the first and fifth pictures the sky has this 50’s postcard look. i feel like i’m going back in time not just to the fifties but early earth era. all of the photos are just so grand. i’m glad you are going to take more. i wish we had gone there when we visited… but we just couldn’t do it all!

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grace Forrest Maestas

January 13, 2012

right now, everything has a PostCard feel
where are they coming from?????
yes. i wish you had seen it.

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Eva Ucgatwork

January 17, 2012

Hi Grace,
I love old stories. I love life’s ordinary stories. I often talk to complete strangers – as they are strangers they tend to tell me a lot of stuff they wouldn’t tell their relatives.
I love it – those stories are the real history of the world (B. Brecht “Who built …Theben” I don’t have a clue what might be the English title of that magnificent poem)
Eva

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Eva Ucgatwork

January 17, 2012

Hi Grace,
all the world’s luck to you!!! A similar story of mine doesn’t look that promising…actually rather bleak and sad…BUT: all the good things to you!!!
eva

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Eva Ucgatwork

January 17, 2012

Wanna post card? Just whistle…
you know how to whistle, don’t you?
Just put your lips together and blow…
(guess the movie that’s from…one of my absolute favourite films….ever!!! One clue: bogey and Bacall)eva

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grace

January 18, 2012

yes…i have that experience too…the wonderful exchange
with strangers.
i remember when my son was little, he was so bewildered
by the concept of “strangers”…kept asking me about
it…could not figure out how you could “tell” a
stranger.

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grace

January 18, 2012

yes..he would love the sky…there seems just a small
amount of earth and then
S K Y

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grace

January 18, 2012

Eastern Oregon can be similar to here

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grace

January 18, 2012

maybe it will change…

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handstories

January 26, 2012

i can see you waving now.

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grace Forrest~Maestas

January 26, 2012

what are you doing way back here????

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handstories

January 26, 2012

looking at you in your spot while holding this piece of cloth…..and thank you!

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