expected, welcomed, and fascinating...

hello, my lovelies, 

i'm here with blurry eyes tonight to share a little about my trip from september.

i went back to what might possibly be my most favorite place i've ever been in the world, where a piece of my soul resides, and where i feel more at peace than anywhere else: 

yes, i made a trip back to ghost ranch, abiquiu, new mexico.  

i drove 4 days, to santa fe, stayed there for 3 then went to ghost ranch for another art retreat.  i'll share about the art in another post, this one is just about the trip.

i made my stops in smyrna, tn, van buren, ar, and amarillo, tx.  it's only a short drive from amarillo to santa fe, so day four was an easy drive.  i was on a mission to get to santa fe by a certain day as i had an appointment the following day and couldn't possibly miss it.

this is why i had to be there by a certain time...

this photo is from right after she finished, but it is healed up now and looks great.  i love it so much!  i've been wanting this tattoo since my first trip to ghost ranch in 2019.  the design is mine and the landscape inside the heart is from a photo i took on one of the earlier trips.  

if you are a tattoo person, the artist who did this one is Nikki at Rivers Collective Body Art.  best decision i made in a long time.  she was so awesome to work with and easy to talk to, everything about the experience was fabulous.  (i'm already thinking about what to get next time i'm out there. 😁)

then i had a couple of days to hang around and explore or rest (resting was a big thing) and shop, of course.  i found some fabulous places.  i went back to The Ark for some books/witchy type stuff.  then i checked out a bead store as i had forgotten to bring a lot of things for class.  Beadweaver is amazing and has more than just beads and jewelry makings.  i went a little crazy in the sticker section. haha.  as i was leaving there, i remembered a place i'd followed on instagram and it was right across the road.  it was awesome!  The Crow's Nest is fascinating.  seriously!  i found some pretty cool things in there.  plus, she has haunted dolls and they were telling me all kinds of stories!  i was also able to find several out of print books on Georgia O'Keeffe at a used bookstore not far from my hotel.

anywho, when i arrived at ghost ranch they had just finished a 3 day music festival so it was quite chaotic.  lucky for me, it settled down later that evening.  other than a couple of storms rolling through it was pretty quiet for the week, but it was monsoon season, so the rain was expected, and welcomed, and fascinating.

(the mountain that Georgia claimed - Pedernal)

(sunset after a storm)

(always looking for heart rocks)

our middle of the week outing was a trip to Taos, but i decided to stay in and go for a hike.  then i came by the above sign as i headed to a trail and decided to head to my room and do some painting instead.  i never saw the mountain lion but did see some paw prints.  and some of the staff were telling us about how they like to come up to the buildings and rub up against them at night while people are sleeping.  one night though, i did hear a pack of coyotes singing.  i thought they were right there it sounded so close.  but someone else who heard them said they were pretty far away or it would have been much louder.

(sunrise on the last day)

(part of the trail between the mesa with my room and the main buildings at ground level)

when i planned this trip it was with the understanding that it would be our last retreat out there.  i had planned to take the long way home and stop several places so i could explore a bit more of things i'd never seen and do a bit more shopping.  but as it got closer i found that i'd spent too much money and so had to just come straight home.

the day before we were to leave, i found out that there will be at least one more retreat with this group out there and the dates have already been set for 2027.  so i KNOW i'll be going again!  i've already started saving and planning my 2027 trip.  woo hoo!!!

well, it's taken a couple of hours to write this and my eyes are so exhausted. i'll be back soon to share what we were making and some of the things i brought back from my trip.  

hope you are all having a great week.

love & kisses & magical wishes...

~*~