Ghost Ranch!
Do you enjoy places where there’s more sand than grass? Where there is probably more cactus than humans or any other creature (except maybe lizards)? I know I do! No kidding, I love New Mexico! Not that I don’t enjoy the green hills of my hometown, but there is something magical about the state of New Mexico that has completely captured me.
My husband and I went to Ghost Ranch, NM for a week-long vacation with another couple (one of our pastors and his horse-loving wife) from our church last week and absolutely loved it! The ranch was home to Georgia O’Keeffe, among many others, but is now a Presbyterian conference center. They hold classes throughout the year, mostly artistic or in some way spiritual, but they also open it up for people to come stay as a vacation. We decided to use this not only as our vacation, but as an opportunity to take on of our favorite pastor’s classes at the ranch. It was truly an amazing experience! [Side note: another perk of this vacation was escaping the 120 degree heat!]
We had the chance to relax, learn a little bit about early theologians, do some artwork and my favorite, ride horses! We went on a private ride throughout the mountains around Ghost Ranch and it was truly breathtaking. It was a 6am ride, which was pretty hard for this anti-morning girl, but totally worth it. We had gone out the day before to talk to a wrangler and at that time, I met an adorable Appaloosa mare so I immediately requested her for my ride. They looked at me like I was crazy, but soon understood why I would actually want to ride her when I explained that I had an Appaloosa and know all about their “spirit”. ha! I quickly learned that she was a great choice. She had her own ideas about things, but we came to an understanding early on and enjoyed our ride together. She also had the Indian shuffle which I had only read about but never experienced. (Click here to read more about it). I tried sitting at first, but learned that posting was much easier. The rhythm was so interesting, but super easy to get the hang of. It was very smooth, but had a bit more bounce to it than the normal trot. It’s hard to explain, but I really enjoyed it.
Reading and riding weren’t all we did though! We were able to take field trips to monastaries, personal art studios and Plaza Blanca (the site where they most recently shot the movie Cowboys & Aliens). Our week ended all too soon, but we are determined to make to the ranch next year! I definitely recommend it to any nature/horse/art lover…or anyone wanting to escape the “norm”!
