5 Things I Loved About New Mexico

Hello, tender friends!

Let’s talk about what I loved so much about New Mexico.

1. Food. This one surprised me. I was nervous about having to eat out so much during the trip, but was delighted to discover that I experienced no food reactions, even when eating foods I would normally avoid! I started to wonder what was going on. I talked to the locals and many of them told me that even restaurants use locally grown food because the cost of having trucks transport food in is so high.

When I had to run into Walmart because I forgot to pack Jacob’s shower slippers, I was delighted by the fact that I found locally grown organic produce. At Walmart! How cool is that? (Also, I don’t typically shop at Walmart but I’m also not posting about that particular point to get into the deep ethics of supporting Walmart or not. I know people have feelings about it, but I really just needed to buy some shower slippers).

2. Driving past miles and miles of undeveloped land. Everything seemed like it is so full of possibility. I thought a lot about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness while we were driving. I said, “Isn’t it wild? I can’t imagine being out here alone. This is the kind of place where you’re either going to run into God or Satan if you are.”

3. Random roadside hikes. I don’t remember the name of this trail or even where we were, but some of the most fun hikes we had were unplanned stops on the side of the road. Jacob loved leading the hikes!

Judging by the fact that Jacob is in long sleeves, we must have been somewhere in the north at this time.

4. Carlsbsd Caverns.

I have seen lots of caverns in my life, but these were by far the most impressive. The lighting and the height of the ceilings felt like you were in a cathedral, and I am mused over this whether stalactites and stalagmites created a more rococo or baroque cathedral look.

A line from in Elizabeth Bishop poem also ran through my head repeatedly while walking through the caverns: “We will live on wedding cake frosted with sleet” because other parts of the cavern looked like a giant cake. My phone camera really doesn’t do it justice!

5. The low humidity. My joints felt amazing the entire time we were there. I hate to even admit that because it makes me feel sort of lame, but I’m almost always battling knee pain from years of playing basketball when I was younger. But out in the desert, no matter how much we hiked, my knees never bothered me at all. It was amazing!

Ok, I really wanted to keep this post going, but Jacob has had a rough day and is not happy about me talking into my phone right now. So I’ll include the next five things I loved in my next post.

Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for sharing!

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