It’s no wonder Georgia O’Keeffe came to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico for over 50 years to paint, eventually making it her permanent residence. I was so inspired by the awe-inspiring topography, on a whim I submitted an article to Trailer Life about the timeless enchantment that reigns in New Mexico’s 150 to 200-million-year-old cliffs and canyons. (Look for the article in Trailer Life this November, 2017.)
(PHOTO COURTESY OF GHOST RANCH)
New Mexico feels ancient. It feels like a place out of time, as if New Mexico was present when time was created. For hours, I sat in a rocking chair on a perfectly positioned terrace at Ghost Ranch, talking with Daniel, a Native American, whose grandmother was a healer in his tribe. If you’ve ever been to Ghost Ranch, then you know the exact terrace of which I’m speaking — you can’t mistake it. There I rocked, staring off into the distance at the mountain ahead, talking with Daniel about how old New Mexico feels. The closest feeling I’d had before was traveling through Savannah; it feels like people of the past are walking around in the present — you can easily imagine Civil War soldiers and ghosts at every turn. New Mexico is close in it’s unique vibe, but it’s different than Savannah. New Mexico feels ancient, as if the land still resides in the time of its birth, millions of years ago.
We rock, much of the time in silence. It’s the same view that besotted O’Keeffe for half a century. She was enamored by the mountain; it held her heart. In Georgia O’Keeffe a Life in Art, she mentions in the film that God told her that if she painted the mountain enough times that he’d give it to her. I imagine that if someone artistically meditates a lifetime on thing of such serene beauty, the subject can’t help but somehow become a part of the artist.
(above: the mountain God gave O’Keeffe)
God definitely gave her gifts—her paintings, life and residence. When visiting Ghost Ranch in person, it’s easy to see why O’Keeffe was captivated. With it’s mythological, checkered history, transforming from Ranch of the Witches, a hide out for cattle rustlers, a dude ranch, location for films such as City Slickers and dinosaur stomping grounds, one has only to sit rocking on the terrace at Ghost Ranch to know that we are only a small part of something bigger than ourselves.
I’m in Heaven! We decided to follow the water on our journey. Happy we did.
I was surrounded by tons of water sprites today and yesterday, who wanted me to bounce them off of the floats so they could soar into the water. Water sprites are so playful!
Now, it’s time to rest. Inspiration galore for writing when this is my view!
IONA FAY NAMING AIRSTREAM CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED! Congratulations to Kristina Marie, who submitted the winning entry for her daughter, Kate!
The new name of the Airstream is “Aoife Aeir Annon!” In Gaelic, it means, “Celtic female warrior Air Stream.” I love the strong, Celtic words along with how it not only reflects the glamper but also The Adventure of Iona Fay series!
Kristina will be sent the Iona Fay crystal necklace found on page 10 in Iona Fay: An Irish Fairy Tale. Enjoy!
Thank you everyone who participated! I was hard to choose a winner. Everyone of the suggestions were so creative, and I loved reading all of them.
In the words of Rachel, we’re still on our “Fay-cation!” Wendy Farrell Stay with us, have fun and join the journey!
On Monday, we spent the night in the sky! We were looking for air fairies and swear we heard them on the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The air is so pure. It sounds strange, but, hand to heart, it is the best smelling air. It is intoxicating.
To get this view, I spent 30 minutes backing up inch by inch, leaving us less than a foot of wiggle room…or else we were going over a cliff. A blissful, beautiful cliff, mind you. But a cliff, nonetheless. I was neither keen on that, nor was I certain about the guidance from the man holding a downing beers, who was guiding me in the spot. It was touch and go for a while. Finally, we backed in and called it a night.
The next morning, we were up early, communing with the air fairies along the road. Can you hear their blue grass tunes in the wind?
Did you know that Iona Fay went on a book tour across the United States, starting on the East Coast and ending on the West Coast in 2017?
Many of you followed us across the United States in Aoife the Airsteam. For those of you who missed it, I’m moving those blog posts over here.
We kicked off the weekend with a trip to Joran Lake in North Carolina. While there, we went boating, paddle boarding and read from Iona Fay, book 1.
For more photos of the journey, check out the AdventuresOfIonaFay Instagram account, where you can see the fantastic trip as it unveils itself this summer. (If anyone has connections at Instagram, please let me know. I’ve since been cut out of this account. Thanks!)
Thanks to Kim, Dana, Nora, Tom, Sheena, Gay, Erin, Koury and Jack for making the launch day a memorable weekend!!!
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