Santa Fe Staycation at Sunrise Springs

I love baths. In general, I love all water, I grew up in Maine, spent all my summers at the beach in my hometown. I fell in love with pools when I would go stay with my dad’s friend Wayne and Pat outside of Phoenix as a kid. I even fell in love with lakes when I lived in Chicago. My favorite way to relieve stress is either take a bath or stare at a large body of water.  I make my own bath salts, and especially in winter, love to run a long hot bath, and sit there until I’m way past prune-y and my book has gotten slightly damp. 

When Soni and I moved last fall, we moved into a live/work space which has a dreamy studio space, but alas, there is no bathtub. Thankfully in Santa Fe there are a number of options for hot spring/hot tubbing it. When we have visitors, we’ll head out to Ojo Caliente for all the hot springs. Or we’ll go up to Ten Thousand Waves and sit in the Grand Bath and look at the trees and mountains and snow. If it’s just the two of us, we head to Sunrise Springs for a private tub. We went a few times last year, but we’ve been going more often now that we live in a bathtub less house. The private tubs are outdoors and can be reserved for an hour. They have a little fire place and shutters that you can open to look out over the pond, which is especially gorgeous in the Fall.

When Caitlin and Amy of Simply Social (and @simplysantafe over on Instagram) got in touch and said they were organizing a weekend healthy cleanse at Sunrise Springs, and did I want to join them, I jumped at the chance. While Soni and I have often gone to the tubs, I’ve never stayed there, seen the grounds or tried out any of the activities that they are known for (i.e. puppy play classes). 

Early in March, I arrived at Sunrise Springs for the weekend and met a small group of women, from Santa Fe and Albuquerque. We got a tour of the grounds and then got shown to our rooms. They were actually casitas, and were super cute, each with its own small private courtyard. I unpacked and then headed back out meet the others. 

Ready for the weekend

the little courtyard

I slept really well here

the Sweat Lodge

About half of our group were going to participate in a sweat lodge. I’d done a Temescal in Oaxaca the year before, and it’s similar but also very different, so I was excited to try it. We met outside a small stone building near the pond, and Concha and her nephews introduced us to the sweat lodge and gave us all a blessing ceremony. The small stone building had two rooms, a changing space and then the sweat room. The evening was broken up into four parts, for the four seasons, with sharing on a certain idea during each, and a small break between to cool off with the evening air. It was really intense, the heat and the conversation. And afterwards we all felt pretty great, and I slept amazing that night. 

my favorite spot, the outdoor tub

trails at Sunrise Springs

trails at Sunrise Springs

Best reading spot

Felt like Spring in the sun

Loved this book

I spent the morning on my own, in the best outdoor tub, and tried a facial for the first time. And then walked along one of the short trails around the grounds. After lunch there was a hatchet-throwing class that I just had to take. Which is apparently really fun, and a thing now. I hear that there are a number of hatchet-throwing bars in New York, and now even one in Albuquerque. Then we met up with the rest of our group for an ayurvedic cooking workshop, which I loved. I’ve since tried out the recipes at home, they were a huge hit with Soni! I was definitely impressed with the different activities that they had to offer. The next morning, I went to hang out with the puppies that live on the grounds who are all in training to be assistance dogs. It’s a great program. The puppies live and train in a building on the grounds and some of the guests come and get to interact with them, which seems to be a win-win for everyone. Visitors get to hang out with puppies and the puppies get used to meeting different people. I definitely enjoyed it. 

Rainy evening at the coy ponds

I could watch the coy pond for hours

Thankfully we had umbrellas, but it was still magical in the rain

the little Sweat Lodge building in the rain

 *The weekend stay at Sunrise Springs was gifted to me, but I didn’t receive any payment for this post. All opinions are my own. 

20 Hours in Las Vegas, New Mexico

Sometimes you just need to get away.

January was a big month. Every year, I think that there is limitless time in January. It’s after the holidays. the rush is over. It’s cold and snowy, and everyone wants to stay indoors. So I signed up for three classes (intro to climbing at the climbing gym here, and two online classes on writing and photography) , an art show, and designed a new jewelry collection in January. And by the end was feeling just a tad burnt out. Soni was in a similar boat, with a lot of writing deadlines on her calendar, so over the weekend we decided last minute to go away for a day. I left my camera at home, but brought my notebook and laptop so we could have a writing morning at the hotel.

Having been a big fan of the tv series Longmire, and extremely sad that they stopped filming basically when we moved to New Mexico, we’ve always wanted to visit Las Vegas, New Mexico. We heard that there is still a door to the fictional sheriff’s office on the main plaza, and the hotel that featured in many a scene is still around. So we booked a night at the Plaza Hotel, and made the hour long drive to Las Vegas on Saturday evening. We got into the plaza right as the sun was going down. The light was beautiful on the square. When we checked in, the hotel attendant asked if it was our first time, and with our yes, upgraded our room to one with a view of the plaza. The hotel was a lot bigger than I thought it was, spanning two buildings, with very high ceilings and probably the biggest and tallest king size bed we’ve ever slept in. The windows were huge, going up almost to the ceiling. The view of the plaza was very nice, and familiar from so many episodes of Longmire. We dropped our stuff off, and went for a quick walk before dinner.

We ate at the hotel restaurant, and then headed to the bar down the street that had been recommended to us when we were checking in. If you ever go to Las Vegas, you have to go to Borracho’s. It was awesome. When we walked in and saw that we weren’t the only queer couple in the bar, we almost high fived. The cocktail list was great, and it was packed, so we sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender, before calling an early night and heading back to the Plaza Hotel.

The famed door from Longmire

You can’t see from this photo, but there were lots of ducks in the pond, clustered together for shelter from the wind.

About a twenty minute drive away is the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge. The area was fairly marshy, with lots of small ponds, so it’s no surprise that it’s popular with the birds. There’s a long loop that we drove along, stopping at a few of the lookout spots, and then went for a walk on the Gallinas Nature Trail. It was sunny and fairly warm for the first weekend in February, but it was also a super windy day, so we bundled up as much as we could for the walk. It was a really lovely spot, I’d love to see it in the Spring when everything is becoming green again. The mountains were beautiful in the distance.

Soni at the preserve

Till next time, Las Vegas.

Snowstorm on the Chamisa Trail

One morning in January, my friend Mary and I set our alarms early, and headed up the mountain to see the first light in a snow storm. We were headed for the Chamisa Trail, a 4.5 mile loop trail in Hyde Park Memorial State Park. I love how the mountains and trees get shrouded in the fog and snow heavy clouds, and wanted to see it up close. We parked at the trailhead, pulled our cameras out and our gloves on, and headed up the trail. A lot of snow had already fallen before sunrise, but there was a break in the snow. The forest was quiet, with a snowy untouched path leading further into the woods.

Mary heading back along the trail after the snow picked up.

The weather really changed quickly. We were enjoying the break in the snow on our walk, but as soon as it started snowing again, it was so heavy and fast that it really limited the visibility.

We hung out in the car for a bit to warm up. Once it slowed down, we headed back into town. Old Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe has a great vantage point of the city, so on our way back we stopped to get a photo of the snowy city.

It was a completely magical morning. Mary and I were both back in Santa Fe and working on our normal day to day around 9 am. This is one of the things that I love most about living in Santa Fe - the closeness to the mountains and the desert. It’s easy to get away into the woods, even if you just have an hour or so.

Making mixtapes again / All the best sea songs / I love the ocean

When I’m working in the studio I listen to audio books, podcasts and music. I don’t have a radio in the studio, so I tend to listen to things on my phone or computer. A few months ago, I realized that I wasn’t listening to very much music anymore. I occasionally buy new records, but the record player isn’t in the studio so I signed up for Spotify again. I used to make mixtapes for friends all the time, and miss the hours spent listening to songs, trying to find the right ones to go in just the right spot.

When I lived in Chicago, I made a mixtape for the ocean every year. I missed the ocean and there are so many good songs about the sea. I made one a year until I got to six, and then I’m not sure why I stopped. Going through some of my old papers, I found the trackless again and decided to recreate them in order, on Spotify. A handful of the songs aren’t available, as a number of them were rare songs found on old records, or from friends’ albums. But the majority of the songs on Sea Mixes 1-6 are all up on my spotify page. And I just made a new one - Sea Mix 7. You can listen to them all on Spotify.

Below, I’ve shared all the original tracklists of the Sea Mix Tapes. If you have a favorite sea song that I should add to the next Sea Mix, leave it below in the comments.

Sea Mix 1 (circa 2005)

Side A:

Iggy Pop - The Endless Sea

The Cure - Killing an Arab

Queen - Sail Away Sweet Sister

Erica Eigen - I want to marry a lighthouse keeper

Roy Orbison - Blue Bayou

Heart - Soul of the Sea

Sinead O’Connor - Jackie

Electric Light Orchestra - The Whale

Looking Glass - Brandy (you’re a fine girl)

Gene Pitney - The Ship True Love Goodbye

Van Morrison - Into the Mystic

Black Heart Procession - On Ships of Gold

Side B:

The William Young - The Enemy

Adam and the Ants - Jolly Roger

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Stove by a Whale

Catpower - Sea of Love

Laurie Anderson - Beautiful Pea Green Boat

The Beach Boys - Sloop John B

Smokey and Miho - Ocean in Your Eyes

Joanna Newsom - This Side of the Blue

The Pogues - Thousands are Sailing

Tracy Chapman - I used to be a sailor

Pete Seegar - I will never marry

Sea Mix 2

Side A:

Scott Walker - Port of Amsterdam

The William Young - Captain Morgan’s Revenge

Laurie Anderson - Love Among Sailors

Parliament - Aquaboogie

David Bowie - Red Sail

The Murder City Devils - Hey Sailor

June of 44 - Sharks and Sailors

The Beatles - Octopus’ Garden

The Beach Boys - Sail on Sailor

Jiha Lee and Charlie Vinz - Sea of Love

Side B:

Chad Willis and the Beachstones - Jack was every inch a sailor

The Be Good Tanyas - Lakes of Pontchartrain

Brian Wilson - On Holiday

Donavan - Starfish on Toast

Coco Rosie - Sea is Calm

mystery track from a mixtape that Matt Mele made me in 2005

Christopher Cross - Sailing

Porno for Pyros - Tahitian Moon

Gal Costa - Empty Boat

Ramona Cordova - Introduction

The Pixies - Dancing the Manta Ray

Woody Guthrie - What did the deep sea say"?

Velvet Underground - Ocean

Sea Mix 3

Side A:

Brian Eno - The Big Ship

The Unicorns - Sea Ghost

The Shins - Sea Legs

Cocteau Twins - Sea, Swallow Me

Future Bible Heroes - She-devils of the Deep

Chiffons - Taylor BOy

Depeche Mode - Sea of Sin (Blue Enya Remix)

Phil Phillips - Sea of Love

Ween - She Wanted To Leave

Nina Nastasia - Ocean

Birds of America - I am in love with an ocean

Side B:

Regina Spektor - Sailor Song

Sparks - Slowboat

Styx - Come Sail Away

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Matthew Sweeney - My Home Is The Sea

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Ship Song

The Be Good Tanyas - Ship Out on the Sea

Frank Sinatra - Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Sonic Youth - Diamond Sea

Enya - Orinoco Flow

Sea Mix 4

Side A:

Beat Happening - Sea Hunt

Beach House - Saltwater

Panda Bear - Comfy in Nautica

Six by Seven - Ocean

Old Time Relijun - Giant Boat

Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Buckingham Nicks - Crystal

Keren Ann - The Harder Ships of the World

Jim O’Rourke - Ghost Ship in a Storm

Side B:

Hüsker Dü - Standing by the Sea

Mastodon - Battle at Sea

The Arcade Fire - The Well and the Lighthouse

Electrelane - At Sea

Roxy Music - Sea Breezes

Olivia Tremor Control - The Ships

Antipop Consortium - Rinseflow

Dengue Fever - Ocean of Venus

The Paragons - The Tide is High

De La Soul - Tread Water

Queen - Seven Seas of Rhye

Sea Mix 5

Side A:

Weezer - Across the Sea

Crystal Stilts - Love is a Wave

Peter Murphy - Deep Ocean Vast Sea

Neko Case - Red Tide

AIr France - Beach Party

Arthur Russel - The Platform on the Ocean

mum - Hu Hviss - A Ship

Belle and Sebastian - Ease Your Feet In The Sea

Pram - Play of Waves

Jonsi and Alex - Daniell In The Sea

Side B:

The Carter Family - The Wave On The Sea

Beck - Rowboat

Silver Jews - Trains Across The Sea

Dirty Three - Deep Waters

Rasputina - Sweet Water Kill (The Ocean Song)

PJ Harvey - We Float

Bjork - Oceania

Movietone - Ocean Song

Sea Mix 6

Side A:

The Wailing Souls - Row Fisherman Row

Joe Simon - Drowning in the Sea of Love

Cinematic Orchestra - Ode to the Big Sea

Air France - Karibien

Grouper - Heavy Water / I’d Rather Be Sleeping

Bon Iver - Beach Baby

Fairport Convention - A Sailor’s Life

Grizzly Bear - Deep Blue Sea

Johnny Cash - Sea of Heartbreak

Side B:

Dance Yourself To Death - Sea of Love (JD Samson Remix)

Gossip - Love Long Distance

Wavves - Beach Demon

Dead Kennedys - Moon Over Marin

Black Sabbath - Children of the Sea

Slint - Good Morning, Captain

Beck - Ship in the Bottle

Mott The Hoople - Sea Diver

Camera Obscura - Lunar Sea

The Righteous Brothers - Ebb Tide

Winterland Weekend in Abiquiu

Last month, when my mom was in town, we went to Abiquiu for the weekend. Abiquiu is about an hour’s drive from Santa Fe, and is home to Ghost Ranch and Plaza Blanca. We’ve been a number of times for day trips, and wanted to stay a bit longer to show my mom around. I found a cute little house on airbnb with room for three, which proved to be a perfect spot for us for a quick getaway. If you’re curious, we stayed here.

We’ve driven through Abiquiu a lot, going for hikes and driving through the town. One thing I’ve always found fascinating is that it feels like you can see for miles and miles, but you rarely see houses from the road. On many occasions, I’ve turned to Soni and asked where everyone lives. With each time we’ve visited, we’ve seen a new part of the town, or driven down a road we’ve never gone on before, and each time we’ve seen a few more houses. It is a very small town, and houses do tend to be spread out. Often they are off of dirt roads that you don’t see unless you’re looking for them. This was definitely the case with the place we were staying at. Thankfully it wasn’t too far down a dirt road, as we don’t have four wheel drive on our car.

When we arrived, there were two husky puppies there to greet us, who we fell in love with. Abiquiu is a very small town, and places to eat out are limited, so we decided to bring our own food to cook for the weekend. This suited us just fine, since we love cooking. We packed warm clothes, lots of food, good books and Scrabble.

We stayed in this cute house, called the Raven House in its airbnb listing

Our morning view

Our first night was lovely, very peaceful. Mom and Soni tried and failed to beat me in Scrabble. (Don’t worry, Soni’s parents came into town a few weeks later and totally crushed my game.) In the morning, we woke up to snow. Soni and I had planned to go for a run, so we put on extra layers and headed out. It was beautiful and quiet out in the snow. We moved to New Mexico at the end of December last year, and there was hardly any snow the entire winter. Coming from Chicago, I didn’t miss it that much last year. But this year, I find that I’m really excited to see what New Mexico looks like under a white blanket.

Best running spot!

The dog house in the snow…

After our run, we warmed up in our little house and had breakfast with my mom. We decided to go for a drive and a short hike to show my mom around. First we drove through the village of Abiquiu, and stopped in at Bosshard Gallery to look around. They have this lovely old truck parked out front, and the gallery itself was housed in a beautifully restored old building. We had fun looking around, and getting out of the cold.

The gate at Bosshard Gallery

We stopped in at Bode’s, because no trip to Abiquiu is complete without a visit there. And from there made our way out to Ghost Ranch. When we pulled into the visitor’s center, the snow had stopped and the sun was peeking out of the clouds in fits and spurts. We decided to try the short trail up to Chimney Rock.

Chimney Rock in the snow

Mom, enjoying the snow and the view!

Looking out over Abiquiu Lake

We didn’t quite finish the whole Chimney Rock hike because the snow was a bit too deep, but we were rewarded with lots of wonderful views. To be honest the view on our entire walk was utterly amazing. The sky is so big and dramatic, and it was changing every minute. We could see snow showers far away, and then the sun would come out in just one little corner of the sky and spotlight some beautiful rock formations. The whole day was magical, we were truly in a winter wonderland.

After we got back to the car, we decided to drive around Abiquiu Lake to show my mom the view from the other side. By the time we got there, the storm was rapidly moving away, and the skies had mostly cleared, leaving just a few patches of snow.

And once we got back to our little weekend house, the snow was already melted almost everywhere. As if it had never happened.

Sunset with the last of the snow

After dinner and our scrabble games both evenings, we each moved onto our beds with a book. I brought Gretel Ehrlich’s book The Solace of Open Spaces with me. I’d just finished her book A Match to the Heart and loved it. The Solace of Open Spaces is her first book, about moving out to Wyoming, and it was the perfect book to be reading out in the quiet of Abiquiu. New Mexico winters aren’t quite as harsh as Wyoming, but there is a lot of wide open space and sagebrush in both states, and there are lot of similar feelings to the landscape. I finished it back in Santa Fe, but I’ll always remember reading it in the plant and light filled loft at the Raven House.

The whole weekend was quite magical, and I’m glad that we got to share it with my mom. I miss it already so I’m scheming some writing retreat weekends away with Soni in Abiquiu and Taos for the next few months.

Mountain Time - Nederland

It took me a little while to get this post together, so right about now this view is a whole lot snowier and the lake is almost frozen! But Nederland is one of my favorite spots, so I wanted to share a bit of our trip there.

At the end of September, Soni and I went to Nederland, Colorado for a little part work/part vacation getaway. I was exhibiting at Denver Renegade over the weekend, and Soni had made plans to do some research at archives outside of Denver during the following week. So we decided to stay in Denver for the weekend and then head up to the mountains for the rest of our time. 

Nederland is a cute mountain town about an hour from Denver and a half hour from Boulder. It’s near Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Peaks Wilderness and Roosevelt National Forest. There are a lot of great hiking trails nearby. We stayed here once before, two summers ago, on our first vacation together to Rocky Mountain National Park. We had wanted to see different sides of the park, so we stayed in Grand Lake for a few nights, and then Nederland for our last two. Both places are beautiful, but we felt more at home in Nederland, so we decided to head back. 

On the way to Denver, we stopped in La Jara to see our friend Sunny and the El Sagrado farm. It’s a beautiful spot, and Sunny’s been getting it ready to host workshops and retreats. She also trains horses, and I’m hoping to get back there soon for a longer visit. Going to Denver via La Jara meant we were on 285, passing through the Collegiate Peaks. It’s a beautiful drive, and the aspens were just starting to turn, so there was a lot more color on the mountains than there had been on our last Colorado trip. 

It was really nice to get to spend some time in Denver. It was cool in the mornings, which was great for running. But it still got really hot during the day and Renegade was outside, so we were scorched all weekend long. When the fair was over, we packed up our tent at Renegade. We drove straight to Nederland, climbing 3,000 feet, and were greeted with a chill in the air that was quite the contrast to Denver’s heat. We definitely did not pack enough warm clothes for Fall in the mountains, where it was dropping to just below freezing at night. 

We stayed in a small cottage in town for the week. On the first night, we pulled in, unloaded the car, and immediately layered up for our stroll into town. We went to a dive bar called the Pleasant Inn, that served dinner late. It was a Sunday night, and we had quickly learned that most places close around then in the off season. We loved it, and even went back a few nights later to play a game of pool, learning that they had temporarily lost their liquor license which was pretty hilarious given that it’s the only bar in town.  

Soni spent the first day at the archives, and I hung out in the cottage. It rained on and off all day. When it paused (and brought rainbows!), and the sun came back out, I went for a walk to the reservoir. It was strange to see that the water levels were lower than they had been only two year ago.

Rainbows!

The view from the path around the reservoir

I slept so well in our little cottage that week. I love sleeping in the cold under a heavy comforter. It was quiet in the town, past the big summer tourist influx. 

We went for an evening hike in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, driving out as the sun was getting low in the sky. There was snow from the night before. On the drive out of town, we saw a family of moose at the river. We went on the trail up to Lost Lake, spying a few more signs of moose in the trees, but not getting quite another viewing like the one by the river. The light was disappearing quickly and we didn’t bring any flashlights, so we turned back before reaching the lake. It was the perfect fall week to be in Nederland, with the crisp air, and the leaves turning brilliant shades of gold and red all around us.

I’ve never seen this many moose at once before!

The trail to Lost Lake

The next day we went for a trail run at Caribou Ranch. There was a beautiful 4+ mile loop that went past open fields, and wooded areas, near the old mine, and around this old homestead. I took Soni to the Mountain Man store, where I bought a warmer sweatshirt and a hat, since I just hadn’t packed warmly enough for the mountains. And then we finally went back have the best pizza at Crosscut Pizza in town. I tried to plan our week out so that we could go twice before we left. What can I say, pizza is my favorite food. Pretty much my favorite spots in town are Crosscut for pizza and Salto’s for coffee, wine and snacks, and the trail around the reservoir for slow wandering. We were both trying to work and relax on this trip, which meant there just weren’t enough days, and I’d love to come back again soon.

The old homestead at Caribou Ranch

For our last full day in Nederland, we planned an all day hike up to Arapaho Glacier. We packed our warmest layers, lunches and cameras and headed out. The trail was beautiful, and not many folks were out given the weather. It was pretty windy, but in the trees it was great. We passed another hiker who said that she had turned back above treeline because it was too windy. Once we made it to the top we understood what she meant! We headed up the path aways and got to a point with a nice view of the glacier, but the wind was fierce. We were both having trouble keeping our balance, and there were still several miles to go. We stopped and I took some photos of the view - the glacier and the lakes are gorgeous. I hope that we get a chance to come back on a less windy day, when we have some better layers. The wind was kicking up dirt all around us, and I ended up eating quite a bit of it. When we got back to the tree line edge, Soni took one look at me and started laughing. I had dirt stuck to my teeth and lips and looked quite strange. It was good that we were heading back down…

Treeline on the trail up to Arapaho Glacier

The trail up to the Arapaho Glacier, where I decided it was too windy to keep going up….

As close as we could get to the glacier, due to the wind and our inappropriate layers.

The lakes look beautiful from up high

The view from treeline, mountains as far as you can see

The view from the trail

On the way down, we went on a shorter hike out to the Rainbow Lakes

The drive back from the trailhead was just as gorgeous

Since our big hike was cut short, we had a bit of extra time and decided check out Boulder Falls, a quick walk just off the main road in between Nederland and Boulder.

Until next time, Nederland…

Mountain Time: Crater Lake, Cathedral Lake and Mt. Elbert

In August, the day after my birthday, Soni and I drove to Colorado for the long weekend, up to the Aspen area for a few days, to do some hiking, relax, and see a friend living in nearby Carbondale.

The drive up was beautiful, on 285/24 through the Collegiate Peaks. We turned off on CO 82 and stopped in Twin Lakes for coffee. It was rainy and misty, and the lakes were beautiful. Twin Lakes is a small little town but seems to get a lot of folks passing through. I told Sonia I wanted to come back and camp or stay in the B & B. After Twin Lakes, we took Independence Pass through the mountains to Aspen. It was jaw-dropping, beautiful, and terrifying. I was glad Sonia was driving. And that it was daylight, even if it was raining. 

We stayed in an Airbnb in Snowmass Village just outside of Aspen. When I was picturing it before we left, I had imagined the Taos Ski Village but a little bit bigger. Snowmass Village was actually much larger, with tons of condo buildings, restaurants and shopping. It ended up being pretty nice, we could walk to dinner in the evening instead of driving into Aspen. 

It rained the next morning as well, but as soon as it started to let up, we headed down into Aspen for some lunch, and then to the famed Maroon Bells. The peaks called the Maroon Bells get their coloring because they are made up of a lot of mudstone, like the cliffs at Blomidon in Nova Scotia. This also makes them prone to rockslides, and extremely dangerous for climbing. They are beautiful and very photogenic. The Maroon Bells are hard to get to, as no cars are allowed up during the day, so you have to take a shuttle. They are so popular that in the 1980s park management banned cars because the pollution from all the exhaust was killing the wildflowers. Today, I’m told much of it has been restored. It was totally worth the wait to see this stunning protected area. We just had enough time to make it up to Crater Lake and back down with a few minutes before the last shuttle headed down the mountain. The Crater Lake trail is an out and back 3.8 mile trail that gets a lot of foot traffic. It’s a pretty trail, fairly easy, and short enough to do in a hurry. The lake was pretty low this time of year and there was little snow on the mountains. After a winter with a lot less snow than usual, water levels seem to be low in a lot of areas - in Maroon Bells, and as we saw later on in Nederland, and in many places here in New Mexico. 

Maroon Bells

Very happy to be on vacation, at Crater Lake with Soni

We saw a lot of Gray Jays on this trip. This one was hanging out by Crater Lake.

The Maroon Bells at Crater Lake

Crater Lake

This is the view of Maroon Bells that gets photographed the most! This shot was taken from the walking path just off of the main trailhead where the shuttle drops visitors off. I couldn’t not take one as well, it’s beautiful.

In the Aspens

Maroon Lake

The next day we decided to go on a longer more strenuous hike to Cathedral Lake. The trail is a 5.3 out and back trail up to the lake, and it’s rated difficult. It was a beautiful trail, and a beautiful day for the hike. The hardest part was towards the end, almost to the lake, when the trail gets very steep. There were a lot of people on the trail that day, and you have to go pretty slow at this point, so it also ends up being a bit of a bottleneck. But once you’re up, the rest of the hike is relatively flat out to the lake. The peak next to the lake really does look like a cathedral, and I’m a sucker for an alpine lake, so we were very pleased. Being late August, most of the wildflowers were gone, but there were still a few here and there along the trailside, adding color to the greens and darks of the mountains. 

After the hike, we drove to Carbondale to meet up with a friend of mine from Maine, Allegra, who has been working on trails all summer in the White River National Forest. She was still on her way down the mountain to meet us but recommended some river hot springs for us to visit in the meantime. Penny Hot Springs is a cluster of small pools on the Crystal river just outside of town. They can get pretty crowded. We found a good hot spot to sit and soak in the pools for a bit, and then headed into to Carbondale to meet her. We had dinner at a fun diner and got to hear about her summer of trail work (she loved it!). She’s been doing work on trails all over the forest, some in the Maroon Bells, and elsewhere. And if you want to see what the Maroon Bells look like now that they are covered in snow - there are some good photos on Allegra’s instagram.

Cathedral Lake

wildflowers on the Cathedral Lake trail

The general plan for our trip was to stay in Aspen/Snowmass for three nights, hanging out and doing some shorter hikes during the day. Then we would drive to Mt. Elbert, near Leadville, and camp near the trailhead so that we’d be ready to try our very first 14er (14,000 feet high mountain). The weather decided not to cooperate with us, and we had to move our hike up a day. So, on Monday morning, we got up at 4am, packed up our car and drove to the trailhead. Thankfully, again, Sonia did the driving. Because heading out so early meant that we were on the windy Independence Pass in the dark, spooking some of the deer that were out in the early morning. 

Sunrise at Twin Lakes, on the way to Mt. Elbert

We got to the trailhead around 6:30am. It was so damn cold as we packed up our gear for the hike. The North Mt. Elbert trailhead is at about 10,000 feet, so it’s higher up and colder than where we’d been staying in Snowmass, at about 8,000 feet. While it felt a bit was a bit crazy to get up at 4am and drive for two hours before hiking for 8+, we would have been really cold camping out near the trailhead. 

We were still cold when we started on the trail by 7am, but there’s a good incline fairly early on so we soon warmed up a bit and were able to take off our warmest layers. It’s a pretty trail, mostly wooded until we got up to tree line. Once we got to tree line, it became significantly harder. Soni had read up on the trail guide ahead of time and knew that there were three “false peaks” which really came in handy. False peaks are when you think you can see the top, but the top is actually beyond it. It was actually nice to know that, but I still found myself pretending that I was almost there with each one. We took a lot of breaks, had a lot of snacks. The trail is steep, and the elevation gain really started to get to me above tree line, so I just always wanted a break to catch my breath until we got to the top. 

On the way up Mt. Elbert

The weather was really clear, sunny, and very hazy. With no chance of thunderstorms, we could take our time getting up to the top and back down again to tree line. The next day (our original Mt. Elbert day) called for thunderstorms all day. 

I’m not sure where it was along the trail, it was close to the top, but don’t know how far or what the elevation was, but I hit a pretty big breaking point and almost lost it. The trail started to get really eroded, with softer dirt, and rocks sliding everywhere. It was very much a scramble, and a steep one. It also gets windier as you get higher, and I felt really unbalanced. I pretty much felt like I was going to fall off the mountain. I went really slowly and took a lot of breaks, but still had a hard time catching my breath. In part from the elevation, part from the anxiety (can I really do this?), it was hard to breathe, and I finally took Soni’s offer of the can of oxygen we’d brought along. We made it past that section, and up to an equally steep very lichen covered rocky section, and I had a similar panic. I had to stop for a bit longer here. This portion of the trail was still tricky, but the rocks were bigger here and felt like they weren’t going anywhere, so I found myself a seat, gripped the rocks and closed my eyes. After a while, my breathing returned to normal, and I finally began to relax.

After a break, we continued up the rest of the way. It was still hard, but the panic didn’t come back. At this point, as we passed folks on their way back down, they were sincere when they said, “almost there!”. Also, we passed a few older hikers, one who said he’d had five knee surgeries, who all said variations of “if we can do it you can do it”. Which sounds cheesy, but at that point I really appreciated it. 

the hazy view from the top of Mt. Elbert

We made it to the top, finally! There was actually a fair amount of wind cover if you stayed on one side of the top, so it was quite comfortable to be up there for a rest before heading back down. There are also a few shelters that I’m sure come in handy on rough weather days. There were lots of folks at the top. Many who we’d been on the trail with at some point. A few runners, and a pair of mountain bikers with their bikes who took our photo with our camp stove and picnic lunch. To be honest, having had such a hard time walking up the mountain, I was completely flabbergasted by the runners and bikers. But maybe once you’ve done more of this kind of thing it’s less daunting. I also heard someone say that some folks once drove a jeep up to the top. 

Soni’s best hiking trick is to bring the camp stove up and heat up some veggie chili for lunch, it’s better on top of a mountain.

very tired, but happy to be at the top!

This fella also made it up there, but not sure when…

At the top, you could see pretty far out, but everything was dimmed by the haze. Some other hikers said that it was all the smoke from the nearby fires that was causing the haze, and that there was a smoke warning in the area. This, of all things, made me feel better. Not because there was a fire, but because the added smoke in the air makes it harder to breathe at high altitudes and this made me feel like less of a wimp for struggling so much. No plans for another one, but it perhaps it won’t be as hard?

Last of the wildflowers on the mountain

The Cottonwood Hot Springs are in Buena Vista, about an hour and a half drive from the trailhead. After we made it down, we headed straight there. We pitched the tent next to the river and headed straight for the first pool. It was getting late, so we just did a quick dip, and then went into town for dinner. When we got back to the springs, we went back in for another soak, and then straight to bed. I have never slept so well in a tent in my entire life. The combination of exhaustion and the sound of the river, I slept ten hours straight no problem. We spent the morning in the hot springs and then headed back to Santa Fe. Surprisingly, neither of us were sore from the hike. The hot springs did their magic.

The rock pools at Cottonwood Hot Springs. This one was the hottest!

My dad sent me flowers for my birthday the day before we left, so I decided to bring them on the road trip with us. Here they are, dressing up our campsite at Cottonwood Hot Springs.  

Mountain Time: Ice Lake

In July, before the forests in Santa Fe opened back up, Soni and I headed to Colorado for some mountain time. 

We drove up the night before and stayed at a motel in Durango. On the way, just past Abiqui, New Mexico, we saw smoke in the distance. With fire season well under way in New Mexico and Colorado, and the summer rains only just begun, the fire danger was pretty high. Neither of us had any cell service to call it in, so we kept driving, paying attention to the mile markers as we passed. We rounded a big curve and were suddenly upon the fire, and a line of cars. It appeared to be a brush fire just at the edge of the road, possibly started by a cigarette tossed out a car window. A fire truck and police car were already there, with more coming up behind us. The fire crews worked quickly and put the fire out while we waited to pass. Forty-five minutes later, we had the go ahead and made our way slowly past the fire remnants. A burned-out van was on the side of the road, most likely abandoned, and there were scorch marks left on the pavement. 

The rest of the drive was uneventful, and we stayed the night in Durango, Colorado and got up early to drive to the trailhead, near Silverton. On the way, we passed some of the burn scars from the 416 fire that had been raging around Durango for the previous month. There were signs along the way warning of the dangers of subsequent mudslides. The road between Durango and Silverton is a narrow windy mountain road and I’m thankful Sonia is always up for the driving on these because they terrify me. (Also, we found out later on, that not long after we headed back to Santa Fe, and passed back through Durango, part of road washed out in the rain storm.)

Coming up on Silverton, the mist was still hanging out in the valley, slowly burning off as the sun rose. The mist and the mountains made me think of the mountain cloud formation that features heavily in the Clouds of Sils Maria

From Silverton, we turned onto a dirt road and drove for a ways before arriving at the campground and parking lot by the trailhead for Ice Lake. This hike is rated strenuous so I was a little intimidated, but excited for the challenge. It’s one of Sonia’s favorite hikes. Last summer she sent me a photo of her picnicking at the lake, and I’d been like “what is this amazing place and when can we go?”. 

The first part of the trail is forested and goes along a stream. The trail guide online recommended crossing it as early as possible. There’s a trail on both sides for a while, but the further up crossings are more difficult (as we saw later on). The wildflowers were very abundant next to the water. Much more so than we’d seen in New Mexico with the lack of rain. We found that the bugs were also more abundant in Colorado, and we had to bum some bug spray from fellow hikers. 

The trail climbs steadily, with a number of switchbacks. Eventually it opens up into a high valley, full of wildflowers and a small lake. A lot of folks camp out here overnight, and make the final ascent the next day. We saw a number of tents nestled in among the trees. We walked through a ridiculously beautiful alpine meadow full of tall wildflowers and made it to the edge, crossing over a stream and began the final ascent. The last part of the trail is the hardest. There’s a little bit of rock scramble, but mostly it’s just a steep trail at the end. Lots of folks were going up and down, and I was so out of breath that I didn’t mind stopping every other minute to let someone pass us. 

Ice Lake is one of those crazily colored deep blue alpine lakes. I can try to describe it, but I took so many photos that I’ll let them do the telling. Ice Lake is truly a beautiful spot. Surrounded by snowy peaks, waterfalls, and a river heading down the valley, the setting was perfect. Exactly as Soni had described. We picnicked at the water’s edge and watched a few brave folks jump in. It was pretty chilly so we weren’t even tempted to join them. 

A fellow hiker told us that there are about 11 lakes in the area. Ice Lake is the main attraction, with a smaller lake right next to it, and a few other smaller ones up towards and past the waterfall. In the opposite direction is another lake (and more?).

Later on, back in Santa Fe, I looked up “why is ice lake so blue” and found a couple of pieces explaining why a lot of alpine lake were so blue. It has nothing to do with the altitude, but rather what is in the water. Which makes more sense given that the surrounding lakes have nothing on the turquoise waters of Ice Lake. A lot of the water in the lake comes from melted glaciers, and with the melted glaciers comes glacial flour or rock flour. The glaciers rub against rocks and create a fine powder that gets distributed into the lake water as they melt. The particles are really light so they don’t sink to the bottom, instead floating in the middle and near the top of the water. When the light hits the lake, it’s distorted by the particles and we see turquoise.

The one downside to the beauty of Ice Lake is that it’s so popular and photogenic that there were also 3-4 drones circling the lake most of the time we were there. As a photographer, I can understand why anyone would want aerial footage of the lakes if they can get it – they’re jaw-droppingly gorgeous. But the drones sound like enormous insects/mini planes swarming and they end up being incredibly stressful and unpleasant to be around. 

The clouds were rolling in and we wanted to escape the drones, so we headed up the trail just a bit further to investigate the other lakes and waterfall. There were two small lakes near the waterfall, each fairly shallow and offering a lot of contrast to the deep blue of Ice Lake. We kept climbing until we reached a larger lake, with the remains of a structure in pieces next to it. Some of the roofing had blown away and was sitting at the bottom of the smaller nearby lake. I couldn’t imagine trying to build a hut at 11,000 feet, especially given the state it was in now. The clouds really started to build up, and it was after noon, so we decided it was time to head back down. 

I was really slow making it back to Ice Lake because I wanted to keep photographing all of the flowers. I found a tiny wildflower bouquet that someone had picked and then abandoned lying in the middle of the trail. I stopped again to photograph it, to give it a little more life before putting it back alongside the trail for someone else to find. 

Going down is always easier, though the steepest part was still a challenge. I love how the view changes, I feel like I always see more when we are going down. With the toughest climb behind me, it’s easier to appreciate the views!

On the way down, we passed a number of groups that had big packs and looked like they were planning to camp just before the top. Also, several kids accompanied their groups with their own kid-sized packs. We wished them luck getting up there before the rain came. 

We made good time getting down but didn’t manage to beat the rain. We pulled our raincoats on with the first few drops and picked up the pace. We could tell that we were getting close, and it really started to pour and then hail so we took off running. Sonia’s sunglasses were on her head so to keep them from flying away, I put them in my raincoat pocket and then forgot all about them for weeks. We thought that her brand-new multi-colored sunglasses that fit perfectly over her everyday glasses were gone until we got caught in another rainstorm and I re-discovered them in my pocket. 

I’ve started making a drawing after each of our big hikes or trips, and here is the sketch from Ice Lake - wildflowers of course!

Mountain Time: Chaco Canyon

With the arrival of the Summer Solstice, I've been thinking back to the Spring Equinox. We moved to New Mexico right around the Winter Solstice, in December. I had been wanting to see the Chaco Culture National Historical Park for a long time, so Soni and I decided to drive up for the Spring Equinox celebration in March.

Chaco Canyon was the center of trade and ceremony for the Anasazi peoples of the southwest from approximately 800-1200. The Chacoan people built amazing stone Great Houses of multiple stories with hundreds of rooms, as well as impressive kivas and other buildings. Some of the most impressive and well-known structures are located in Chaco Canyon itself, but hundreds more extend throughout the San Juan Basin and the Four Corners region, connected via an extensive network of roads.

As we would witness the morning of the Equinox, much of the architecture at Chaco Canyon is oriented around sun and moon cycles. During the Spring Equinox, as the sun gradually rises above the canyon walls, it shines directly through the cardinally-aligned windows of Casa Rinconada, the largest kiva in the canyon.  

Today, the Greater Chaco landscape that surrounds the park remains a living landscape, and one that is sacred to many Indigenous communities throughout New Mexico. The area is home to primarily Diné (Navajo) communities living on the Eastern edges of the Navajo reservation in what is known as the Checkerboard – the patchwork of federal, tribal, state, and private land that extends outwards from the formal Chaco park boundaries. This landscape is increasingly threatened by the encroachment of oil and gas development, spurred by new fracking technologies. Oil and gas extraction in the Greater Chaco landscape is continuing at a steady pace despite the fact that the Navajo Nation, several Navajo Chapters, and the All Pueblo Council of Governors have all called for moratoriums on fracking in the area until the social and environmental impacts of this extraction are assessed.

Fajada Butte

We drove to Chaco in the afternoon, hoping to get there early enough to wander around before sunset. The roads to Chaco are notoriously difficult, with miles of dirt roads before the park entrance. When there is a lot of rain, it can be impossible to get through without 4-wheel drive. Since we had the driest winter in years in New Mexico, the roads were fine, but very dusty and bumpy, so we had to drive with care. After we turned off Highway 550 onto the road to Chaco, we drove through a lot of farmland, passing over a number of cattle guards on our way. The drive into Chaco Canyon is stunning. Fajada Butte stands out as the first distinguishable landmark, vast even from a distance.

Chetro Ketl

We pulled into the visitors’ center just as it was closing up for the day. A friendly park ranger told us that we should come back no later than 6am the next morning to line up for the Equinox celebration. We decided to make the most of the sun and drove further into the park before heading back to the campground near the entrance.  

Petroglyphs near Chetro Ketl

The sun was beginning to get lower in the sky as we explored the ruins. The light was dramatic and the contrasting shadows made the buildings and the whole landscape seem more vibrant and alive.

Pueblo Bonito

Our lovely campsite

The campground was almost full with tents and campers, and a few large groups in tour vans there for the Spring Equinox celebration. When we found our campsite, I was delighted to see that it was next to the canyon wall. We pitched our tent and built a campfire. Leftover escarole stew and Soni’s oat bread was the perfect warming dinner as the temperature began to drop. Chaco Canyon is in the high desert, and gets warm during the day, but the temperatures plummet at night. We sat in our parkas and watched the fire burn as the sun set.  On a normal night in Santa Fe, we can see the stars from our front porch. Which, coming from Chicago, is amazing. But the stars at night at Chaco Canyon are a whole other level of amazing. Chaco Culture National Historical Park is certified as an International Dark Sky Park. This means that over 99% of the park is a “natural darkness zone” with no permanent outdoor lights. With no lights to distract us or diminish the brightness of the night sky, the stars were dazzling.

We had packed pillows and an extra comforter just in case our sleeping bags weren’t warm enough, so we were extra cozy in our tent when we went to sleep. It was not quite enough though. We both woke up in the middle of the night to find ice on our sleeping bags and lining the inside of the tent. The temperature had dropped to around 20 degrees F. We put on extra sweaters and tried to stay warm until morning, which mostly meant that we didn’t sleep much. Other campers fared less well, and when we went to the bathroom, we found several ladies in their sleeping bags on the floor, huddled next to the space heater.

The moon at Chaco

Around 4 am, we began hearing the first of the non-campers driving in to start lining up at the gate.

Since we weren’t really sleeping, we got up at 5, made coffee and oatmeal in our parkas, and joined the other cars in the line up. We warmed up in the car as we ate our early morning breakfast.

At 6:30 am the gates to the main part of the park opened. We slowly followed the long line of cars proceeding to the parking lot near Casa Rinconada for the sunrise. We parked and waited for the rest of the crowd to arrive. To keep it from getting too crowded, the Park Service only lets the first 100 people at the gate into the park for the Spring Equinox celebration. While we waited to walk up the hill to Casa Rinconada, everyone stood there huddled in small clusters with cameras around their necks, some in parkas, some in blankets. Everyone was doing a little dance to stay warm.

Sunrise in the canyon

The head park ranger led the group on a short narrow path up to Casa Rinconada. The sky had begun to get brighter, but the sun wasn’t quite up yet. The ranger gave a brief explanation of the alignment event. He then instructed the crowd that anyone who wanted to get a photo of the alignment - the sun shining through the east and west windows of the kiva - should begin lining up behind the western window.

The line quickly increased to 30 or 40 people, and after standing there for a good fifteen minutes, I decided that I didn’t really need a perfect photo of the alignment. Also, even with a bit more light, it was still too cold to stand still for any length of time. Soni and I walked around the kiva, watched the sun slowly rise above the canyon, and watched the people watching the sunrise.

First light

The Spring Equinox crowd

Good morning Spring!

The first light that crept over the canyon wall was magical. It’s been ages since I’ve been outside watching the sunrise on purpose, and it felt like a nice, albeit strange, way to see Chaco Canyon for the first time. Seeing the sun set and the sun rise against the canyon walls is so different. The first rays of the sunrise that peek over the canyon walls are bright and strong and blinding, and then soften out as the light filters across the canyon. The night before, the sun had been blinding, and dramatic, before giving way to the soft light at the moonrise. We watched as the light filled the sky, and the line of picture takers progressed, and decided to say hello to the day with a hot cup of coffee at the visitors’ center.  

Mountain Time in New Mexico

It's hard to believe that Soni and I have lived in New Mexico for six months.

It's summer here now, with long and extra sunny days. The sun feels different here than it did in Chicago. At 7,000 feet above sea level, we are that much closer to the sun in Santa Fe and the sun is so much stronger. Since we've had hardly any rain (or snow in the winter) most days are cloud-free. I've had to change my wardrobe a bit since moving. I can't get away with wearing navy and black and grey most days, so I've been adding in some summer whites, and HATS! I now wear hats. Some time around April, I finally began to understood why so many folks wear wide brimmed hats in the sun - it's necessary for the daytime walks here. 

Abiquiu Lake

I've been enjoying getting to know our new home. I like being in a new place, it's inspiring to be surrounded by the beautiful landscapes. Most weekends we've tried to get out and explore a bit. Depending on how much time we have, that has meant either a short trail hike in the Santa Fe National Forest or a longer day trip to the Pecos or to the Carson National Forest near Taos. Our first month here, Sonia bought a great trail guide book for the Santa Fe area, and we've been trying to cross off all the hikes in the book, weekend by weekend! There are so many beautiful places to see here, and I look forward to seeing New Mexico as the seasons change. One trail that we've gone to several times, is the Aspen Vista trail in the Santa Fe National Forest. It's a quick drive for us up towards the ski basin to get there. Before we moved, I saw it show up in Santa Fe based photographer Ja Soon Kim's instagram feed often and knew I wanted to see the aspens too! Her feed is definitely worth a follow:  @omjsk. We visited in the winter, early spring, and just before the forest closed due to the fire risks after Memorial Day Weekend. We will definitely be back to see the aspens change color in the fall!

If you're looking for hike ideas in the area - definitely worth reading this Santa Fe trail guide - they have the best descriptions too. For instance - the last hike we did to Trampas Lakes includes instructions to "be sure to notice the old log flume on the right, still carrying water from the higher elevations over the ravine to the irrigation ditches of the village below." This book is chock full of caring notes like these, pointing out especially beautiful trees, and interesting landmarks.

Trampas Lakes, two weeks ago

In the winter, we spent more time doing canyon + desert hikes that are too hot to do in the summer. And in late Spring, once some of what little snow we had melted, we went for more forested hikes. I am continually amazed at how different the terrain can be, in just a short drive. We can be in the forested mountains in the Santa Fe ski basin in 20 minutes, and in Georgia O'Keefe's beloved red rocky terrain in Abiquiu in less than an hour. After coming from the density of Chicago, with its propensity for morning fog, I am so struck by how far you can see. When we've been out near White Rock or Abiquiu, we can see mountains and storms miles and miles away.

White Sands

When we first talked about moving to New Mexico last year, I told Soni I would move if we could go to White Sands. So we planned a quick Valentine's Day weekend trip down to see the famed sands. It's about a three and half hour drive there, so we drove down one afternoon and stayed in the White Sands Motel, and then headed to the park first thing in the morning. We drove in early in the morning and there were already a number of people there, but it wasn't too crowded. It had rained the night before, and the whole place had this otherworldly aura. When all you can see is dunes, it feels like you're on the moon. 

We did the six mile loop trail at White Sands, beginning at 8am. It was pretty quiet when we were there. Footprints in the sand reminded us that we weren't alone, but for most of the time we were walking, we didn't see anyone else. Towards the end, more and more hikers joined the trail, and when we got back to the parking lot, we could see a few photoshoots in progress on various dunes. If you ever go - go early! It's magical, but it gets pretty jam packed later on in the day. And hot!

The view looking down on Valles Caldera in late winter. Valles Caldera is one of my favorite places here.

Valles Caldera is about an hour drive from here, and has quickly become my favorite place to go. We have done a handful of hikes around there, and we often drive into the park to try to spot some elk or coyotes, and to see the valley. It's possible that I'm especially partial to the view because I'm a fan of the netflix show Longmire. While the show was set in Wyoming, most of it was filmed in Santa Fe and Valles Caldera, with the title character's cabin filmed at one of the old cabins in Valles Caldera. Sadly the show is over, so Sonia and I won't be having any Longmire run-ins when we visit the preserve. But it's truly a special place and worth any visit! One day I would like to see the elk, made famous from this video that a park ranger got of a herd running across the valle grande. 

Soni and the last of this year's winter hikes

The view of the Rio Grande River from the Gorge Bridge near Taos is equal parts magnificent and terrifying.

The view from the top of the Gavilan trail in the Taos Ski Valley - Carson National Forest (which is still open as of this post!)

Our mountain hiking is on a bit of a hold right now, as we are now here in June in the middle of a huge drought. Most of the forests have been closed due to fire risk. We finally had a good weekend of rain this week, but it wasn't quite enough. It will probably take a monsoon season for New Mexico to get some of the water that it badly needs. There have been a number of fires already this month and last, here in New Mexico and in Colorado. We're planning some non forest adventures in the meantime, until we get some more rain. Now that it's summertime, I want to find out all about all the swimming holes here. So we'll be looking out for all the good lake swimming spots till the forests open back up again. 

Some lucky folks on an early morning balloon ride over the Rio Grande near Taos. Technically we were also lucky folks, because just beyond here was a natural hot spring pool that we had to ourselves for an early morning soak!

If you're looking for info about the fires here in New Mexico updates are posted daily here: https://nmfireinfo.com. 

poco a poco

At the end of December, Soni and I packed up all of our belongings in a Uhaul truck and drove to our new place in New Mexico. We left Chicago in the cold rain, and unpacked the truck in t-shirts in Santa Fe. After a few days to settle in, we celebrated the new year, recycled all of our moving boxes and then packed our suitcases for Mexico. 

We flew into Oaxaca in the early evening as the sun went down, and took a car into the city. Sonia and I have been working on a collaborative writing and art project "STRATA" and we applied to the creative residency pocoapoco to work on our project for a few weeks in Oaxaca. We decided to go in January, as soon as the big cross country move was finished and we could try to unwind and refocus in the sun. I think it was the best idea we've ever had. We'd both been going nonstop all year with work and getting married and moving. If we'd stayed in New Mexico, we would have both jumped straight into work immediately, and wouldn't have been able to set aside any time to chill out and work on our joint project. The name of the residency "pocoapoco", meaning "little by little" is an accurate description of our hopes for and the actuality of our time there. 

I had been here once before, to Oaxaca, and to pocoapoco. In early 2016, I went to the first iteration of the residency, a week long group residency. We stayed in a cute B+B around the corner from pocoapoco's current home. It was a jam packed week of getting to know the city and surrounding area, making new friends, eating tacos from every taco stand we could find, drinking all of the mezcal. I had come right after I had first started dating Soni, and when the wifi was working I wrote a lot emails. Soni is good at writing emails, something that is nice to learn early on... I always knew I wanted to come back here one day together. And so it seemed only fitting to be here, two years later, just in time to celebrate our anniversary.

Jessica Chrastil moved from NYC to Oaxaca, where she now runs the residency in Oaxaca. She welcomed us upon our arrival, opening the large door, ushering us into a large plant-filled courtyard. The door to her apartment was open, and we met her friends and a fellow painter + resident. There were a few other studios and small apartments off of the courtyard which housed a communal kitchen and the other longer term residents. Pictured above is the beautiful ceramic arrangement that graced our two-room apartment for our stay. 

Having moved to New Mexico blindly, without visiting first, arriving in Oaxaca was a relief in its familiarity. In New Mexico, Soni is my guide, and here in Oaxaca, I could be a guide for a bit. I was relieved that my bearings came back immediately, finding everything again in relation to the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman or the Zocalo. 

We dropped off our things and then wandered out in search of dinner, ending up in courtyard restaurant, which as soon as we sat down, I recognized from my previous visit. The nights in January are a lot colder then they are in February, even a few weeks make all the difference at night. I wore my scarf everywhere, indoors and out, as often the temperature is the same. Jessica told us later that one of the biggest things that she misses about the US is the baths, especially in winter. Most houses don't have heat or bathtubs, since it's only cold for a short period of time, and the days warm up fast. 

morning coffee view

afternoon watercolor part 12

in progress - rough drafts of the climate change tarot deck

working on my foot tan

Most days, Soni and I made coffee in our little kitchen and brought it out into the courtyard to drink, and write or draw or paint. Though I'll admit that Soni was usually up before me to run at Llano park or up the stairs that lead to the mountain path by our place. We decided before coming that we wouldn't try to do too much sightseeing, that we'd pick a few day trips and spend the rest of our time wandering in the city and spending afternoons with watercolors in the courtyard. The sun, a constant all day, felt amazing.  

the beautiful courtyard at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca

the view from Centro de las Artes de San Agustin

We went to Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca, Centro de las Artes de San Agustin, and Jardín Etnobotánico. We decided to take the tour of the Jardín in Spanish, since I had been before, and there were more times available. Shortly into the tour, we realized how bad our Spanish skills truly were. The tour guide spoke at quite a clip, offering up the history of the garden, Santo Domingo, and all of the plants. For most of the trip, we'd been able to understand most of our conversations, and get by fairly well. On the Spanish tour of the garden however, we realized that this was because, as tourists, everyone had been speaking really slowly to us. 

the Jardín Etnobotanico in all its glory at sunset

Though we had decided to stay in the city for most of our time in Oaxaca, there was one place that I really wanted to travel to: Hierve el Agua. I had learned about it on my previous trip, but didn't have enough time to get there, going instead to Monte Albán (which was AMAZING). Hierve el Agua is a natural rock formation on the side of a cliff. At the top are natural pools of water, and the rock formations resemble a cascading waterfall. It was about a two hour drive from the city, so we hired a driver to take us there (the buses don't go all the way there, and neither of us wanted to attempt driving on our own). A friend recommended getting there on the early side, so we left first thing. The drive took us through the mezcal corridor, past Yagul, and into the mountains. We drove through two small towns on the mountainside before arriving just as Hierve el Agua was just opening. We had worn our swimsuits just in case, but it was still chilly early on in the day. There was a small path beyond the vendors that were setting up for the day, and we began walking down to see pools. We even walked past some artificial and empty pools that must get a lot of use in the warmer months. 

First thing in the morning really is the time to go to Hierve el Agua. As we came down the path, another couple was just leaving, and they said "enjoy" + "it's all yours". There was no one else in sight. There we were, at the edge of rock pools on the side of the mountain, with amazing views in all directions. It was like standing at the edge of the world. All was quiet and still.

It was too cold for a swim, so we walked down the paths on either side of it. One of them took us down to another ledge with smaller pools of water, and similar rock formations. It also provided an amazing view of the waterfall rocks. We hung out here for a while, working on our sunburns, and then slowly made the trip back. By the time we were back at the main pools, lots of other people had arrived, and were busy taking selfies with the view. The calm had left, and we felt okay about saying goodbye. 

One last walk in the mountains with Jessica Chrastil and Amanny Ahmad

the best sunset view from the rooftop at pocoapoco

See you again soon, Oaxaca.

xR

Big Sky: Wyoming and Montana

In September, Soni and I went to Wyoming and Montana. Part honeymoon, part artist residency, it was a very much needed break. The plan was drive to Yellowstone National Park for the weekend, then head up to Bozeman for a week at the Silver Streak Residency, then head further north to Glacier National Park. Things didn't quite go as planned, but the trip was still amazing.

Driving out of Chicago – we headed up through Wisconsin towards Minnesota, stopping for the first night in a motel on French Island in the Mississippi River. That next morning, as we drove through Minnesota’s farm land and saw the beginning of the thick haze that we saw almost everywhere else on our trip. Once we made it to South Dakota, the haze was so thick, and everywhere. I had heard that you could see the badlands on the drive without getting off the highway, but we couldn’t see a thing. There was the suggestion of some rock formations on either side of the highway, but beyond that, only someone else knows. 

We stopped for the second night in the first big town in Wyoming – Sundance. It was a small place, near the Devil’s Tower. Turning off the main road, we saw a deer, just standing there, as if welcoming us to town. 

We left early the next morning, after a quick swim in the small motel pool. The water was freezing, and was a much better wake up than the weak motel coffee. Getting a few hours of driving in on Thursday evening meant that we could be in Yellowstone by mid-afternoon, so we decided to take the scenic route. It took us through more of the park, via the eastern entrance near Cody WY. We winded our way on mountain roads with trees on either side, until we could see the glimmer of Yellowstone Lake through the trees. We stopped for a quick visit. It’s a big lake, and relatively quiet, there was one or two boats out on the water, and a few other folks hanging out on the beach. We were staying in the northern edge of the park, in Mammoth Hot Springs. From Yellowstone Lake Lodge to Mammoth Hot Springs was an hour and a half drive. We got our first taste of the Yellowstone traffic on our way up. When lots of cars are pulled over on the side of the road, it usually means that someone has seen an animal, and if there are tons of cars it's likely a bear. We saw a couple of clusters on our way – and then one gigantic cluster of cars, and crawled through them at a snails pace. We couldn’t see what anyone was looking at, but folks were everywhere with a camera in most hands. Finally a man on motorcycle at the side of the road yelled “BEAR!!!”. 

When we pulled into the Mammoth Hot Springs village – it was bustling. There were lots of cars near the entrance – where there were lots of wooden walkways around the terraced hot spring formations. There was a main drag with a gas station, a diner, a general store, the hotel, a post office, the visitor center, and lots of small cabins. Slightly tucked away and down the hill was a whole lot of park housing.

Our cabin was very cute and surprisingly eco-friendly. Lightly painted yellow, it had a small front porch, with porch furniture made from recycled plastic. Inside, the trash “can” was actually a shelving unit divided into trash, compost and recycling, and had a label explaining how it was made from 200 plastic milk jugs. There were water cups from repurposed wine bottles. There were no tiny disposable soap containers in sight, only larger refillable glass bottles – with some very nice smelling soap, lotions and shampoos.

The general store had a little bit of everything – hand scooped ice cream, a tiny selection of sandwiches, salads, produce, Wyoming whiskey, purple black bear onesies, postcards, and bear spray. I offered to get Sonia the onesie, but she declined. But we did grab a salad and bear spray for tomorrow’s hike.

The dining hall was on the main drag, with big black and white striped awnings. It’s wide open room and high lighting reminded me of alternately, the Shining, and Dirty Dancing. Neither of which I’ve since learned has Soni seen. The staff wore name tags with their homestate on them. Dan Illinois gave us our hotel keys. Rachel Wisconsin showed us to our table. In addition to their green cabins, the park’s dining hall had a menu that highlighted their multiple gluten-free and vegetarian options. We were impressed, Soni could eat lots of things on the menu. We overheard our waiter (Steven Michigan) tell the table next to us that they were out of coffee until Tuesday - as long as we’re staying. So in the morning, Soni pulled out a camp-stove and made us pour-over coffee on the front porch. Camp coffee is the best coffee. 

We drove out to the trailhead at Mt. Washburn, along some windy mountain roads. All of the park signs warn about bears on the trail, so we packed our bear spray, and hoped we wouldn't use it. The trail was pretty open, dry and and rather desert-y which both of us are less used to in mountain hikes. A german couple passed us early on, and we caught up to them fifteen minutes later. They asked if we’d seen the bear – about twenty feet from the trail. We’d been half heartedly looking for one but also being kind of afraid of them we’d been talking loudly (as all the signs tell you to do – travel in groups, carry bear spray, make noise…). From then on, we scoured the trees for bears. Further up we did spot some rustling in the trees below us – but it was instead two hikers cutting through the switchbacks, and spooking us.

The haze was strong, so we couldn’t see all the mountains in the distance, but it was still a stunning view. Closer to the top, above the treeline where all the cool lichen covered rocks take over (my favorite part), the haze seemed to intensify, and we could see the final ascent to the fire lookout hut at the top. It was the end of summer and everything was parched, all the grass was yellow, the sky was hazy, the orange trail markers blended in. As we rounded the mountaintop, we noticed a bunch of folks sitting with cameras out – there was a pronghorn family just sitting in the sun on the side of the mountain. Soni asked the nearest hiker what they were, and she replied that she spoke only Spanish and French – so off they went in French – She was Columbian and living in Paris, and they’d already been here for several days. They’d been watching the animals for a time. And they’d found the most amazing hot springs to swim in, right near where we were staying.

Coming down around the first curve, the thick haze began to break up and the view opened up. It became more and more clear over the descent. A light haze remained, on the edges, but it felt lighter on the way down, which was great since it was definitely much warmer! 

We had enough time left before dark to wander out to see all the hot springs – there was a network of boardwalks crisscrossing and weaving around. So many strange and otherworldly type formations come from this hot water that pours out and trickles down. The hot springs are amazing. 

We had arrived on the moon.

From the up on the hill at the hot springs, we heard a commotion down below and saw flashing lights. My first thought was car crash, or someone is hurt. Wrong on both counts. Instead, it was an elk standoff, and the flashing lights were to try to keep the tourists with their cameras away. Just another day at Yellowstone.

The next morning's coffee was even better than the first. Sitting out there bundled in the cold, we watched folks beginning to stir and someone walking past told us there was an elk nearby, so we ran to catch a peek. There is was, one cabin over, with its head in the tree.

While we were driving to Wyoming, and exploring Yellowstone, all over the country new wildfires were starting and taking off. After a really dry season, and some Labor Day Weekend carelessness, fires in Oregon, Washington, Canada, Montana had all grown in size and number. By the time we made it to Bozeman, the fires in Montana had gotten worse, including the Sprague fire in Glacier National Park. The smoky haze in Bozeman was much more noticeable than it had been in Yellowstone. 

We came to Montana to do a week long residency at the Silver Streak, a rehabbed Airstream camper just outside of Bozeman. The beginning of Fall is an interesting time to be in Montana, as the temperatures drop to almost freezing at night, but are still climbing to the eighties at midday. Soni and I spent our time here exploring the area, prepping for our artist lecture at Montana State University, and working on our joint project Strata.  During the day we set up a worktable outside in the field, and at night we would draw in our little Airstream. 

Halfway through our time in Bozeman, the fires were showing no signs of improving, and conditions at Glacier National Park got way worse, even burning the old park building the Sperry Chalet. We decided to cancel our trip to Glacier and instead made plans to head south to Grand Teton National Park instead. 

At the very end of our stay in Bozeman, the winds changed. The smoke blew away. The skies cleared and we finally got to see some blue Montana big sky. Speaking of which, we drove through Big Sky on our way to Grand Teton, and it deserves its name. We would definitely go back. To get to Grand Teton, we drove back through Yellowstone, this time going into the park from its west entrance, closer to all of the geyser activity that we had missed on our previous time there. Skipping the insane crowds at Old Faithful, we went to Fountain Paint Pots to see the Clepsydra Geyser and to the Grand Prismatic pool nearby. Yellowstone is such a weird and wonderful place. We were glad to get some time to explore in the southern part of the park, and the geysers are so amazing. Though because the crowds can get so intense, I definitely prefer the mood of the northern side of the park, at Mammoth Hot Springs, and would recommend staying up there, and just visiting the southern part. Especially Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic!

After a day of driving, with stops to see all the cool things in Yellowstone, we made it to Grand Teton National Park. Just in time to catch a swim in Jackson Lake before the sun went down. The water was freezing. But after a day of driving, utterly refreshing. It was also just cold enough, that it provided a sense of camaraderie for everyone who braved the frigid temps. We soon learned that all of the other swimmers had also had to reroute their travel plans to avoid the fires at Glacier, and we had all ended up in Jackson Lake in Wyoming. 

We had just one day to explore Grand Teton, so we decided on the hike up to Amphitheater Lake, a pretty alpine lake. On our early morning drive to the trailhead, we drove past a momma black bear and her cub, running through the field. They froze when they saw us coming, looked up at us, and then went on their way. We'd been carrying around our trusty bear spray this whole trip, and hoping we would finally spot one somewhere, so we were happy to be rewarded on our last day. We hiked up to the lake and picnicked on some rocks. Soni decided to keep going and check out the view from the top of the mountain ridge, but I decided to hang out at the lake for a bit. I overheard some folks mention seeing a bear on their way up. So when Soni and I headed down the trail, we weren't surprised to spot a large cub hanging out in the trees. We watched for a minute or two, and then started making our way noisily down the trail, so as not to spook him. No pics to share here, but he was cute. 

Driving out of the park, we were rewarded with this lovely view of the Tetons in the late afternoon sun:

Hoping to make it back here soon...

xR

Heading West

Where to begin?

2017 was a big year. A tumultuous year personally as well as politically. So many changes, in my world, in our world. So many that I'm still playing catchup. I got engaged, married, quit my day job to work for myself full time, and left my home of sixteen years to move with my love to New Mexico. 

Last year, post heartbreaking election of 2016, I retreated a bit from the online realm, instead mostly writing and drawing offline in piles of tiny notebooks and sketchbooks. I'm planning on sharing some of those stories here in some form or another, but to start with here is a bit of a highlights reel / year in a day:

Above is a sketch from one of those books, made after the Women's March in Chicago in January 2017. It was exhilarating, heartwarming, inspiring, and hopeful to see so many people in the streets marching, and wonderful to see them return this past January, in my new city of Santa Fe.

I didn't see any alligators, but NOLA and Mississippi are beautiful, especially in contrast to a March in Chicago.

Barefoot in the museum! By far my favorite show last year was the Hélio Oiticica show at the Art Institute - it was magical!

In June we went to visit Soni's family in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I had been there once before on a childhood vacation, and it was as enchanting as I'd remembered it. The coast and buildings still reminded me of the coast of Maine where I grew up, but without being as overly developed as southern Maine is. We could walk for an hour on a cliff side trail and might not even see anyone else. It was beautiful and foggy, and my favorite spot was this little cabin in Terence Bay.

When we decided in late spring to move to Santa Fe at the end of the year, we also decided to get married in Chicago before we left. With all the unknowns and the planning that the move would take on, we wanted to plan something small, informal and fun. Our family and friends joined us at the Hollywood Beach in Chicago for a short ceremony and a picnic! We did almost everything ourselves - dyeing the picnic napkins, making flower arrangements etc. We got some picnic boxes from the Goddess and the Grocer, and my sister Molly (aka LADY KRISPIE) made our wedding cake! The weather even cooperated, starting to sprinkle only as we were trying to get everyone to head back to our apartment for the after party...

After the wedding but before the big move, Soni and I went to Wyoming and Montana for a much needed break. Part honeymoon and part artist residency, it was a welcome change in scenery.

Moody November watercolors...

Our last visit to Lake Michigan, the lake and sky as always with beautiful and ever changing colors.

Our welcome to Santa Fe included a walk on the Aspen Vista trail, only fifteen minutes from our new house. I'll miss the water, but the mountains and forests and high desert are certainly making up for it.

xoR

Oaxaca Sketchbook

At the end of December, 2015, I was scrolling aimlessly through Instagram. Totally burnt out, and not sure what to do next, I stumbled upon a post about an info session for a new week-long creative residency that would be held in Oaxaca, Mexico. It doesn't take much convincing that escaping the Chicago winter in February is a good idea. So a month and a half later I found myself on an overnight flight to Oaxaca City, Mexico headed for the first iteration of the Pocoapoco creative residency. Here are a few sketches and photographs from my week there.

the first morning in Mexico

Santo Domingo

Monte Alban with Sarah, Elissa and Aimee

A stela at Monte Alban

The view from Monte Alban

My favorite wall in Oaxaca

Elissa and I went to visit some palenques outside of the city.

Agave prepped for mezcal making

agave watercolor / notes for a zine

at the palenque

Sunset at the palenque

My favorite garden

Watercolors dry fast here

The Artist Colony in Duved, Sweden

Last Summer into Fall, I traveled to Sweden for an artist residency organized by an old friend of mine. Flying first into Stockholm, I joined Malin, Alex, and Ava, where we packed up the car for another road trip, taking everything we could fit for the journey north to Jämtland. Along the way we stopped at the loveliest truck stop I've ever been to, where I saw the first of many Swedish rainbows. 

The view from the loveliest truck stop!

We stayed in a beautiful wooden mountain cabin nestled in the woods in a small town close to Åre. 

The Right of Public Access in Sweden allows everyone to walk freely through the Swedish countryside, with respect to both the land and property owners. So walk freely we did, up into the forests, gathering mushrooms and lingon berries along the way. 

Malin gathering lingonberries

Souvas is a traditional nordic dish. We prepared some with the berries and mushrooms that we gathered in the forest. 

To make Souvas you need: 

Smoked and dried reindeer meat

Red onion

Garlic

Chanterelles and gypsy mushrooms

Lingonberries

Crème fraîche

Seasoning to taste

Then, serve with potatoes and lingonberries.

Tännforsen is Sweden's largest waterfall, and was just a short drive from where we were staying. We packed a picnic, and hiked the trail down from the top of the waterfall to the bottom, where it opened into a lake, and found the perfect spot for lunch. 

Åreskutan

It’s peak long ago smoothed over from years of glaciers, Åreskutan is all picture takers hikers and bikers in the summer and packed with skiers come wintertime. 

Of course once we got to the top of the mountain, I realized that I'd forgotten my camera's memory card back at the cabin so I only got a few camera phone pictures. 

At the top of Åreskutan in the middle of a swirl of clouds we picnicked in this warm hut. As we began to make our way down the mountain, the clouds began to clear. The sun came out and the view was even more spectacular than I'd anticipated. 

You can find a hyperlapse video of the trip down the mountain here. 

A day of shooting at a local farm. I wouldn't mind if I never left this spot...

Studio Visit: In Sweden with Malin Ståhl

Fainting (Spruce)  - Photograph courtesy of Malin Ståhl

Malin Ståhl is a Swedish artist based in Stockholm. She creates multi-layered narratives dealing with topics including landscape, art history and gender. Through performance, photography, and video she tells her stories using a cast of recurring characters - Miss Wedding, Death and Fratercula Arctica to name a few.

I first met Malin over ten years ago when we were both studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was on a semester exchange from the Iceland Academy of the Arts. We kept in touch over the years and it was my pleasure to catch up with her at an artist residency in Sweden last fall: the Artist Colony. You can read more about my time at the residency here. I'm excited to share Malin Ståhl's work here - read on for a Q&A about her work and inspirations. 

Becca Grady: What drew you to performance art? As long as I’ve known you (over ten years now) you’ve been interested in the theatrical. Did you try out other ways of making before you found performance art?

Malin Ståhl: I started out in painting and then shifted into sculpture. There was a sort of performative element surrounding the creation and handling of the object that I found interesting. Gradually this made it possible for me to approach performance as a medium. I started doing performative acts for the camera and they became prints that I stored in a drawer as I didn’t know what to do with them.

Later on when I went to art school I found a platform for showing and talking about the performance work that I was doing. 

Fainting (Spruce) - Photograph courtesy of Malin Ståhl

BG: Many of your performance works and videos have pastoral settings - in a field, at the water’s edge, the top of a mountain, in the forest, or on a stage. Does the expansiveness of space in more rural areas become the stage for you? Do you find it easier to work in spaces that are more removed from people?

MS: My practice revolves around the subjects of landscape, body and costume. I look at historical and cultural links, primarily between body and landscape but also between body and animal. I am interested in the overlap and connections between folklore, religion and science as well as the exigency for transgression that exist between these. 

A lot of my work is probing a relationship to a natural setting, the situation of being surrounded by nature. I think my work feeds off this relationship and I am not sure it could really exist without the scenery that these locations provide. I definitely find it easier to work in remote places where there is less human interference.

Death Waiting (Dawn) - Photograph courtesy of Malin Ståhl

BG: Your work has a large cast of characters, mostly played by you, and in some works other artists have re-imagined your characters. Your characters often reappear in different works. Is there a character that you've been working with the longest? Do you have a favorite character to play?

MS: For a long time my work centered around these characters that I invented. There were many clowns, and in a way I think of most of them as clowns even though this is less clear in some cases. The historical role of the clown is to be the mediator of feelings that are to large to contain and the clown will take these feeling upon himself and act them out and so relieve the original bearer. This idea of the too large feelings and the way these make someone act really fascinated me for a couple of years and I found inspiration in pop music and romantic movies.

Gradually I have left this cast of characters behind and it is now only the more stubborn of them that keep popping up in my work. One such character is Death which draws its inspiration from the historical depictions of death within Christianity, a skeleton man walking around and luring people to follow him.

Death Waiting (Dusk) - Photograph by Elisabet Rydell-Jansen

BG: Your work has a lot of magical and otherworldly undercurrents. Where does your interest in these themes come from? 

MS: People are getting further and further removed from having a relationship with nature, and rarely do we feel a personal dependency on nature. It is not long ago that we were fully dependent on nature and then we were also close to myths and folklore. These phenomena that have become quaint appearances were once very real within peoples belief systems. This really fascinates me.

In my work these references function as a mediation of the unknown qualities within the landscape that surrounds us. On a larger scale they also function as symbols for the hope that anything can happen, which ties back to my past interest in girls culture.

BG: You mentioned that you have made many of your works in and around Duved and Åre, Sweden. What is it about this place that makes it such great place to work?

MS: I have a very strong relationship to the area having spent a significant part of my childhood and youth skiing and hiking in the mountains there. I somehow feel a personal affiliation with the snow, the trees and the shape of the landscape, still much in the way a child would relate to the territory of their play, a sort of unspoken territory. I used to know the exact look and feel and smell of the moss and lichen on the ground. Now I know it from a perspective that is based more in memory than in a direct relationship and I want to insert my art into that situation.

The cabin in Duved, Sweden 

BG: When you’re not in Duved, where is your studio?

MS: I have a studio in Stockholm where I live. I use the studio to research and make sketches for new work. I make costumes, paintings and props for my pieces and this is also where I edit and produce the videos which often are the result of the interventions into the landscape.

BG: How do you develop your performances? Do they start with an idea? Or a costume? Or a setting? Which usually comes first? 

MS: My performances often start with an idea. This idea is usually coming out of a visual impression, or something I read about and then imagine what it would look like. Most often I am inspired by ideas about the organization of the world in different situations, contexts and times. This might often be expressed through the body and the way the body is poised through times and ideas. Things that inspire me, that ticks my imagination or make me find these connections are often depictions of characters in myths and folklore, historical dance performances and contemporary fashion editorials in magazines.

The Forest of Trees - Photograph courtesy of Malin Ståhl

BG: What are you working on now?

MS: Right now I am in the process of working on a new performance piece that will be show in Åre this year. It will center around the process of making ice cream and the role unicorns play in that.