Santa Fe

Today was planned as a down day. I’ve been going at record pace for over a month and I definitely needed a day to relax and regroup. I will take at least one more personal day this week before returning to a faster pace.

We took a lovely local hike at Arroyo Hondo. The weather was sunny and in the 50s! We hiked in shirtsleeves and sunglasses, no hats or gloves. Although we were still navigating snowy/icy patches on the trail, it was a nice break from the winter weather that has been following me the whole trip.

I did want to reflect on my first month of travel. While I had planned a basic itinerary, I really had no particular expectation of how the day-to-day interactions would evolve. I left that as part of the experience. I have notes on most areas, but I have not been solidifying daily itineraries until the evening prior or sometimes the morning of. For those of you who know me, that has been a growth experience. I have even made some small last minute changes to my itinerary. Also a growth experience.

While I have always concentrated on nature and abstract photography, I wanted to use this trip as an opportunity to explore local culture and connect with people. Again, for those of you who know me, that is not my natural inclination. I’m a functional introvert and don’t generally go out of my way to seek personal connections. While I felt a bit out of my element the first few days, I have been pleasantly surprised at kindness and conviviality of strangers, whether on the trail, at the bar or in the hot tub. the vast majority of people are very willing to engage and share. Granted, the nature of this trip itself is a great conversation starter. And the cards I carry with the blog site information effectively act as calling cards. But the conversation often evolves much further, into all sorts of related, and even unrelated, topics. I’m still wondering if this is as much a function of my approach as the people I am meeting.

I’ve also been quite surprised at the willingness of folk to allow me to photograph them for the blog. I myself would likely decline such a request, so it is quite amazing to me that most people are willing, and even allow photography of their children. I hope those who access the blog will be satisfied at how I captured their images. And who knows, perhaps I might eventually be convinced to change my mind.

All in all, in spite of the weather challenges, it has been a positive and enlightening experience so far. I am curious to find out what, if anything, will change, once I get out of the West/Southwest, where I am still pretty much in my comfort zone. Stay tuned.