New Mexico

The reason I was delayed in a Holiday Post was because I went on vacation! Hurrah!

My mother and I road-tripped to New Mexico, Land of Enchantment.

It's a pretty nice state. It has a dry beauty, much like a person who spent their whole life working outside is beautiful. We were there in wintertime, but you can see color through the sepia brown of everywhere. I liked the landscape. The wildlife, while we mostly saw birds, was pretty cool. We saw so many sandhill cranes, and a roadrunner!

I also like the culture. I got the impression that the locals where the kind of crazy like Minnesotans are crazy. Not so much pride in and appreciation of the state as it is spite, because who else could survive there? Why do Minnesotans tough out -40 degree weather, or New Mexicans suffer through 120 degree weather? Because they can and they're not going to give in!

I also appreciate the prevalence of the Native American cultures in day-to-day life. While Minnesota has adopted some of the indigenous culture into mainstream, like wild rice and landmarks, New Mexico took it to a whole other level. The architectural style of the pueblos is extremely common in all sorts of buildings, and traditions such as a 4 day long Christmas celebration, or silver and turquoise jewelry are everyday sights.

We had a wonderful trip, and I'm glad we decided to explore the New Mexican corner of the US.