Journal 6 / Spring Break trip to New Mexico

 Sunday March 22

Today I want to share a reflection of my travels over spring break. I went on a road trip to Santa Fe with eight of my friends and explored the town. It was a quiet and calm place, much more so than I would expect from a state capitol. I learned it was the oldest state capital in the United States, and I also learned that the oldest Church in the United States was located here. We stopped at a local pizza place right next to the Church and enjoyed its beauty. We stayed two nights in Santa Fe, spent a day on the mountain skiing, then headed south to my friend's property in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. We spent five nights there, and it was during this stay that I felt the most connected to nature that I have during the entirety of my college experience. The town is extremely remote, with not many people and one main road through the town. The property we stayed on backed up to a national forest, and we had four hundred acres for us to explore, unaccompanied by anyone else. We saw a variety of wild animals including elk, wild horses, and a few surprisingly sweet unclaimed feral cats. I had never seen a wild horse in my life prior to this trip, but I ended up seeing upwards of 50 and I was astonished by their beauty. At nights we drove up on top of the mountain and built large campfires while we sat amongst the stars. I have never been so isolated from the world while feeling so at peace. While not fully isolated, I felt a little like Abbey in the sense that nature really felt like home. It was a great trip, and one that I hope to venture on in the future.  Here are some of my favorite pictures of my travels that I wanted to share. Hopefully they are not blurry from the upload, and if so I can try to reshare them somehow: 






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