New Mexico: The Lost and Found West
11 April, 2019
It’s
supposed to be a 14-hour drive from Los
Angeles to Santa Fe but truth be told, getting there that
quickly is near impossible, because the best
road trips belong on the back roads. As much as everyone loves
a
summer getaway, there is something magical about traveling
during winter. Without the hordes of tourists and camper vans, the
landscape is filled with quieter scenes of life. By taking the
roads less travelled and zigzagging across New Mexico – the “Land
of Enchantment” as the state slogan screams – there is to be found
a land lost in time, seemingly forgotten.
The landscape from one end of the state to the other is so
varied, from rolling hills to white sand deserts, cotton fields to
tall mountains. Dotted along the periphery of each magnificent
locale is usually a small town. There may be a few inhabitants here
and there, but overall the feeling is that of a ghost town, where
you know there was once abundant life but it’s now hard to imagine.
The paint on the buildings is sun-faded as they fall further into
disrepair and the palette begins to echo the surrounding
landscape.
Though there is a feeling of loneliness and abandonment
throughout, there is still a magic in the things left behind;
things to be found. Within the remnants of eras past, there is a
quality to New Mexico that makes you dream.
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