Sara and Jean’s New Mexico Trip

April 18, 2025

Sara and I recently met up in New Mexico for our first annual organizing business retreat! Sara is an expert traveler and suggested we meet up in the southwest to discuss organizing ideas, business expansion, and talk about our creative pursuits. It was so much fun! In this post, I’ll share some photos of what we were up to.

I moved down to Carlsbad, NM from Seattle last summer. Since Carlsbad is so far away from any major airports, we decided that she would fly down to Albuquerque, and I would drive up. Carlsbad is actually a 4.5 hour drive from Albuquerque, but the drive is very easy and beautiful. I saw lots of pronghorn antelope along the way. I got to go to some of my favorite stores that I can’t easily access anymore, like REI and Whole Foods. I then met up with an old friend for a delicious dinner. Later that evening, I picked Sara up from the airport when her plane got in.

On the first full day Sara was in town, we drove to Santuario de Chimayo, just north of Santa Fe. I had been wanting to go there since moving to Carlsbad, because I saw a beautiful photograph of the church. I’m not particularly religious, but the photographer told me about the special holy dirt that has been associated with miracles. Many people have been healed by the dirt, and I was very curious to see what it was all about. I'm really glad we went!

After Chimayo, we decided to head over to Taos to do some exploring. We had initially wanted to go to Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, but we’re going to have to save that for another trip. We did some shopping, and Sara purchased some beaded earrings and southwest art from local artists. I purchased some handpicked herbal tea from a local harvester. The day was full of synchronicities, so I knew we were on the right path! We ate a delicious lunch and had some decadent chocolate for dessert. After that, we explored some nature, and soaked in the magic of the land. Taos is a wonderfully artsy and outdoorsy town, well worth the trip!

The next day, we decided to go for a hike at Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque. We saw literally hundreds of petroglyphs! The petroglyphs are images carved onto rocks by ancestors of today’s Pueblo people and other native groups traveling through the area 400-700 years ago. Archeologists believe groups traveled near and far to offer prayers and carve images sacred to them. It was spectacular. While on our hike, we talked about creative ideas we both have (Sara’s sewing projects and artwork I am in the process of making that features plants and animals of the southwest). We also talked about an organizing class Sara was preparing to teach: “Organizing With ADHD”. She was asked to teach this class for a Seattle area-based craft camp for adults called Urban Craft. If you’re interested in taking a class like this in the future, please contact us.

After the petroglyph hike, we headed back to Santa Fe. We first ate a great lunch in the heart of Santa Fe at The Shed. It’s a restaurant that has been around since the 1950s, but the waiter told us the building is about 400 years old! While waiting for our table, we wandered over to a store called Chocolate and Cashmere. Being the chocolate fans we are, we could not resist the unique jewel-like bon-bons, and were grateful for the generous free samples! I had never seen chocolate this beautiful, and it was just as yummy as it looked!

Next we headed up to Canyon Road to peruse the gorgeous art! I had only been there on Christmas Eve to see all the lights, so I was very excited to get to see the work in the galleries. Everyone was so friendly, and we got even more inspired! And then, I found L’Ecole Des Beaux Arts, a store that specializes in handmade watercolors! I have always wanted to try hand-made watercolors, and I finally got to test them out. These watercolors are absolutely amazing! After drooling over all the different colors, I finally chose a handful of metallics and fluorescent colors to create a palate for myself.

On the way back to the hotel in Albuquerque, we made sure to stop at Joann Fabrics, so Sara could make the most of their liquidation sale (RIP Joann’s!). Sara sews beautiful handmade napkins, placemats, aprons, and more, and sells them through local venues and through her Etsy shop, DoNotDropArt.

After two full days in the southwest, Sara headed back to Seattle the next morning. This was an energizing, inspiring, and thought-provoking trip. I’m looking forward to doing another trip like this again with her! By the way, Sara does a ton of traveling and is especially good at packing light. If you want help packing for your next trip, you may want to consider hiring Sara!