Have you ever heard of Plaza Blanca?

As a family, we have been to New Mexico too many times to count. In particular, we have spent most of our time in the area of Red River (a little skiing town way up North) and Santa Fe, both of which are just fabulous (and for different reasons).

Santa Fe appeals to us for the cultural vibe of all the artists there, and of course the breakfast at Cafe Pasqual's. OMG. Don't get me started on that. And Red River, being way up in the mountains, is all about the hiking, fishing, and beautiful vistas.

Anyways, it's basically impossible to spend any time in Santa Fe without hearing about or somehow encountering the art of Georgia O'Keeffe. She lived and worked in the Santa Fe area for a while and there is a great museum there showcasing some of her work. It's worth a visit.

But it seems her heart was really always in Abiquiu, NM.

Abiquiu is really just a speck on the map, the sort of town that if you blink you will miss it. It's less than an hour drive from Santa Fe, but feels like you are in another era. Georgia's home and studio are there and that is another tour that is well worth it, assuming you are interested in her work.

Well back in March of this year for Spring Break, we decided to road trip over to New Mexico again, but this time instead of staying in Santa Fe, we opted for a stay in a rental way out in the sticks, in Abiquiu. It was excellent.

We were worlds away from civilization, and right in the middle of the incredible landscapes that Georgia O'Keeffe loved to paint there. In particular, one place that we kept hearing about in relation to her was what she called the "White Place". It was a place where she spent a LOT of her time painting. In fact, many of her famous landscapes were painted of the White Place.

After some investigation, we discovered that the White Place, known also as Plaza Blanca, was just a short drive from where we were staying. It's not a National Park or anything like that, so it was not well marked and in fact we had never seen a sign for it (and technically, still haven't I guess). But with a little help from Google, we did find it and explored it one afternoon.

It was awesome.

It's not like anything I have really seen before. The best word I can think of to describe the landscapes there is "lunar". Clearly I have not been on the moon, but I imagine it would look somewhat like this place. It's very different, and as such, very interesting.

I loved it.

We spent a couple of hours there hiking around on the trails, climbing rocks, and enjoying the park, which we nearly had to ourselves. We saw 2 people the whole time we were there. It threatened to rain on us most of the hike, but didn't, so instead I got some decent skies for shooting, and we all got in some good hiking and rock climbing. You gotta go climb some rocks sometimes, right?

So I hope you enjoy today's photo tour of the White Place, Plaza Blanca. And if you ever get to Santa Fe, see about finding some spare time to make the drive out here and check it out. I think you will be glad that you did.