Okeefe Country

Blue sky, green chile, adobe homes...and Georgia O'Keeffe. That's New Mexico.

Georgia O'Keeffe is especially known for her large-scale flowers, but her numerous works in abstract and her simple but stark paintings of 'her' New Mexico landscape are undeniably as equally impressive.

In 1929, O'Keeffe made her first trip to New Mexico, and would spend most parts of the next 2o years on a piece of land at Ghost Ranch painting scenes of areas there. Buying a car and learning to drive, she would venture out from Ghost Ranch to nearby but off the beaten track locations, all fondly known today as O'Keeffe Country. In 1949, she made New Mexico her permanent residence, spending summer months at Ghost Ranch and winter months in her hacienda with a garden in the small town of Abiquiu, some 12 miles away.

O'Keeffe died in Santa Fe on March 6, 1986 at the age of 99.

Ghost Ranch today, after being sold several times over, is an Education and Retreat Center owned by the Presbyterian Church. It is opened to the public, offers seminars that run the gamut, as well as lodging, dining, hiking and various O'Keeffe tours.

A couple of travel partners and I spent a day touring O'Keeffe's home and Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu. The striking landscape at Ghost Ranch, which O'Keeffe so loved, begs to be hiked. Surrounded by mountainous vistas and every landscape color you can imagine, it's easy to understand why O'Keeffe chose this area as her home.

One of two hikes available on Ghost Ranch is the Chimney Rock Trail. It's a 1.5-mile hike (one way) and is a steady climb 600 feet up. If you go all the way to the top, you'll be standing on the open face of the rock above on the far right. There's a bit of boulder climbing, but no ledges or cliffs to fall off of...nothing scary. The result of the climb can be seen in the next several photos.

Georgia O'Keeffe's favorite painting subject was the Pedernal, a 10,000 foot tabletop mountain that happened to be the first thing she saw from her Ghost Ranch home in the morning and the last thing she saw in the evening. She called the Pedernal her private mountain, and said, "God told me if I painted it often enough I could have it." She painted it 28 times. In 1986, O'Keeffe died, and her ashes were scattered on the Pedernal.

Above all, O'Keeffe wanted privacy. Her home on Ghost Ranch is not open to the public, as a way of respecting her wishes, even after death. A bus tour offered by the O'Keeffe museum drives past the home, but does not allow passengers to get off. Not much can be seen, but the bus stopped just long enough for the docent to point out a ladder sticking out above the roof of the house. O'Keeffe would climb up the ladder in the evenings to watch the stars.

There's another type of cabin on Ghost Ranch property far removed from the cozy bungalow types used for visitors. This one is empty inside and is used as a movie prop. It's best known for its use in the 1991 Billy Crystal movie "City Slickers." While I was visiting Ghost Ranch, a film crew was setting up for a remake of the movie " The Magnificent Seven" due out in late 2016. A couple other pictures from the set are below.

The stunning vistas, of course, are not limited to Ghost Ranch. There is a 12-mile distance between the small village of Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch. All along that route, Highway 84, are scenic views such as this one that make you pull over to the side to take it all in. O'Keeffe thought the same. She bought her car and learned to drive so that she could get into the heart of places such as these and spread out her canvas and paints. The next few shots were taken along this route.

Georgia O'Keeffe owned another house besides the one at Ghost Ranch. This one, in the small village of Abiquiu, some 12 miles east of Ghost Ranch, was her home where she could have a garden. Tours are available of this house that sits on a ledge overlooking grand vistas as well as the Highway 84. If one knows where to look, it can be seen from the highway. The tours are through the O'Keeffe Museum and actually take you inside the house. The only place photos are permitted are here, outside the front of the house.