Suzanne and I left Chama, New Mexico on Monday morning. We stayed the night before and the night after our train trip. Chama was a nice little town.

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On the way to Santa Fe we stopped by Ghost Ranch just to look around since we planned to go to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum later in the week and knew this area was a motivation for her art. She first saw the ranch in 1934 and visited or lived in the general area the rest of her life. In 1936 Arthur Pack established a dude ranch at Ghost Ranch that housed 20 people and cost $80/week. From 1941 to 1947 Ghost Ranch provided rest & relaxation to Los Alamos Manhattan Project scientists Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. In 1955 Arthur Pack donated his property to the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church but in 2006 the Presbyterian Church announced it will no longer financially support the annual budget Ghost Ranch.

Now Ghost Ranch offers: retreats; Georgia O’Keeffe Ghost Ranch Landscape, movie locations, paleontology, history and archaeology tours; hiking trails; yoga sessions; horseback riding; geology, calligraphy, jewelry making, metal arts, photography, painting, drawing, pottery making, health & wellness and spirituality workshops.

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After Ghost Ranch we continued on to the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort and Spa. We opted for a day pass that allowed us access to twelve hot springs pools with water temperatures between 80 and 108 degrees. Ojo Caliente also offers pools with different types of mineral water: lithia (relieves depression and aids digestion), iron (beneficial to blood and immune system), soda (relieves digestive problems) and arsenic (relief from arthritis, stomach ulcers and heal a variety of skin conditions). There was also a mud pool. Although we did not use them a sauna and steam room were also part of the package.

The entire resort was well landscaped, with plenty of sun beds and hammocks to relax in between dips in the pools. The day was sunny with a light wind, hot in the sun but cool in the shade. There was a slight scent of lavender and rosemary in the air from the landscaping. After a couple pools I was happy just laying in the sun but Suzanne tried and enjoyed everything.

We had lunch at the Resort, too. I had Ojo Fish Tacos (mahi-mahi with mango salsa and jicama peanut slaw). Suzanne had Roasted Vegetable Chile Relleno with Goat Cheese and red chili sauce. We both liked our selections but Suzanne had to order milk to cool the heat some. I have posted a photo of our meal but I did not take pictures in the pool area.