Our Stay in Medanales, NM

New Mexico

June 2021

A Warm Medanales Welcome

We had a smooth six-hour drive through the New Mexico desert, following the Rio Grande north. When we arrived at our new destination, a working farm in Medanales, we were all warmly welcomed by the owners. Their small but cute Airbnb felt homey right away. After settling in, we relaxed on the porch, taking in the amazing views.

And what a difference a place makes! Here, Hemmes was in his element right away. After curiously roaming around for a bit, he joined us on the couch outside, relaxed, and fell asleep right away.

Medanales, An Oasis in The High Desert

After walking around the area, we concluded that we were in paradise within these green surroundings. However, the owners had told us their land would be essentially worthless without access to a well on the grounds. In this high desert, water is everything.

The peaceful stroll from our cottage, under the shade of the trees, to the Rio Chama across the farmland was about half a mile. Since that was just too short for us, we continued following the road and saw a little church, San Antonio de Padua, just down the way. The church was a beautiful example of traditional northern New Mexico adobe architecture. Sadly, it was closed, so we couldn’t see the interior. While Catholic churches are often open to the public, these historic mission chapels are usually kept locked to preserve their history and are opened only for special feast days or local services.

The Close of a Career

This morning, I took my camera for my last walk as a “working woman,” exploring the area a few hours before my 2:00 PM call with my client’s new web company. After nine years of web design and development, I finally decided to retire. When the call ended, so had my working career.

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It felt weird, though I was looking forward to finally traveling with a relaxed mind, without worrying about internet access. As if to mark this occasion, the sky celebrated with me as dark thunderstorms rolled in, bringing refreshing rain and fireworks of thunder and lightning.

Because our agenda was full of activities, we also planned days spent at the farm, with walks or just sitting outside, soaking up the peace and quiet. The hummingbirds had discovered the feeder we filled every day. At first, there were only a few, but eventually, we saw about ten tiny birds trying to get a spot at the same time. It was so cute to see how they tried to chase each other away. While they tried to secure their spot, I took many pictures of them. I wanted to capture a shot where the little bird seemed to be hanging in the air. After many attempts, I finally succeeded in getting a picture of a hummingbird that I really liked.

We also stayed home when it was pouring. On those days, we simply waited for the rain to stop or turn to a refreshing drizzle before we headed out for our walk along the road in Medanales.

No More Solo Miles in Medanales

Since the roads were so quiet, I had also picked up running here as my first activity in the morning. That was, until three mean dogs ganged up on me on the public road and scared the life out of me! They wouldn’t let me pass, and I was only able to continue my run when a local man in a pickup truck drove by and chased them away.After that, I paused my running for the rest of our stay here.

A Warm Farewell from Medanales

On our checkout day, after we finished cleaning and packing, the hosts stopped by to say goodbye! We thanked them for their hospitality, the delicious fresh produce from their organic kitchen garden, and the hemp. We mentioned how much we loved their kindness and our stay on their farm, and wished them all the best. They replied that we were always welcome back. And with such a positive note, and wishing us safe travels, we drove off to our next destination!