Viva Las Vegas--New Mexico that is!

Well, we finally decided after much thought and effort and family pow wows to live in northern New Mexico. We had great options in Tucson with a great job offer for Chris, a great school for the kids and great friends but the spirit of northern New Mexico set in and wouldn't let us go. This land has always been special to Chris and seemed to be shouting "home" with each visit back over the years. We almost moved here in 1997 upon Chris' graduation from UMass as Chris accepted a position in Tierra Amarilla north of Santa Fe and we had started looking at homes but fate kept us on the East Coast for 10 more years. The amazing land, the acequias, the mixed cultures of northern New Mexico and the living history that surrounds one here combine to make it a special place. It's fighting the creeping "sameness" that infects much of the USA and other countries and seems to have survived the sickness so far though not entirely as Santa Fe and other big towns will show. The spirit of the land is still very strong-I don't know how else to say this. We've bought a home and 14 acres of mixed pastureland some 15 miles outside of Las Vegas in a valley nestled against the Santa Fe National Forest which leads up to Hermit's Peak on its north end. It will be a 25 minute drive to work and school but what a drive it is! The trees around the house had Red-tailed Hawks, Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers and other raptors in them during our visits and we found a dead Rattlesnake in the grass that had tussled with something and eventually died from its wounds. Teslin has already drawn up plans for the horse corral and new fences, Anny has spotted the location for the hot tub, Cassidy has claimed the bedroom by all of the bird feeders and Chris has estimated the mowing time for the pasture when necessary. Chris and Cassidy will be doing a "road trip" driving a UHaul truck from Belchertown to Las Vegas arriving around August 2 while Anny and Teslin fly to Tucson and drive the car up, arriving the same day. We hope to be open for business and visitors soon-we'll set the pop-up up right away for extra beds. Just call and tell us when you are coming! School starts August 21 and work for Chris on August 25th so our current dilemna is how and where to play during August. (It's hard to get out of the travel and adventure mode!) Remember, Nuestra casa es su casa and the New Mexican favorite, Una comida sin chile no es comida!
Un fuerte abrazo to all.
Chris