The small hamlet of Abiquiu New Mexico would go virtually unnoticed if not for Georgia O’Keeffe. She literally put the place on the map. The iconic American modernist first visited Ghost Ranch, north of the village of Abiquiu New Mexico, in 1934. She spent at least part of the year at the ranch every year after that for the next five decades. She found a derelict house in the village and tried for years to buy the home from its owners, the Santa Fe Archdiocese. They finally agreed in 1945. The restoration, done under the supervision of her friend Maria Chabot, took about four years. O’Keeffe moved there permanently in 1949 and split her time between her Abiquiu village home and Ghost Ranch.
The black door at the Georgia O’Keeffe Home, photo Herb Lotz, Georgia O’Keeffe House, Abiquiu. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Today, many visitors to Santa Fe include the Georgia O’Keeffe Home and Studio Tour and Ghost Ranch on their itineraries. Two important things to be aware of: her seasonally-open Abiquiu home can be toured by reservation only; her home on Ghost Ranch, Rancho de los Burros isn’t open to the public. The Northern New Mexico landscape that entranced O’Keeffe and lured her to the area is visible as you drive through what has been dubbed “Georgia O’Keeffe Country.” It’s worth the trip just for the starkly beautiful landscape, but there are a host of other attractions in the area that visitors can enjoy.
Take our driving tour of Abiquiu arranged when approaching from the south on US Highway 84.
The White Place
Plaza Blanca (the White Place), photo Steve Collins
The first stop is Plaza Blanca (the White Place) inspired several well-known Georgia O’Keeffe paintings. It sits northeast of US 84 on land belonging to Dar al Islam, an Islamic education center. The center welcomes the public to visit the site. They ask that visitors be respectful and leave things as they found them. It’s a great place to hike and take photos. The terrain, once ocean-bottom, is very sandy.
To get there look for the sign for El Rito (State Road 554) on your right. After crossing the Rio Chama make an immediate left onto Rio Arriba County Road 0155. Continue for about 3 miles until you see the entrance to Dar al Islam on the right. Now you’ll be driving on a dirt road; when the road forks, go right. You’ll have to walk a short distance to Plaza Blanca.
These other-worldly limestone formations inspired O’Keeffe. It was a favorite spot of hers to draw and paint. The rock formations may look familiar; they were a location for the 2010 Hollywood bomb, Cowboys and Aliens as well as other films,. This summer the latest installment of the Wolverine film series, starring Hugh Jackman, was shooting here. From here you either have to back-track to County Road 554. Turn right when you reach US 84.
Santa Rosa de Lima Church
Santa Rosa de Lima Church photo/Steve Collins
The ruins of Santa Rosa de Lima Church, built in the 1740s, is worth a visit. hey are on your right just after mile market 10. It’s at the site of the first Abiquiu settlement, abandoned after only a few years due to an attack by the Ute Indians. The church’s skeletal remains are interesting to explore and photograph.
Purple Adobe Lavender Farm
A field of lavender at Purple Adobe Lavender Farm, photo/Steve Collins
Just past the ruins of the church, look for the sign for the Purple Adobe Lavender Farm. It will be on your right. Besides growing fields of lavender, they make and sell body products and more from their annual crop at their charming shop. They also have a seasonal café.
Bode’s General Store
Bode’s General Stpre, photo/ courtesy Bode’s
Hungry? Stop for lunch at Bode’s General Store and try one of their signature green chile cheeseburgers. The Travel Channel’s Burger Land featured them in an episode a few years back. Host George Motz and Santa Fe food writer, Rob DeWalt, who passed away earlier this year, sampled the acclaimed burgers for the camera. Besides the no-frills lunch counter and dining area, the busy neighborhood hub stocks groceries, hardware, housewares, souvenirs and gas.
Historic Abiquiu New Mexico Plaza
Tribal art at Bosshard Gallery, photo/Steve Collins
Across Highway 84 from Bode’s you’ll see the U.S. Post Office. Take the road that goes past it to the town plaza. If you like tribal art, stop at Bosshard Gallery in the historic complex that housed the town’s original general store, Grant’s Mercantile, which opened in 1890. Martin Bode worked there and later bought the store and changed the name.
Santo Tomas El Apostal Church on the Abiquiu Plaza, photo Steve Collins
Walk around the historic Abiquiu New Mexico plaza and get a feel for the tiny village which is mostly unchanged from when O’Keeffe lived a short walk away. Check out St. Thomas the Apostle Church and the sign for the now-defunct café. Visit Galería de Don Cacahuate to see the work of local carver Leopoldo Garcia who learned carving from his father, octogenarian Napoleon Garcia, a wonderful carver and raconteur. The elder Garcia, until recently, ran a shop at the south end of the plaza that welcomed visitors with a big sign reading “TOURIST INFORMATION.” He always had great stories to share including some about O’Keeffe for whom he worked on and off for decades. The shop is closed. He’s in hospice care after a series of strokes last year. If you want to “hear” his stories you can buy his book The Genizaro & the Artist at Bode’s.
The long gone Piñon Cafe on the Abiquiu plaza, photo/Steve Collins
Ghost Ranch
The entrance to Ghost Ranch sports one of O’Keeffe’s skulls photo/Steve Collins
Highway 84 north will lead you to the entrance to Ghost Ranch. As you ascend toward the ranch, the landscapes’ colors change from white to red. You’re on the Colorado Plateau, a vast area that includes northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah and northern Arizona, including Grand Canyon. Looking at the stunning rock formations and the high desert colors you may understand why it captivated O’Keeffe and catalyzed her move to Abiquiu. She spent part of the year at the ranch starting in 1935. In 1940 O’Keeffe purchased Ranchos de los Burros, the former home of ranch owner Arthur Pack. She loved the view from her property of the Pedernal, a mountain to the west with a unique rock formation at its summit. She famously said, “It’s my private mountain. It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.” Her ashes were scattered atop the mountain.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s beloved Pedernal, photo/Billie Frank
Ghost Ranch, with the exception of Rancho de los Burros which belongs to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, is now a Presbyterian conference center. While the artist’s house is off limits, you can get a glimpse of it on Ghost Ranch’s O’Keeffe Landscape Tour (reservations strongly recommended). With some careful planning, O’Keeffe fans can schedule both the Home and Studio Tour and the O’Keeffe Landscape Tour on the same day. The ranch, location for many Hollywood films, offers a tour of movie sites as well as other tours. Ghost Ranch also offers great hiking opportunities.
You can view Coelophysis at Ghost Ranch’s paleontology museum photo/Steve Collins
The ranch is home to the Hayden Quarry know which has yielded rich paleontological finds including the 1947 discovery of Coelophysis (SEE-low-FY-sis), and Tawa Hallae (ta-wa-hay-lee) discovered in 2009, who roamed the area during the Triassic Age, about 220 million years ago. You can learn about them at the ranch’s Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology. You’ll find the information on tours and visiting the ranch, including fees, on their website.
Beyond Ghost Ranch
Echo Amphitheater
You can test the echo at Echo Ampitheater, photo Steve Collins
If you want to make a longer day of it, head up US 84 to Echo Amphitheater, a National Park Service site. The natural rock formation creates an echo. Yell “hello” and “hello, hello, hello” comes back to you. Makes me smile every time! There is an admission fee.
Tierra Wools
Tierra Wools sells yarn, weavings and other handmade treasures photo Steve Collins
Knitters, weavers and weaving lovers will love Tierra Wools in Los Ojos about a 45 minites north of Ghost Ranch. The shop is housed in the historic T.D Burns’ Trading Post, built in 1895. Discover yarn hand-dyed dyed from locally raised sheep wool, as well as finished weavings created by local artisans. You may even catch some weavers working at their looms in the large back room or perhaps someone will be working in the dying area. On the way back, stop at Tierra Amarilla, the Rio Arriba County seat, and grab coffee or tea at Three Ravens Coffee House, where the locals hang out.
Need some java? Stop at Three Ravens in Tierra Amarrilla, photo/Steve Collins
Returning to Santa Fe
If you don’t want to retrace your steps back on Highway 84, head across US 64, a bit south of Tierra Amarilla, to Tres Piedras. The seasonally-open road affords stunning scenery. It adds a bit onto your trip, but it’s worth it. When you hit US 285 you can either continue east on 64 to Taos or make a right on 285 and head back to Santa Fe.
Abiquiu has a lot to offer. You can do this as a day trip if you don’t take any of the tours. If you add in tours, you may want to spend the night. Ghost Ranch offers modest accommodations and there are bed and breakfasts and other accommodations available in the area.
Have you visited Abiquiu New Mexico?
Read more about Georgia O’Keeffe Country here.
We plan to visit New Mexico when we travel across the US, and will definitely put Georgia O’Keefe’s ranch on our list. Thank you for the info on it. Have you read the new book – Georgia, a historical fiction about Georgia O’Keefe’s life. After visiting her ranch, I highly recommend the book. I loved the book, but I am an art lover.
Wendy recently posted..Ecuador’s Andean Highlands – Part 1 – Otavalo, Ibarra
Glad to hear your coming to NM and are O’Keeffe fans. She never had a ranch. She had a house on Ghost Ranch which started as a dude ranch and then became a Presbyterian conference center. She was a bit dismayed at first but at the end, she was great friends with the group. While you can tour her village home with a reservation, her home at the ranch is off-limits. You can view it from afar on the landscape tour. I didn’t know about the book. Will check it out. Thanks!
I have not visited Abiquiu, but it looks like I would enjoy doing so. Lots of interesting Georgia O’Keefe connections and plenty to see beyond that. I think the landscape would give one a greater appreciation of the colours in O’Keefe’s art.
Donna Janke recently posted..Making a Difference with Paper Recycling in the Dominican Republic
If you get to Santa Fe you should definitely take a side trip to Abiquiu.
I knew the name Georgia O’Keeffe but knew little about her paintings or her life. The Georgia O’Keeffee House is so unassuming with a simple black door and the Plaza Blanca is such an unusual site. Doing a tour of the area including the Echo Ampitheater would be a great outing.
Janice Chung recently posted..Connected In France With A LeFrenchMobile Hotspot
The black door is why, she said, she really wanted the house. It actually doesn’t access the main house- it goes to a storage area.
I pass the Provence now and again and love the lavender fields. I didn’t know that they grow in New Mexico, too. I like the design of the Santo Tomas El Apostal Church on the Abiquiu Plaza.
Marcelle recently posted..Artistic Power Woman In Innsbruck, Austria
Something about the terroir in Northern New Mexico makes it perfect for growing both lavender and grapes. There are a bunch of vineyards.
Such useful information. I definitely want to visit Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abiquiu home, so am glad to be warned to have advance reservations. Also, I loved that image of the Purple Adobe Lavender Farm. I want to go there as well.
If you come during high season- make your O’Keeffe reservation early- only 12 can go on each tour and they fill up. We loved the Behind the Scenes evening tour. Also note that reservations are prepaid and they don’t give refunds. They’ll let you reschedule withing a year, I believe.
Now I am really feeling the pull for another visit to this place! It’s been so long since I was in Santa Fe or nearby and every few years, the Southwest calls me back.
jane canapini recently posted..An Initiation I’ll Never Forget at Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra
I hear you- it called us permanently.
We honeymooned in Abiquiu in 1996 during the week of the Studio Tour. We plan to return this month to celebrate our 20th anniversary. It’s a very special place!
Happy Anniversary! I hope you get to do some of the great stuff the area has to offer! And Bode’s General Store now serves dinner. Check with them for days and times.
Thank you! I expect it will be really cold, and possibly snowy.
It is really cold now. Bring warm layers and boots.
Will do. Thanks!
There is a very famous mountain ramge nearby with a pooular name locals have told me about.
I cant recall tge name. Can u please assist me?
Sorry for the late response- didn’t see this. The range near Abiquiu is the Jemez. You may be thinking of the mountain that Georgia O’Keeffe made famous- it’s called The Pedernal.