A Tree Grows in Española

Today we went to the Faraway, Georgia O'Keeffe's word for the area around Abiquiu, New Mexico, the site of her home and studio. On this lovely fall day, we were glad to have made reservations weeks in advance for the guided tour of her home. Like all O'Keeffe fans, I was thrilled to see the actual patio door that inspired her to buy the house and was later the subject of twenty-some paintings. Our guide led us through her 200-year-old adobe home and gave a thorough history of the home's origins and the artist's life. We couldn't take notes or carry purses, much less take pictures, so our memories will have to suffice.

As we were leaving the area, we drove by the Chama River, which O'Keeffe captured so perfectly. Our photo doesn't quite do it justice:We worked up an appetite after hiking the Chimney Rock trail at Ghost Ranch, so we headed to El Paragua, a restaurant in Española that had always intrigued us. It's just off the main road, and every time we'd passed it on our way to Chimayo we wondered if it was still in business, since it had the forlorn look of a place long past its heyday. But when we arrived at 6:30, the place was jumping with people crowding around the bar and families, couples, and large groups vying for tables. The noise level and warren-like arrangement of rooms reminded us of our local Buca di Beppo in St. Paul, but even Buca's over-the-top decor couldn't compete with this, which we discovered on our way to the restrooms:The verdict on El Paragua? The margaritas were strong, the salsa hot, and the enchiladas just right, but we still prefer the treeless Guadalajara Grill in Taos, where we can have fabulous Mexican food for half the price.