Our Mexican/Hippy friend (I wish I could remember his name) had told us about a Benedictine Monastery way out in the desert. He said the turn to get there was about a mile north of the Ghost Ranch Visitor Center and then it was thirteen miles from there to the monastery. No big deal, piece of cake. Little did we know that the "driveway" was a winding, steep, narrow, dirt and clay road. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the road, because sometimes the edge of the road was only 3 feet from a drop-off into a river and the sides of the road were big ditches.
We did meet a couple of cars, but one of us was able to find a spot to scoot over far enough for the other to get by. It took us about 45 minutes to drive 13 miles, but it was worth it.
The Cloister itself is a stucco building that is insulated with straw and while it is a fairly simple frame structure, there is lots of glass and in some ways it looks quite modern. It is nestled among the mountains, in the beautiful Chama Canyon and surrounded by miles of Government-protected wilderness. The electricity and water are solar powered. The men who serve there come from all over the world, but they all speak English. Most of the Cloister is off-limits to anyone but the Monks, but we were able to go into the Church and gift shop. There is a guest house for private retreats and guests are encouraged to take part in the Eucharist and the psalms, hymns and responses. We were able to see an example of the schedule in a pamphlet inside the entrance to the Church. All the items in the gift shop are crafted by the Monks. Theirs is strictly a life of work and prayer.
We looked around the Church and then went out onto the grounds. We took the path to the river we followed as we came in. We could only go so far til we came upon a sign that said Private Road Monks Only. I guess from there on, it was what you'd call "Holy Ground"? Plus, I think they kept their beehives down there and didn't want people messing with them.
There was a group of people there that had come over from the Ghost Ranch and we visited with some of them. One lady was from New Zealand and she is actually the one that took the picture that I'm using for my profile. I was sitting on a bench that had been nailed up between two trees and she walked up and said, "You must let me take your photo there!" So I handed her my camera and she did. Judy and I talked to her for some time as we walked and she was a delightful woman.
There was an on-site graveyard. Most of the graves belonged to Monks, but one was the grave of a guest of the Monastery that had wandered off alone to hike on the Mesa, had an accident and died. They don't allow that anymore. There is a series of hand made wooden Crosses that average about 5 feet tall, placed at certain points along the prayer path on the grounds. Being an Ashcraft or "craftsman under the Ash tree", I come from a long line of carpenters and craftsmen. The way each Cross was uniquely carved and crafted was particularly fascinating to me.
We spent a good bit of time and money in the gift shop. The Monks working in the shop were very friendly. Initially I was afraid to make eye contact, much less try and talk to one of them, but some were downright chatty. It was very quiet chatter of course. While Judy was still exploring the gift shop, I wanted to make one more visit to the church alone, just to take it all in. I went in and sat there for a while. In a few minutes, a tiny Asian Monk came in and went busily about doing something. I spoke to him and he gave me a very stern look. I guess I broke one of their rules and decided I'd better get going before I broke another one. I accidentally slammed the screen door behind me as I went out, so I took off into a power walk until I was out of sight.
It was a beautiful day and we could have stayed and stayed, but we had a couple more places to see before we left Abiquiu, so we headed back down the "driveway". The going was quicker than the coming and it didn't take near as long to get back to the main road. We met some hikers on the way and stopped to talk to them. They had hiked from the Ghost Ranch, which would have been about a 30 mile hike round trip!
We both wanted to look at the river again so we turned off the main road and found a spot where we could walk right into it. It was not deep where we were so I took my shoe off and stuck my foot in. The water was so clear and clean, but freezing. We stood there for a few minutes just taking in the beautiful scenery. It truly was Mother Nature at her very best that day. I forgot about something until Mona left a comment asking if the sky was really that blue. The sky truly that blue, and the balloon festival was being held in Albuquerque that week. Leaving the Monastery we could see some of the balloons floating through the air.
Anytime I go anywhere, I like to collect a few interesting rocks to take back to put in my flower beds. Several had caught my eye on the way in. Of course, since it was Federal property, I knew it wasn't a good idea to take any from here . . .
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