Georgia O'Keefe country. And a desert monastery...

We took a little side trip to see Abiquiu, the home of Georgia O'Keefe for the last 40 years of her life. Her place, Ghost Ranch, is a bit tough to get into so we didn't try that. But in the little village we met a cool guy who advised us to drive another 20 miles or so to a Benedictine Monastery where the monks live completely off the grid and make beer. They aren't licensed yet to sell it there, but it's quite well-known and sold locally in lots of places. So we went.  This guy told us the landscapes along the way would be awesome and indeed they were....

This is part of the Monastery, build tucked into a high red rock cliff with 3 crosses at the top

This dirt road led 13 miles into the dead end that was the monastery. Long bumpy ride and pretty slurry-ish on the way out after a heavy rainstorm. But every few minutes we had to stop the car to take photos. Just gorgeous!

Another view of the sagebrush and chalky mountain range and blue, blue sky

There was a lightning storm at one point and although we didn't get very wet, the road sure did.   And we saw lightening in a clear blue sky which we've never seen before. Very strange. 

This range had a river at the base that was shallow but running pretty fast, considering there has been about a 300% increase in precipitation this year. Everything is very green and quite lush.

Odd shapes in the red rocks - pock-marked and often resembling crazy creatures carved in the rock.

I love this photo. These were the real colors. I tried to tone them down, thinking no one would believe them anyway, but couldn't do it. Either the blue sky would turn green or the red rocks would turn purple!

Dusty and muddy car after the ride to the Monastery and back. Had to get it washed after that ride!