Kindling Words West 2008

GHOST RANCH ABIQUIU NEW MEXICO was the inspirational location of the first Kindling Words West which lasted a full five days and five nights with an extra night (or two) in Santa Fe.  This photo is typical of the scenery we were able to view everyday from our outstanding location in the desert.  The elevation was about 6500 feet and the air was thin, hot during the day, windy most afternoons, and cold at night.  The ghost ranch was once home to Georgia O'Keefe.  Before she arrived, apparently a large group of mean horse thieves lived in the area. Box Canyon was perfect for their 'hot' ponies.

Hiking was one of our main forms of entertainment because we had no TV's, no phones in the rooms, no clocks anywhere, and no locks on the doors.  Anywhere!  The library was open 24/7 and guests were on their honor, having to fill out a form and then return the book when they were finished.  Food was pretty darned good, healthy for the most part, and tasty, too.  Special dishes were always available for vegetarians, which made it nice for the vegetarians (like me.)  Our housing was varied and extremely spread out, ranging from very rustic with shared bathrooms (i.e. the Corral Compound) to pretty nice and quite fancy (i.e. the Tumbleweed building on the bluff--quite a climb to get there, too--see the photo below)

I loved the schedule because there was only one workshop per day for the writers and another for the illustrators.  The instructor for the authors was Tim Wynne-Jones and for the for illustrators it was Mary Jane Begin. The workshops lasted one hour per day and the rest of the time we were free to write, meditate, walk through the lovely labyrinth (which had red ants in the middle so don't sit down!) meet with our peers.  At night there was plenty of time to party.

My favorite activity was to attend the art workshop on the last day.  Everyone was invited, authors, too.  I was pretty burned out from writing, writing, writing.  Mary Jane provided supplies and I sat a group of writers (so we wouldn't feel intimidated by the oodles of talent in the artist's corner.)  This is what I came up with, an 'interpretation' so to speak, and very therapeutic, too.

I recommend this adventure to serious authors and illustrators who are not completely squeamish (previous camping experience might come in handy.)  I plan to return next year and every year thereafter!

Sandra Alonzo 

Gallop-O-Gallop, Dial Books 2007                                Riding Invisible, Hyperion Books 2010