Roadtripping Through the Land of Enchantment
Back in March, I was experiencing a feeling that most New Yorkers can relate to: I needed to get out of there. My instincts were pushing me to drive across New Mexico alone. When I told people my plans, they all asked the same question: "What are you going to do there?" I really didn't know, but I think that was the point. I wanted to go somewhere I didn’t know anything about. I didn't want to go someplace that I was seeing all over social media. I didn't want to feel pressure to have certain experiences or take certain photos. I've made that mistake on trips before. What I needed was a visual detox. My plan was simple. I would start all the way east in Tucumcari, NM and drive 665 miles along Route 66 until I hit Petrified National Park, AZ. Everything else would be left up to the Land of Enchantment.
1/10Tucumcari, N.M.
Tucumcari was once a bustling stop along Route 66 before other major highways were constructed. The main stretch is now lined with old neon motel signs and abandoned souvenir stores. Many of the signs no longer lit up in the evening, but the nice interactions I had with people in this town made up for that.
Photo by Laura Murray2/10Jim & Kevin
I met Jim and the shop dog Kevin at Tee Pee Curios. Jim was kind and took a good chunk of time out of his day to talk to me about my trip. Kevin was a good boy who wanted nothing more than pats on his head.
Photo by Laura Murray3/10Santa Fe, N.M.
The next morning I grabbed a breakfast burrito from Loretta's Burrito Hut, which was recommended to me by a few locals. I embarked on the three hour drive to my next stop, Santa Fe. My aunt lived there when I was growing up, and I’d visited her numerous times. They were some of my first trips ever outside of New York, and the dried out arroyos surrounding her barn were so foreign and exciting to me. Jim had told me that Santa Fe had been built up dramatically in recent years, and he was right. The arroyos where we used to ride horses through were now covered with private roads and adobe-inspired mansions. Still I revisited the Plaza where I have memories of walking around with my family, and I drove up to a high point where we used to ride to catch the beautiful sunset.
Photo by Laura Murray4/10Gallup, N.M.
200 miles later, I had some of the best Green Chili of my life in Gallup, at Grandpa's Grill. A shopkeeper had recommended the tortilla burger: ground beef, onion, and this amazing green chile sauce wrapped in a tortilla. It was so spicy I was close to tears, but it was so good and fresh I couldn't stop. I'm pretty sure I sent my boyfriend a selfie of me crying with the caption "it hurts so good.”
Photo by Laura Murray5/10Church Rock
Gallup also gifted me one of my favorite hikes to date. I stopped at Church Rock, a giant rock formation where I did a peaceful three-mile mile hike to the base. What a perfect way to balance out the delicious fry bread that's sold all along Route 66! But it also reminded me what hiking alone in a quiet place can do for my mental state. Being out in nature heightened my awareness—all I could think about was how quiet it was! I also noticed all the plants I’d never seen in New York. I imagined what the dried-up riverbeds looked like with water flowing through them. I wasn’t worrying or planning or dwelling on other thoughts, which is super rare for me.
Photo by Laura Murray6/10Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post
I pulled off at Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post during my drive to the Petrified National Forest.
Photo by Laura Murray7/10Will and the Cliffs
There, I met Will, and he showed me the cliffs he owned behind his family's business. We fell into a deep conversation rather quickly and I was caught off guard about how candid and vulnerable I was suddenly being with this stranger. He had me look at the cliffs and asked me what I saw in them. I saw a profile of a face and told him so. He said, “This is a road trip for yourself. You carry a lot of pain from past experiences with you. You have to let them go. You deserve to let them go.” I mean, I guess it’s pretty safe to say that someone who is doing a road trip by themselves is working through some stuff. But that didn’t make him any less right, and having a stranger say it to my face was cathartic.
Photo by Laura Murray8/10Petrified National Forest
This interaction stuck with me as I drove through the Petrified National Forest in Arizona, past rainbow rock mountains and colorful chunks of petrified wood that have probably been there since prehistoric times. I stopped along the way to walk, and there were times when my only company were mars-like red and blue mountain formations. I hiked through the Blue Mesa, a section of stunning cool-toned hills that looked like another planet. I felt so lucky to be able to see them. Nature moves and nothing stays forever—one day these mountains would be gone, and I would be gone.
Photo by Laura Murray9/10Santa Rosa, N.M.
As I neared the end of the trip, I became reflective. I have some anxiety, depression, and PTSD issues, all of which greatly diminish when I travel. Maybe some of that just has to do with being on vacation, but I think a lot of it has to do with being able to live more presently. I’d heard many gurus, lifestyle bloggers, and instructors talk about that concept but I never really understood what it meant until this trip. I wasn’t thinking about my emails, the messages waiting on my phone, the errands I had to get done, that awkward joke I made at that party that didn’t make sense, or the walls in my apartment that I have to paint. I was just thinking about where I was and where I was going next.
Photo by Laura Murray10/10Postscript
Road trips are a privilege and unfortunately not something I could do that often, but, now that I’m back in New York, I try to bring that road trip mentality to my everyday life. It’s hard, but some days it really helps. Thanks to Will’s cliff-reading, I also got my butt to a therapist and free support groups here in the city. I’m learning how to give up the sense of control that my anxiety usually craves. I’m learning to be okay with making decisions and trusting that I’ll figure the rest out.
