October 10, 2014
ABIQUIU, N.M. - It's called the Cerro Pedernal: a dark, towering mesa that keeps silent watch over a secluded slice of northern New Mexico. And it was my constant companion on a recent trip there for an inspiring week of hiking, yoga and writing at the fabled Ghost Ranch.
Home to artist Georgia O'Keeffe's beloved village of Abiquiu, the winding Chama River, shimmering cottonwoods and red-rock mountains, the region has an otherworldly feel and many consider it sacred territory.

A native New Mexican, I generally have chosen Santa Fe, Taos or the comfort of my hometown of Albuquerque for my trips back, but a couple of years ago, I drove over to Abiquiu on a whim, falling in love with the land and the idea of staying at Ghost Ranch.
The 21,000-acre Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center is a mystical dude ranch like no other, and its history reads like a novel. Cattle rustlers trying to keep their stolen goods a secret said the ranch was haunted by evil spirits. The "Rancho de los Brujos," or "Ranch of the Witches," became known as Ghost Ranch. An ox skull once marked the turn-off to the ranch - it was later painted by O'Keeffe - and is now the camp's official logo, emblazoned on T-shirts, ornaments, water bottles and more.

One of the region's top attractions, the ranch offers an eclectic array of workshops, conferences, festivals and other activities throughout the year. There are some 300 types of workshops and events for women and men; classes are usually small, 12 or fewer participants. Conferences are larger. Some feed your creative side: painting, photography, calligraphy, jewelry, weaving, pottery, writing and music. You can learn about archaeology, geology, paleontology, astronomy or study the environment and sustainability. There are a host of classes on religion, spirituality and theology. You also can immerse yourself in the Spanish language, study Southwest literature or take a tour of northern New Mexico's cultural sites. Additionally, there are yoga and wellness workshops, outdoor adventures and service corps programs. You don't have to take a class to stay at the ranch, and day visitors are welcome, as well.

After perusing the ranch's website for an inordinate amount of time, I finally settled on the "Hiking, Yoga and Writing for Women" workshop because it blended mind, spirt and body. It was led by former Houstonian Dona Bolding, the self-proclaimed Queen of Ghost Ranch, who is as lively and engaging as your favorite tween but also possesses the wisdom and experience to be a great guide. Her posse consisted of earth goddess Joan Logghe, the former poet laureate of Santa Fe, and yogini Susan Weber.

Ghost Ranch is not a luxury retreat in terms of accommodations and food, though massage services are offered. Rooms don't have telephones, TVs or even air-conditioning, only fans and screened windows. The property operates on the honor system and some communal lodges don't have locking doors. The wide-open setting, mesmerizing views and the magical feel of this place are the treasures; it would be silly to whine about the rustic accommodations, the pretty good cafeteria food or the lack of maid and room service. Also, no alcohol served or sold on-site, though you can bring your own (I did).
Despite the lack of those finer creature comforts, Ghost Ranch is a singular experience. Cell phones don't work very well on the property, so you are forced to truly "be."
Our week started off with a two-hour sunrise hike up to Chimney Rock, which is the ranch's most popular trail. We walked in silence so our echoing voices wouldn't wake those still sleeping below. The trail climbs to 7,100 feet and offers a panoramic view of the Piedra Lumbre basin - and the Pedernal.
There also were a couple of evening flat-terrain hikes through the desert and a midday trip up to Box Canyon, where we practiced yoga, ate lunches we packed ourselves from the cafeteria, sang songs and even did the hokey pokey.
Our final hike was the hardest and the most spectacular: a long climb to the top of Kitchen Mesa. My heart was pounding as I climbed a 15-foot chimney through a cleft in a cliff. The difficult trail also rises to 7,100 feet and is best conquered in the cooler morning hours.
Before each hike, Bolding would urge us to forget about the outside world and focus only on what we were experiencing at that moment. We were banned from "Oh, this reminds me of the time … " stories. It was a small but powerful tool that I took with me back to Houston.
There were seven women in our workshop. Most of us were newbies, and fell into the 30s-60s age range. One participant, an actress living in California who spent her childhood summers at Ghost Ranch, had brought her blended family to the ranch for the first time.
Most of us came alone or with a friend and lived as far away as Chicago and Cincinnati. We bonded easily in emotional writing sessions, which were held in a large sunlit room on top of a hill. Logghe gave us writing prompts but we were also free to work on something else. We read our works aloud, though we could take a pass if we desired. Those readings sometimes led to tears, from the author as well as the listeners.
By the end of the week, many of us were longing to stay, and were committed to trying to take with us the lessons we learned: You can take on new, difficult adventures. Give your writing the attention it deserves. Take advantage of the peaceful moments. Some of us have stayed in touch, exchanged poems and other writings and pledged to return to Ghost Ranch.
Outside of the sprawling property, there are other things to explore. Some of us took an afternoon trip to nearby Abiquiu Lake, where we swam and sunned in near solitude. I also took an unforgettable tour of Georgia O'Keeffe's home in Abiquiu. (Her home at Ghost Ranch is off-limits to visitors.)
Many call the area O'Keeffe country. The mountains, valleys, cottonwood trees and other treasures are captured in her paintings, but nothing is so revered in her work as the Pedernal. In fact, she once said: "It's my private mountain. It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it."
She now belongs to the mountain - her ashes were scattered on its mesa.
And now, in a way, so do I.

If you go
GETTING THERE
Visitors to Ghost Ranch can fly into Albuquerque; the ranch is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from there, and 30 minutes from Santa Fe. Ghost Ranch provides shuttle service for program participants from Santa Fe Sage Inn to the ranch on workshop arrival and departure days, $20 one-way and $40 round-trip. Transportation options between Albuquerque and Santa Fe include Roadrunner Shuttle, Sandia Shuttle Service and Rail Runner train service. There also are car rental agencies at the airport. There are no taxis or public transportation once you are on the ranch, so if you want to go elsewhere, you will need to have a car or find a ride.
BOOKING INFO
Workshops at Ghost Ranch include everything from yoga retreats to pottery classes. They range from two-day weekend getaways to two-week courses. Check the ranch's website for a full schedule of programs. Rates vary depending on length and where you stay on the property; some rooms have a private bath ($130 per person per day), others in bunkhouse-style communal lodges ($50 per person per day) do not. Meals are included with lodging for program participants. The trip written about here cost $425 for the week-long workshop and a lab fee, plus $793 for a private room and bath, with meals. Flight and car rental was about $550. 1708 Highway 84, in Abiquiu, 877-804-4678; ghostranch.org.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Tours of Georgia O'Keeffe's home and studio in Abiquiu require a reservation. Standard tours are $35; okeeffemuseum.org/abiquiu-tour.html. The village of Abiquiu, Abiquiu Lake, the Chama River and Echo Amphitheatre are in the vicinity. For food, Bode's General Store offers burgers and burritos, basic goods and souvenirs, and the Abiquiu Inn has a nice restaurant, gift shop and lodging. El Farolito, a BYOB hole-in-wall in nearby El Rito, serves great New Mexican food at bargain prices.