June 2023

By Karen Conley

Chama, a lovely small town in the Southern Rockies, sitting at an elevation of 7,860 feet offers lots of exploration including hiking, history and art. Our group certainly took advantage of all the area has to offer.

While temperatures crept towards 100 degrees in other parts of New Mexico, we experienced cool mornings and evenings in Chama. The average during the day was 75 degrees making outdoor activities quite enjoyable.

Many attendees hiked at Heron Lake State Park or Abiquiu Lake. A few folks hopped on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad for the day trip through the mountains including a glimpse of the Navajo-Churro sheep herd, the source of wool for Tierra Wools.

Tierra Wools provided us with a tour of their studio including the weaving and dying process and a demo of their looms. It was a fantastic tour; the weavers and artists are passionate about their craft and a class was in session during our visit. Almost everyone purchased something made from wool! I bought a lovely wool tunic that I wore the next morning. Yep, it was that chilly!

As a side note, there is a herd of yak in Chama owned by Chama Meat Company and you can buy yak meat locally. The yak burghers were very good.

I really enjoyed teaching the art class about Retablos and collages. The creative juices flowed on Friday evening and the artwork was lovely! I must thank New Mexico State University Art Museum for the opportunity to continue teaching this workshop. 

A big shout out to Julia and Bill, owners of Sky Mountain Resort. Their facility is beautiful and they were always available if we had questions or needed anything. We will definitely return to this beautiful location.

Thank you to everyone for supporting Don and me in our first hosting of a rally!