This place is too busy for me

I’ve been chatting a lot with local Santa Fe folks since getting here last weekend, and a funny thing they all seem to say to me is how this place may be too small and slow for me coming from the San Francisco area.

Ah, no, it’s actually pretty busy here for my tastes. But then I wasn’t living in San Francisco proper. I was in the hills outside the city, with a vineyard and horse farm on my street, which was a dead end at a large farm. Cars rarely went by, and even then, on only one road near my house.

Here? This is more like a suburb than a city, but a busy suburb. Cars are always whizzing by within earshot, no matter what street I take a walk on. It isn’t congested or densely populated, and nature is all around, but so are a lot of whizzing cars. It’s noisy.

Of course, having an injured back doesn’t help, since I can’t hop in a car myself and get to the more remote areas just outside of town. I’m definitely looking forward to feeling better so I can do more. I’m particularly looking forward to a couple weeks in Taos coming up. I suspect that will be very still and quiet.

It’s funny though how a place is a monolith in people’s minds. SF Bay Area means big city hustle and bustle to most people, even though there is an incredible diversity of life experience in that 20 mile radius that constitutes the Bay Area.

I’m looking forward to discovering more of the diversity of this place. In the meantime, here is a shot of another part of my yard here, followed by one of a lovely necklace I bought from Native American jewelers outside the museum at the Plaza yesterday.

Lovely blue turquoise...