Another Little Blurb on Cochiti Lake

Hello to all of you. 

I wish I had enough time to tell you EVERYTHING, but I will suffice with a few brief notes.

Cochiti Lake: A tiny town on the Cochiti Pueblo Reservation with a very interesting history if anyone wishes to read it. (History of Cochiti Lake) 

Cochiti Lake: A tiny town that in many respects is only slightly off the radar and, while not exactly a well kept secret, is quiet enough not to attract much attention. There is no casino here as there is on many of the reservations. There is a PGA highly rated golf course, a small restaurant, a gas station, a convenience store, a Fire and EMS service and a great little library. Not to forget the Lake and the campground for summer recreation.

Cochiti Lake: About 240 homes +/- and about 500 residents +/-. It is about 5-10 degrees warmer here than in Santa Fe and a lot less snow - we have no snow on the ground as I write this, though there is a chance of snow later today. When it does snow it lasts a day, maybe a few days in the shadows. 

The difference between sun and shadow is like the moon - it can be 40 in the shade and 65 in the sun. Hoping that holds true in summer as well.

There has been a big influx of new people here in Cochiti Lake in the last year or so, and I would say young people though most are in their 50’s and 60’s - we are replacing the real old folks who are dying off in their 80’s or 90’s or moving out to retirement homes or assisted living or to live with sons or daughters.

Anyhow, the town is attractive to many artists and writers, many of whom come here to be near Santa Fe without all of the pretense and cut-throat attitudes. People are here from all over the US and some are from nearby Pueblos. 

What a very interesting mix we all are. Perhaps it is a little age and lots of life experience that gives the residents here so much character. The stories people share about their lives before Cochiti are fascinating. Even those who've lived here for many years have had interesting lives and a wealth of information to share.

Almost everyone here has a dog or two, if not a cat or two. Many of us meet in the morning to walk or hike with our dogs and the usual trek is at least two miles.

We know more neighbors here in 2 months than we did in 15 years in Bristol, CT. (In Bristol we were never in our neighbors’ homes during those 15 years; here we’ve been invited to many homes for parties, for dinner, for casual visits, for artists' get togethers, etc.)

I have met with the new writer’s groups here - there are about six of us. It is quite unstructured at present, but the writing the others shared was quite powerful and enticing. All of us have been published.

Yesterday one of the local artists held a get-together for the town's artists - I thought I qualified on some level, so went. 

There were 12 or 14 people there: Painters, stained glass artists, wood carvers, photographers, pastel painters, other visual arts, writers, potters and ceramics, and combinations of the aforementioned. 

If you get a chance, go to Mountain Meadows Cemetary Chapel in Seymour, CT where you can see an example of the beautiful work of one of our artists, Krysia Napiorkowski of Terryville, CT: http://www.krysiadesignsstainedglass.com/stained-glass-commissions.html

(Yes, my neighbor Krysia up the street in Cochiti Lake is from Terryville,CT - the neighboring town to Bristol, CT! She is a sweetheart. She did a whole series of windows for that chapel. Really spectacular.)

Sometimes I can't believe we are really here - that we are so far from what we were used to for so, so many years. But sometimes I feel right at home. 

Almost everyone we meet was somehow drawn here by either the beauty, the climate, the views, the sunshine, the quiet, the remoteness, the art, the culture, dare I say the spirituality - OK, I'll hold off on that one - and most seem happy with their choice.

Cochiti Lake: A tiny town, remote without being too far from anything - 35 minutes to Santa Fe, 45 minutes to Albuquerque - shopping, culture, restaurants, entertainment. 

However, if you must satisfy your craving for Chinese at the drop of a hat, sorry. Take-out is not around the corner.

But otherwise, it is quite the place.