Santa Fe | Part 3

HEY, SEPTEMBER! September is my very favorite month of them all. Not because it's my birth month--although, that plays a role--but it is the start of Autumn, my favorite season, and I get to pull out my riding boots oh so soon! I wish there were only 2 seasons in a year: Summer and Fall. How perfect a world that would make. 

Today marks my last full day in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This post, Santa Fe | Part 3 won't really match my previous two posts: Santa Fe | Part 1 + Santa Fe | Part 2 ...

Because, I have spent most of the week in doors learning the ropes of Adobe Illustrator CC. To make a semi-long story short, I was part of a study conducted by Adobe, to monitor how a complete beginner with ZERO experience in Illustrator (me) learns the program. The month-long study is now over, and I'm only really comfortable with the basics of Illustrator, but I have done lots of creating and I want to share it with you, if I can't provide more pictures of my exploration of Santa Fe!

Before I get to all that, I did adventure out of doors to find a landmark I spotted in a very famous postcard....

Most of the illustrations inside the letters are sort of vague....except for the "A." There is a very distinctive stone cross inside that one. By pure coincidence, I had seen another photo of this same cross when doing research about sights to see in SF. 

SO, WHERE IS THIS ELUSIVE CROSS? Turns out it's in the middle of a BEAUTIFUL, residential neighborhood on Old Taos Highway. It is, quite literally, in someone's backyard. And it's SUPER COOL.

Now, to make a long history short, the cross was erected in the 1920's by the Knights of Columbus and the Historical Society of New Mexico to honor the Franciscan Friars killed by the Pueblo Indians in the Revolution of the Province of New Mexico in August of 1680. 

I'm not a history buff, but that is interesting, indeed. 

Now, I'll unveil some of what my Adobe study helped me learn this week. 

I drew this Fall-themed pattern, aka: AUTUMN-THEMED-WIN! You don't understand how proud I am of this one...for someone who grew up in the 'most technological generation,' somehow I don't understand technology, like, at all. A couple of lovely individuals asked my permission to use this as a phone and/or computer background. First of all, props for asking permission. Second of all, you made me feel very good. Thank you, thank you!

For a thing that didn't take much skill, but made me so excited, is this:

It is a map of the roadtrip I shall embark on sometime within the next 24 hours!

The cute little Pontiac Vibe (thanks again for letting us use it, Hannah) is going to take us from our starting point: Santa Fe, NM, to the following places:
1. The Grand Canyon (Arizona)
2. The Four Corners
3. Denver, CO
4. Mount Rushmore/The Black Hills (South Dakota)
5. St. Louis, MO
6. Madisonville, KY
7. HOME (Greensburg, KY)

All in all, this trip will take anywhere from 4 days to a week, depending on how long we spend in each spot (we are sort of on a deadline). The total driving time equals 

42. Hours. 

(UMMM, we may need prayers)...plenty of time for us to get through "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" approximately 84 times. 

Believe it or not, the longest leg of the journey is from Santa Fe to the Grand Canyon: a 12 hour drive. But, I know it will be beyond worth it.
As the very wise Brenda Hall told me a few weeks ago:
"I don't use the word 'awesome' often, because God is Awesome and the Grand Canyon is awesome."
Since then, I've not only become more excited for the Big Ol' GC, but I've reduced my usage of the word 'awesome' by half. 

To see the 3rd creation I want to share, visit my Facebook page. I am pining for long hair again, and that was most definitely what inspired the new profile picture.

Before I leave you, I want to share a link with you.
http://www.gofundme.com/dvgym0 

This link leads to a GoFundMe campaign for the precious dog of one of my good friends, Whitlie. If you ever meet Whitlie, within the first five minutes of conversation, you'll know how big of a place in her heart she has for animals of ANY kind. If you feel so inclined, make a donation to 2 year old Thor for his ACL surgery. His story is in the link! I'll be making my donation soon :)

See y'all next week from, SOMEWHERE, U.S.A.!