The Land Of Enchantment | Teen Ink

The Land Of Enchantment

March 6, 2009
By Anonymous

My mom grew up in the Land Of Enchantment- the tall mountains of New Mexico, in a small town called Silver City. My Grandparents still live there so, I go there every summer. It is a gorgeous place to visit. The mountains outline the horizon and everyday, you can watch the sun slip behind them, the light illuminating the sky behind the sun, big, orange and glowing. My Grandparents don't have many neighbors close by and there are always deer coming to feed on the shrubbery around the house. Also, small pig-like animals with little tusks are found around in the brush. They are called javelinas. They can actually be a little dangerous if the are angry. My least favorite thing is the tarantulas! They are quite big and hairy. They can be almost anywhere and I usually see them on the side of the road, except for once when one snuck into the bathroom! My favorite animal there is the humming birds. They are so teeny and their wings zoom so fast they look like a blur. My Grandma has a few humming bird feeders, so I see them often. After a long storm, New Mexico looks beautiful! The cacti are dark green and gorgeous flowers bloom in brilliant shades of pink and purple. The grass is not a sun soaked brown or tan, but a fresh looking green. And the wild life comes out from shelters. The earth is new and fresh and promising and sometimes, you can catch a glimpse of a rainbow in the sky.
There are many other sights to see such as the Gila Cliff Dwellings. These are caves pocketed into the mountain side, made by Native American tribes long ago. They are a great way to go back in time to before our country was discovered by sailors and adventurers.
Another wonderful place to go is called The Catwalk. It is wound up a mountain side and it got its name because of the small space you have to walk through. There are all kinds of springs and waterfalls and rushing rivers. There is many kinds of wild life especially Daddy Long Legs (Which are not classified as spiders.) and rattlesnakes. They may be lurking around the corner or they may be on a small cliff right above you. It is beautiful to look down at the large pools of water, glistening in the after-noon sun. My dad likes to go in the early morning sometimes because there are many small nooks and crannies to explore. There is a large, flat rock that sits in the middle of a small creek like a deserted island. It's very quiet and the only sounds are the birds chirping and the trickling sound of the creek. That is my favorite part of the Catwalk.
My family goes to New Mexico every year, so sometimes we drive to Arizona to see one of the most breath taking sights I have ever seen in my life, The Grand Canyon. 898It takes about 5 hours to get there from my grandparents home but the trip is well worth it. When you first see this gorgeous, huge, deeper than deep canyon you can't even explain it. You look a mile straight down and see shades of orange, brown and red that makes up the layers of the canyon. There is barely any railing and it is quite scary to look all that way down, down, down with small shelves of stone with the occasional shrubs here and there. At the bottom you can see a little sliver of green. Creeping and crawling and turning around the bottom, this is the Colorado River. From so far above the canyon, you can't even tell it's moving. It adds the finishing touch to this work of art, and sometimes you just may be able to see a little glitter of sun reflecting off the river. The Grand Canyon stretches so far you can just make out the end of it. Sometimes it looks overwhelming, scary and threatening. You have to watch your step. But mostly, it looks amazing, beautiful, and welcoming you to gaze at it.

So, for two weeks in the summer time, I hop on a plane to New Mexico, wondering what kind of adventures I'll have this time.


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This article has 2 comments.


on Jun. 15 2009 at 9:56 pm
Elle Thompson BRONZE, Livonia, Michigan
2 articles 0 photos 39 comments
id really appreciate some comments. i am a fiction writer, truly but this is a fairly decent piece, i beleive. thank you for your comments

-the author