North by northwest from old Santa Fe is the winding road to Abiquiu (ah-be-cue'), Ghost Ranch, and el Valle de la Piedra Lumbre, the Valley of Shining Stone: mythical names in a near-mythical place, captured for the ages in the famous paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe. O'Keeffe saw the magic of sandstone cliffs and turquoise skies, but her life and death here are only part of the story. Reading almost like a novel, this book spills over with other legends buried deep in time, just as some of North America's oldest dinosaur bones lie hidden beneath the valley floor. Here are the stories of Pueblo Indians who have claimed this land for generations. Here, too, are Utes, Navajos, Jicarilla Apaches, Hispanos, and Anglos-many lives tangled together, yet also separate and distinct. Underlying these stories is the saga of Ghost Ranch itself, a last living vestige of the Old West ideal of horses, cowboys, and wide-open spaces. Readers will meet a virtual Who's Who of visitors from "dude ranch" days, ranging from such luminaries as Willa Cather, Ansel Adams, and Charles Lindbergh to World War II scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his colleagues, who were working on the top-secret atomic bomb in nearby Los Alamos. Moving on through the twentieth century, the book describes struggles to preserve the valley's wild beauty in the face of land development and increased tourism. Just as the Piedra Lumbre landscape has captivated countless wayfarers over hundreds of years, so its stories cast their own spell. Indispensable for travelers, pure pleasure for history buffs and general readers, these pages are a magic carpet to a magic land: Abiquiu, Ghost Ranch, the Valley of Shining Stone.
I have lived in the region near Abiquiu, New Mexico for thirty years, sharing this magical place with my husband, Jim, our two children, and a host of dogs and cats. Writing about the place I call home -- Abiquiu and the high desert and mountain country of northern New Mexico -- is both an honor and a gift.
Writing the story of the Harvey Girls and the Santa Fe Railway introduced me to a world of people and places I would never have known about. The books "Valley of Shining Stone" and "Ghost Ranch" are both about my home country, and researching and writing these stories was challenging and remarkable.
I have recently completed a second novel, "Bone Horses." Although not a sequel to my first novel, "Canyon of Remembering," "Bone Horses" does take place in the same part of the world: contemporary but mythical northern New Mexico.
In 2012 I am embarking on a new book adventure -- the story of four women friends who explored the land and people of the American Southwest in the first decades of the 20th century.
For more information about all of my books and projects please visit my website at lesleypoling-kempes.com.
