SPECTACULAR 360 DEGREE VIEWS OF ABIQUIU LAKE AND GHOST RANCH

When I spoke with Larry, before booking this utterly amazing little paradise, he warned me that people always told him that the hardest part of staying there was leaving. He failed to tell me that when you do leave, you leave part of your heart there! This is more than a place...it is an emotional experience! So magnificent a spot, that you become one with the beauty that surrounds you. It is astonishing! Finding the place is a bit of adventure. You begin to feel that you are venturing into a no man's land as you follow the perfect directions that take you over the Chama River, where you get your first glimpse of Lake Abiquiu and continue on until Cerro Pedernal fills your sight with her majesty. You continue to follow the directions that take you onto a small road, that then leads you .."over the cattle grate and sharp turn till the mailboxes",and just when you are wondering "where on earth are we headed?"... you finally approach.. through the iron gates, where you are about to first see the beautiful Casita... sitting proudly on it's perch on top of a mesa. It is at this spot that you realize that something special is about to happen to you. Larry and Laurie are very thoughtful and really want you to enjoy your stay...and you cannot help but do that. When I told Larry that I had rented a small compact car, he urged me to get a small SUV. I was very grateful for that advice. We ventured to Plaza Blanca, Ghost Ranch, the road to the Monastery in the Desert and countless small dirt and back roads, as we explored the area. We searched for sites we remembered from the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe, and visited her home in Abiquiu. The SUV made these adventures much easier and doable. The Casita itself is just lovely. It is thoughtfully designed to take advantage of it's wonderful site and curves around the views. The ceiling beams, the portal design, even the curve of the floor.. follow the vista. The night sky will be something you will not soon forget. The interior lovely..including a freestanding modern deep tub with a view that only needs a frame for it to hang in a museum. If you are lucky enough to find yourself headed in this direction and lucky enough to be able to book time in this little wonder..please go...you will be very glad you did. Thank you Larry and Laurie, we followed all your advice..even venturing to Cuba to eat in your favorite restaurant, El Bruno. You were right, Larry..just like the others before us...we did not want to leave!

If you are looking for peace and quiet, this is your place. My wife and I just spent 3 wonderful days at Vista de Lago and are already looking forward to our next visit. If possible, the owner's descriptions and pictures undersale the property. We could not have been more satisfied with the accommodations or the property condition. It is obvious the owners take great pride in this home. We spent most of a day at nearby Bandelier National Monument and would highly recommend if you are up for a little hiking. Hope to ride the train at Chama next trip. My only negative comment (not Larry or Laurie's fault) would be the casita has cell phone reception, but if you are lucky to have an off switch like mine, you can quickly fix that problem.
We did eat at the restaurant recommended by the owners in Cuba and very much enjoyed our dinner. Very unexpected for such a small town. We also had pizza at a little place south( by little, I mean the entire space is smaller than a 2 car garage) of Abiquiu on the side of the road-Mamacita's Pizza. Very interesting character owner and only employee. Stop in Santa Fe, get plenty of wine, a bag of chips and sit on the covered porch and forget about your job, or your kids or whatever problems you may have and enjoy the solitude.

Abiquiu was one astonishment after another--we couldn't have envisioned a deeper or more enthralling experience. Thank you, Laurie and Larry, for the use of your beautiful house. The photos give only a hint of the magnificence. We took several area trips--don't miss Plaza Blanca--which were wonderful, but had perhaps the most meaningful explorations right at the mesa. Walking the bed of the wash, gathering chert, arrowheads, unusual rocks, and bringing our treasure back up to the house, sitting out under the stars, watching the cloud shadows run over the mountains, watching the red rocks double themselves in the lake. And the quiet. True quiet, true darkness. And then sunrise and mountain bluebirds! Magnificent.