Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

New Mexico

Photos and Text by Ingrid Silva

As I travel from the East Coast to the West Coast with my partner, I am discovering how beautiful North America is, and how good the people. We are currently in the middle of the country, New Mexico, the heart of the land. Santa Fe is our base for now, you can feel how it is an energy vortex which makes it hard to leave. There’s so much to see – one of the places that left the greatest impression on me was Tent Rocks National Monument.

It’s hard to imagine that such a special place lies only 40 miles SW of Santa Fe, NM. The high desert already has beautiful colors and the sky is incredibly clear but as you get closer to Kasha-Katuwe you can feel the energy of the place. It took between 6 and 7 million years for these geological formations to develop. The tent rocks feel like beings observing time, like if they were a big family with lives of their own. Walking through the slot canyon towards the top of the mesa is a breathtaking experience, the walls and the geological formations are so perfect, they seem cut with a precision blade.

More than anything here, it feels like Earth is a real planet, with the erosion, the colors, the wind, all the raw elements exposed. I am falling in love with New Mexico, and so far this place has awed me the most since we left NY.

Ingrid Silva moved from her native Peru to Long Island, NY in 2008. She’s deeply connected with nature, loves to hike, wander and lives a free spirited life. You can follow her travels and adventures on Instagram: @down_theline and her blog. To see more of her personal work, visit her portfolio, Instagram, and Tumblr.