Week 28: Meow Wolf and More!

When I had the idea of putting together a list of 60 things to do in the 60 weeks leading up to my 60th birthday, I'd never even heard of "Meow Wolf." At Christmas, I asked my kids for inspiration of places we might go together, and my daughter-in-law, Stella, suggested "Meow Wolf" in Santa Fe, so I added it as #33 to my list:

Go to the Meowolf exhibit in Santa Fe with Stella and Matt

 I was so ignorant then. First of all, I was wrong about the name. I'd imagined "Meowolf was some kind of anime character and it would a cosplay or Pokemon-kind of thing.  I found out it's two words: Meow and Wolf, apparently two words that were chosen out of a hat after a group of artists got together and submitted a bunch of random words.

I also discovered that it was not exactly an "exhibit," but a very unique new form of interactive entertainment..  kind of a mix of artsy, creative rooms, fun house, with a bit of escape-room-like back story.  I LOVED IT!!!

The Santa Fe version of Meow Wolf was called, "The House of Eternal Return." It's been so successful, that there's a Meow Wolf opening in Las Vegas this year and one scheduled to open in Denver in 2020! I don't know how similar they'll be to the version in Santa Fe, but I'm excited that there will be a Meow Wolf right in my back yard!  Maybe I can even go visit the site when it's getting built and meet some of the artists!

I'm posting some pictures here so you get a little bit of an idea, but I'm afraid my photos don't come close to describing how cool and creative everything was. I just love exploring big houses and it was so fun that there were all kinds of hidden rooms. We kept thinking we'd seen everything and then we'd discover a new room or hidden nook.

I loved the 'portals' that would allow you to move into a different dimension...  Here's Matt coming out of the refrigerator with the bright light adding a very sci-fi effect and there's a picture below of him going through the washing machine.

Matt heading through the washing machine portal

Learning about the back story of the family who lived in this house.

There were three huge beautiful tree houses with romantic, intricate staircases.

I loved the "theme" rooms! This was a pink candy room!

Matt and Stella stepping into a cartoon room!

This barely begins to scratch the surface of all the rooms and fun things there were to explore there. I feel so lucky that Stella told us about this and can't believe I'd never heard about such a fun place! So amazing to have had such an amazing thing on my list that I hadn't even known existed!

But beyond Meow Wolf, this 4-day trip with my son and daughter-in-law was full of fun surprises. Stella has this amazing knack for being able to find the most perfect places to eat.. to pick out the most perfect gifts.. to find the most unique and beautiful AirBnBs to cater to my exact tastes! She's very observant about what people love and then, somehow, is able to find these very unique treasures.  And I'll give my son, Matt, some credit, too, especially when it comes to the hikes and outdoor adventures.  Our trip to Santa Fe went through Silverton, where we stopped to see fireworks, and included many scenic stops and beautiful hikes.

This blog post is already long and I could go on and on about how fun our four-day trip was, but I'll just post a sampling of my many photos. What a special trip!

A Moose Sighting!

Rio en Medio Trail

Outside of Silverton

One of the many fun cafes with outdoor patio and music!

The first night we stayed in an RV and enjoyed the beautiful stars!

In Santa Fe, we stayed in this AMAZING AirBnb with a Hobbit House!

Hallway in Hobbit House with Mosaic Tree leading to a Magical Bedroom

Flamingo Sighting!

Haiku Park with Haikus written on the rocks

What worked well:

• I loved that this trip was so full of surprises for me. Even the destination (Meow Wolf) was not something I'd even heard of before creating my list. A bucket list is fun, but this is another category of "bucket list"..  It's like a fun "discovery"!
• It was fun to have a trip with just Matt and Stella! This is the first time it was just the 3 of us and we really had some deep discussions! How great to have a deeper connection with my son and daughter-in-law.
• Meow Wolf was absolutely amazing. It exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds!
• I loved the Hobbit House AirBnB as much as Meow Wolf! What a super-cute and magical place to stay!
• Matt and Stella were so thoughtful and I felt so genuinely surprised and excited by all the places they took me. What a wonderful gift this was for me on my 60 until 60 journey!

What could have been better:

I can't think of anything that I wish had been different about this trip. It was perfect!