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Kelly Koepke
Author
Kelly Koepke

As an Air Force kid, Kelly Koepke lived in eight states and a foreign country before coming to Santa Fe for the Great Books program at St. John’s College. She left after graduating, but felt the irresistible pull of the light, culture, and green chile. “I returned with my Midwest-born-and-bred husband and hung out a freelance shingle. They don’t call it the Land of Entrapment for nothing,” she says. Celebrating 21 years as a writer (and of marriage) this year, she jumped at a chance to cover the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad’s restoration of a historic steam engine and several passenger cars. As for her own summer, she plans plenty of travel “and sharing exceptional views with friends on our Santa Fe patio.” 

Dig Deep at the Black Range Lodge

A "FIT OF NAIVETE" COMPELLED Catherine Wanek to purchase the Black Range Lodge, in Kingston, in 1984. Never did she suspect that what she wanted—a writer’s retreat from Hollywood screenwriting—would…

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Hotels Fit for an Artist

Lundeen Inn of the Arts Lundeen Inn of the Arts, in Las Cruces, has seven artist-themed rooms showcasing notable New Mexico and Native American artists. The soaring great room holds more than 250…

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Don't Sleep on These Art Tours

ONETIME TAOS RESIDENT AND AUTHOR D.H. Lawrence also loved to paint. He just wasn’t as good at representing his mostly biblical or mythical—and often nude—subjects as he was at writing novels. In 1929…

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Art's Desire

BY THE 1930S, artists from the East Coast had logged three decades painting, sketching, and drawing the landscapes and people of New Mexico. With few hotels, and even fewer places for them to sell…

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Shop Tucker Woodshop Toys

Above: Find unique, handmade wooden toys at Tucker Woodshop toys. Photograph by Inga Hendrickson. NO PAINT, NO PLASTIC, NO BATTERIES, NO STAIN. That is Edmund Tucker’s mantra as he cuts, carves…

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The Luthier: Klarissa Petti

Above: Luthier Klarissa Petti finished constructing her first instrument, a cello, in just 15 months. Photograph courtesy of Alexander Albrecht. KLARISSA PETTI CAME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO for…

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The Hat Man: Percy Stith

Above: Percy Stith creates custom hats out of his Santa Fe studio. Photograph by Stefan Wachs. A VETERAN OF NEW YORK'S fashion industry, Percy Stith came to hat making almost out of necessity. He’d…

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Shop Upcycled Leather Earrings

WHEN GIVEN A BAG of high-quality leather samples—the kind big fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta use in making purses—Patience Pollock wondered what she could do with such small…

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Saddlemaker: James Morris

STORIES TUMBLE OUT QUICKLY when James Morris gets jawing about his 65 years of leatherwork and saddle making. “I started playing hooky from school and going to the saddle shop,” he recalls. “Working…

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