My husband and I have been visiting national parks since 2011 when we were finally free from our kids' school obligations. We took the two youngest with us on a road trip to Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone, and we were hooked! Since then we visit a few parks each year. In 2021, we took a much anticipated trip to New Mexico—I wanted to see White Sands National Park and also to see the landscapes that inspired Georgia O'Keeffe. I fell in love with the diverse scenery from desert to mountains to volcano, and we both loved the food and the art of Taos and Santa Fe. The painting Parade was inspired by the sweet prickly pear cactus blooms we saw all along a hike up to the rim of Capulin Volcano National Monument in northern NM. The landscape was so dramatic~ windswept and soft green blue gray— until you glanced down and saw these delightful yellow coral blossoms clinging to the scrubby rocks. All lined up like they were in a little celebratory survival parade, I was enchanted by their beauty and resilience.