It seems the longer we are here, the more we find little gems hidden in various corners of this city. I’ve really grown to love this place. When we told people we were coming to Santa Fe, their first response was always, “Why?” The simple answer is that Pam and I love to travel, and we haven’t been here before, so why not? After all, we were born on this earth, so where ever we are, we are home.

The long answer is that for a long time I’ve been fascinated by a place near Taos, New Mexico that is a community of quirky, offbeat artistic types who have built “Earthships” that are completely independent of society’s infrastructure. I first saw/heard about it when Dennis Weaver (McCloud of TV fame) got involved with them well over 30 years ago.

All electricity is generated or captured from the sun. Waste systems simply recycle everything. All water used in the home is captured rain water. The homes themselves are built with recycled goods like tires, rammed with earth, stacked on top of each other like bricks. Then bottles are inserted in the walls to create a stained glass effect, then covered so the final product looks like adobe homes. No tires are visible in the finished homes. The thermal mass created by the tire walls allows each home to heat and cool without other heat/cooling devices. They even grow their own food since each home basically has it’s own hothouse.

Truly, it’s an amazing place. But to get there, we needed to drive through Taos, and then cross the Rio Grande Gorge. That was as stunning thing to see too. Since we haven’t seen the Grand Canyon, this must be pretty darn close! Wow – that’s one big hole in the earth! There is a bridge to cross, and you can get out and walk it… and lots of people were doing it… very very cool.