2008-04-16
Taos
by kenny
Taos is my favorite place so far (Kenny's is Prescott, AZ). It has all the great stuff of Santa Fe, but seems more authentic, rustic-less commercialized. I know I sound like a broken record. Wonderful food, beautiful people, just an all-over good vibe. Something about the colors, textures, and feel of this place makes me want more.
We hung around the plaza, and then headed out to scope out the Earthships and Rio Grande. We just found out about earthships yesterday and the idea intrigued us enough to come out and see for ourselves. It was worth the trip as we think this form of house building will be the way we eventually build our artist community. Earthships are amazing. They are completely off grid (no utility bills!). They are passive solar, self-sustaining homes built with natural and recycled materials (tires, straw bales, tin cans, bottles, adobe, etc). The water systems are amazing. Ideally, snow & rain water is collected on the roof, filtered, used conventionally, filtered, used again to water plants, filtered, used a third time for toilets, treated, and lastly used to water outdoor plant life. Just outside of Taos lies Greater World Community, a subdivision covering several hundred acres and home to 50 or so Earthships. We were able to go to the visitor center, which is an Earthship itself. Waaaaaaay cool. Check this out. And this about the architect Mike Reynolds. And watch this documentary.
In Rancho de Taos, we visited the San Francisco de Asis Church, which is said to be the most painted (depicted) church. We also went to a great trading post to buy chile ristas and Mexican tile. My only regret is not being able to stay longer in Taos and not going to the Pueblo. Lame! Oh well, maybe next time.
We stayed at Taos Valley RV park and were going to head to Durango via highway 64, but luckily, the park host told us that the pass is still closed for the "winter". So we drove down to Espanola to stay before heading onto Durango via highway 84. It added an hour to our trip, but saved us 4 hours (does that make sense?)
We hung around the plaza, and then headed out to scope out the Earthships and Rio Grande. We just found out about earthships yesterday and the idea intrigued us enough to come out and see for ourselves. It was worth the trip as we think this form of house building will be the way we eventually build our artist community. Earthships are amazing. They are completely off grid (no utility bills!). They are passive solar, self-sustaining homes built with natural and recycled materials (tires, straw bales, tin cans, bottles, adobe, etc). The water systems are amazing. Ideally, snow & rain water is collected on the roof, filtered, used conventionally, filtered, used again to water plants, filtered, used a third time for toilets, treated, and lastly used to water outdoor plant life. Just outside of Taos lies Greater World Community, a subdivision covering several hundred acres and home to 50 or so Earthships. We were able to go to the visitor center, which is an Earthship itself. Waaaaaaay cool. Check this out. And this about the architect Mike Reynolds. And watch this documentary.
About Earthships - Short version (1:10)
About Earthships - Long version part 1 (5:20)
About Earthships - Long version part 2 (5:47)
Parts of Taos look just like my home county.
About Earthships - Long version part 1 (5:20)
About Earthships - Long version part 2 (5:47)
Parts of Taos look just like my home county.
In Rancho de Taos, we visited the San Francisco de Asis Church, which is said to be the most painted (depicted) church. We also went to a great trading post to buy chile ristas and Mexican tile. My only regret is not being able to stay longer in Taos and not going to the Pueblo. Lame! Oh well, maybe next time.
We stayed at Taos Valley RV park and were going to head to Durango via highway 64, but luckily, the park host told us that the pass is still closed for the "winter". So we drove down to Espanola to stay before heading onto Durango via highway 84. It added an hour to our trip, but saved us 4 hours (does that make sense?)
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