New Mexico

New Mexico was fantastic. It sucks all the moisture out of your body and bakes you into a little scone. The architecture is so endemic to the region, not quite Mexican and not quite American.. rock yards, tons of species of cacti, swamp coolers, and really great food.   First we stopped in Tucumcari, this tiny town near the border of Oklahoma. David and I stopped here in 2008 when we drove out to California and took pictures at this landscape mural. We found it again and took some more pics with our little man.

 

2008

 

2011. Looks like they added some details. and an eagle.nice.

We moved on to Albuquerque and our friend Jason took us to see some petroglyphs- really really old rock drawings.  I can't believe they still exist.

 

big hike for a little man

 

my favorite glyph

After that we drove out to Taos. It was like creeping up into this enchanted land. The mountains are so dried up and beautiful and strange. There were tiny art galleries scattered all around, even on the way up into the mountains when there was nothing else around- this was one of the coolest-

 

Then we stayed in an earthship. I don't even know where to start with this.  There is a community in Taos full of homes that are completely off the grid, meaning they aren't connected to any city utility supplier and generate all their own power from the sun, wind, and collect rain and ground water. The structures are built out of tires and bottles , which sounds trashy but the tires are all covered up and look like adobe.  They are incredibly strong and insulating- it got down to 30 the night we were there and inside we were completely comfortable.  All the houses have a greenhouse built into them, which helps generate warmth and gives you lots of plants to eat year round. Ours also had a fish pond with tilapia, and chickens in the back courtyard (eggs), so you really could survive completely off of what is on your property. I like this idea a lot, it just makes sense to be able to take care of yourself without having to rely on a distant supply of energy, or questionable food source- right? Not to mention if there was some kind of disaster and all the power went out, you'd still be golden. Building a place like this is a gigantic task, or you can hire a crew to do it for you and finance it like any other house and pay a mortgage. David and I really want to do something like this eventually.  Here are some pictures of the house we stayed in. (The Phoenix)

 

fishes

 

hanging garden

 

kitchen

 

too heavy?

 

chicky coop

 

here's the ship people's website>> EARTH

We went to the Rio Grande gorge on our way out, there are lots of vendors there and we bought  this backpack from this guy who made it. I looove it.

 

this thing is deep.

   So, It's easy to edit your life on the internet into happy perfect moments, but please know this trip is no simple venture. In between these amazing points of interest are tantrums, traffic, getting lost thanks to GPS, and general crankiness  (altitude sickness?). I guess that's what happens when you "get out of your comfort zone."  We are definitely working some life muscles that haven't moved in a long time, but it's all for good reason.

Tennessee and beyond

I fell in love with Chattanooga a little bit. Or maybe it was just I had the sweetest hostess in the world. We had such a cozy two nights with our buddy Bethany, making tea and roasts of squash in the oven. It was nice to stay somewhere two nights and not have to haul everything back into the van the next morning and drive more.

checking out bigfoot

painting in Betnys studio

he seriously played these drums for like 30 minutes

bells in coolidge park

cold enough for tights! and hoodies! YES

rhino!

We've been driving a lot the last couple of days. A lot for us is like 5-6 hours a day, and believe me, with a toddler in the backseat, that is plenty of hours. On Saturday he didn't even sleep during the whole 6 hour drive.. wha??  I usually sit back there with him and draw pictures or read books, or he watches tv. yes, there's a tv...hallelujah! I feel weird about it a little, but it's temporary and it balances out with major outdoor playtime.  


We weren't that excited about Arkansas.... but we found  this sweet gem of a park called Petit Jean.   It's named after a french girl who followed her lover to america- He wouldn't let her come because he was afraid she would get hurt during the voyage, so she disguised herself as a boy and called herself jean and applied to work on the ship. They ended up coming to this part of Arkansas where there are incredible caves and a giant waterfall. She got some crazy illness and told the natives who were taking care  of her that if she died she wanted to be buried on the mountain near the waterfall. She died soon after and they buried her where she wanted to be, and that's where we went today.    The grave is there and everything.  tragic.
The cave we were in was a shelter for native american tribes who lived there a long time ago and there were pictographs on the walls- i couldn't get any good pictures of them though :(

ps..click for bigger pics

So, We are optimistic about the midwest... its definitely more than just a flyover zone.
We didnt camp here bc there were tornado warnings and golf ball sized hail supposed to be happening tonight. hmm. totally in a hotel.

i dont even know.

pretzels and cartoons.

here we go

                                           our life on wheels

Weve been hanging out in Georgia the past few days, I can't believe we've only been gone for 3 days, so much has happened.   There are some surprisingly awesome things in this southern state. The first day we went to Providence canyon which was insane red and white sandcastles.

Then we stayed with our friends Grant and Rachel who run the label Hooker Vision. Rachel made veggie lasagna. Rali ate all the olives out of his. yum

and big baby Wanda :)


Then we went to the Georgia aquarium.  The belgua whales were really friendly despite their tiny living situation.





We set up our tent in DeSoto falls in the chattahoochee National forest, which was totally beautiful. The Georgia mountains are so pretty, and the weather was about 20 degrees cooler than Gainesville, which was nice

 fire starter

Three little bears.   

Steel cut oats in the pressure cooker- done in 5 minutes!

with dried currants, walnuts, (and cacao for big bears)

                                                                       the falls



               Some dudes were playing the same metal cd on repeat till   3 am ... we we set out for a new campsite and found this one with a big lake.

road side scenery

 So far we're really happy with our decision to travel. Rali's been a happy man. As long as the weather stays on our side and we get enough sleep things should  keep on being fun.

 <3