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.