View from my hike before I got caught in the rain coming down the mountain. A nice outdoor shower 😉

The Rio Grande!

Daddie Gizmo and I spent five days in LA together since we last wrote during which time we planned our next move. We decided to “play house” while he rests his knees. Our requirements while looking for a place to stay were somewhere connected to nature, secluded but close to lots of hiking and a working kitchen.  We bought a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee in LA and drove it to New Mexico this past Saturday where we had located the perfect place for us to relax for two weeks.  The home we rented is a beautiful earth ship in a small town 15 minutes outside of Taos, El Prado.

This window in the living room looks out onto the gorgoeous mountain range.

It’s many windows, seclusion from neighbors, and accessibility to endless hikes are just what the dr. ordered. We have spent a lot of time in the kitchen making salsas, guacamole and delicious meals. Everywhere you look in this home you are staring at the mountains and I LOVE it! We really love the laid back earthy vibe this town gives off too. I have done 2 great hikes so far that have had beautiful views.

Hiking to Wheeler Peak

Giz feeling accomplished after making it to the peak

I love waking up in the morning, choosing a hike that will start my morning deep in nature for a few hours and then coming back to have lunch and spend the day with Daddie Gizmo. It’s funny how we almost feel like we are on vacation here, but vacation from what?!  We have been on vacation for 4 1/2 months since we left Dallas. During that time we have hiked 800 miles of the PCT, visited great friends in Seattle, spent two weeks relaxing in the Catskill mountains, enjoyed a 3 week road trip around California, several small trips to LA with the hospitality of Papa Romero and now at least two weeks in New Mexico. All in all, I’d say we are doing alright! We know we are going to rest somehwere for another 2 weeks when our rental is up. We attended a tour at the Earthship Biotecture/Greater World center today. We were both incredibely inspired and moved and looking into possibly doing the two week internship this month where we can learn how to build an earthship. One thing we decided for certain, that determines our forward path, is that we are going to buy land and build, with our own hands, several earth ships that will become our hospitality business. One of us will be attending the 29 day, 6 day a week academy in October to gain all the hands on experience and classroom knowledge regarding regulations that we will need to set off on our own. We were meant to be here in Taos to discover this shared passion for off the grid sustainable living.

Loving the greenhouses

Exposed tire walls in the mechanical room

Beautiful fireplace in this earthship

This bottle wall is east facing and illuminates at sunrise