Part II...the Southwest!

Downtown Santa Fe 

Where were we? Right, heading north from White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico to visit old Bethel buds. The back roads among the mountains were a wonderful introduction to the southwest. In Santa Fe we met Ryan and Jitka for dinner and our first taste of New Mexican cuisine. Oooohh baby! 

After the sunny south we were a bit unprepared for the colder mountain temperatures and had to unpack our parkas, hats and gloves for a walk through town. (Sorry no pictures of Ryan!! Trust us, he's very handsome.)

After a great visit with our friends and some awesome travel recommendations, we took off on the 'High Road to Taos' and fell in love with northern New Mexico. 

Desert and mountains of northern New Mexico

Reminded us of Wyoming...

Perhaps I should be more specific: we fell in love with the mountainous desert landscape, the quaint mountain-top villages, the adobe houses that blended so beautifully into the landscape, the vibrant colors, hanging chile bundles (our smart friend, Ryan, who has a chile dealer, advised us these are called ristras), and not least, the stunning turquoise jewelry. 

Northern New Mexico felt very alive to me (Kristy), particulary the adobe pueblos and towns of Taos and Santa Fe. I can’t wait to get my hands dirty with cob construction and design in Oregon!  I expect cob houses will look very similar to adobe in style and appearance. (A major difference between the two is that while adobe involves dried bricks that are then used to build, cob walls are shaped free form from a mixture of clay, straw, water, etc.)

In addition to the adobe, we were also sufficiently inspired by our 2-night stay in a real Earthship! Woo hoo! I spent the past 4 years admiring the design and beauty of earthships via books, movies and internet browsing. I am so thrilled to have finally had the opportunity to actually check out and stay in one myself. (Kevin Morgan, you were there in spirit, friend!) I was not dissapointed, though my photos I’m afraid do not accurately portray the space. 

In a nutshell, an earthship is a super sustainable, thermal mass dwelling that is entirely self-sufficient and off-grid. It’s built into the ground with rammed-earth tire walls, various recycled materials including cans and bottles, and big south-facing windows that usually house gorgeous indoor planters or a greenhouse. Earthships have complex grey water systems, rain catchment and solar panels so that there are literally no utility costs. Pretty impressive, huh. Andrew and I were thrilled that a small fire in the kiva fireplace heated the 800 square foot space perfectly for a few hours in the evening despite freezing temperatures. And actually the fire was probably unnecessary. I doubt the house would have fell much below 60 degrees. The next morning the huge windows warmed the house really well by breakfast. Ahh the beauty of thermal mass. Anyway, you can read more about earthships or check out some better quality photos here. Earthships have been constructed around the world with local and recylced materials. I don’t expect I’ll build one myself, though I will certainly incorporate many of the design principles.

So our time in New Mexico definitely involved many splurges- earthships, jewelry, and the best of all- delicious New Mexican food! It was just too much to resist, especially compared to our typical fare of soup warmed over the propane stove. I don't regret a one of those tasty burritos!

In between chowing down, we stopped for a few hours in Taos Pueblo where the multi-storied pueblo buildings have been inhabited for over 1,000 years. The old pueblo was striking with the dramatic mountains as the backdrop. 

Taos Pueblo

This was actually the same day- snow storm rolling in, but it didn't last.

Before heading west again, we stopped for a couple of nights in Albuquerque with our Czech friend Jitka. She was gracious enough to have held onto a case of jarred salmon for us since October. (Yes, it's been 4 months since we left Bethel for a life on the road...) More great weather greeted us and it was a joy to distract Jitka from all of her studies. (She'll be graduating in a few months with a degree in Landscape Architecture. On my last visit 2 years ago I attended a few classes with her- very interesting!) 

At Jitka's apartment after I snuck in to a yoga class with her.

Ristras!!!!

Jitka took these 3 gorgeous photos above.

There’s just a few more important things I need to mention about New Mexico and our journey there through the south. First, Boyz II Men is performing at a casino somewhere south of Taos on February 10^th. Book your tickets now, ladies. Second, I find it very interesting that the Bible Belt seems to house more adult video stores, gentleman’s clubs and x-rated billboard advertisements than any other location in the states (in my experience anyway). Third, if I'm remembering correctly gas seems to be cheapest in New Mexico. The lowest I saw was $2.98 per gallon unleaded. Fourth, I personally witnessed two Mormon elders on Bourbon Street in New Orleans where, for the record there were many a naked lady dancing in doorways. In fact they were right in the middle of all that action. So I ask- who was saving whom? Fifth, it’s a little strange and wonderful the way we have managed to avoid serious weather patterns on this journey of ours. (I just nocked on wood.) I estimate a total of only 30 minutes of rain during our drives, and no real snow yet either. 

Then again, we’re heading into perfect snow country for this next leg of our trip to the Grand Canyon. But first a visit with our Bethel friends, Louis & Dez on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona. Stay tuned...