I stayed with Sandy on Sunday the 27th and she has just gotten a travel trailer which I got to try out. It was quite cozy and had heat so I was comfy in my bed at night. She has two cats Louis and Allie but they did not come in the trailer so I had to visit with them in the main house. Sandy lives out in the country north of Taos so it is very quiet and the stars are bright. We went to a yummy place for dinner called the Outback Pizza and it is behind some other businesses so that is how it got the name.
We watched a movie that night called “Garbage Warrior” which is about Mike Reynolds who founded Earthships. He had some terrible struggles to get the state to accept his ideas which were considered unorthodox 20 years ago concerning building houses out of recycled materials. The walls are made of earth filled tires to provide thermal mass and covered over with cement or stucco and this keeps everything at a uniform temp year round. Solar panels provide power and the places are completely off the electrical grid. All water is reused too and plants grow indoors for food.
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| Sandy and Louis |
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| Louis Posing |
The next morning I visited the Earthships and took the tour which was fascinating after I saw the movie. There is a whole community of these buildings around the visitor center and I got to see all the steps that go into the construction process. Volunteers are building a new building right across from the visitor center.
I drove west late that day past Tres Piedras and up into the mountains. It was a beautiful day but as I went up and up snow began to appear and then the road got covered in places. There was only one lane open in some of the high summits and the snowplow was working to open the road. I had the place to myself and stopped to take in the beautiful scenery. Boy what a cold blast of wind whenever I got out of the truck!
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| Deep Snow in the Mountain Pass |
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| Beautiful Snowy Day in the Mountains |
Monday the 28th I stayed with Catherine in her office in Taos. She is an interesting hermit who does psychic readings and also does work for insurance companies. I got to help with reviewing the insurance information and identified all the types of plumbing in the buildings so it was a fun evening. We slept on the floor in sleeping bags and had big cushions and the floor was warm and it was a neat indoor camping experience.
Tuesday the 29th Catherine and I went to the Taos Senior Center for an exercise dance class followed by lunch. The class was a lot of fun and we were the youngest students in the class. We had to strap on big weights to our legs and arms which I had never done and it made the exercise class pretty hard. Everyone there is doing what they can to stay fit, I found it to be a very positive experience!
That night I headed for Albuquerque and am staying with Liz and Bill. They live in Rio Rancho and have two dogs and a big black and white cat who is afraid of me. This is the first time I have encountered a cat who won’t make friends.
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| Old Tipp and Herman the Kitty |
Wednesday the 30th I decided to take a hike in the Ojito wilderness near the Zia Pueblo on Bill’s advice. The Pueblo is north of Albuquerque on Highway 550 and is adjacent to the wilderness area. Very few people take the road to the wilderness so I had this beautiful area to myself. The hike leads to some interesting hoodoos which are a little like Bryce Canyon but not as numerous. I took these photos to show the hoodoos.
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| A delicately balanced hoodoo in the trees |
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| Substantial looking mushroom hoodoo |
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| Hoodoos on the March |
I will be working at the Roadrunner food Bank as a volunteer on Thursday the 31st and will be leaving Liz and Bill for a new host too.
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