beyond cinderella

On our way to visit Echo Amphitheater this week, we saw some strange-looking buildings out in the middle of the desert, and I wondered what they were all about. So, on our way home, we stopped to investigate, and found out they are part of Earthship Biotecture.

So what’s that all about one might ask? Well, from the information we received, and what I could research on the internet, it is a community of people who live in completely self-contained, self-sustainable, structures that meet the “six needs for life on earth which are:

Buildings made with natural and recycled materials

Water harvesting

Solar and wind electricity

Contained sewage treatment

Food production

Thermal solar heating and cooling

They use discarded tires packed with dirt for exterior walls,

and recycled bottles and cans for interior structures.

Buried cisterns collect melted snow and rain, and the filtered water flows through sinks in the bathroom and kitchen. Each abode contains its own greenhouse, and blackwater, from the toilet bowl, hydrates the yards of the 70 residences. If you see a tropical bloom in that area of the New Mexico desert, you can lay your thank-you flowers before the porcelain throne”.

Apparently there are Earthship communities all over the country.  Who knew? This particular Earthship community offers internships that last 3 weeks, and they teach you all about how to build your own Earthship abode. They advertise the internships as “be prepared for serious fun”.

You can also rent a room for the night in one of the main structures if you want to experience a glimpse of what it’s like to live there. For 1-2 people it costs $245 per night.

If your interested in learning more, just google Earthship Biotecture, in New Mexico, and you will be able to see actual pictures of how the abodes look from the inside. They really are nice, and very interesting.

Well all that was fascinating, but we had to get moving, so on we went, until we came to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. I wanted to get out and take a picture of the bridge, and walk across it because, well it was there and I could… 🙂

The last stop, before we made it home, was to take a picture of this abandoned Tee Pee I saw just sitting along side of the road. I don’t know why, but it intrigued me, and made me wonder about who might have built it, lived in it, and what happened to them? So we stopped, and I took a picture of it too. Ha! 🙂

Our time in New Mexico is quickly coming to an end. We will leave on June 1st for a month stay in Antonito, Colorado. We so enjoyed New Mexico, but we are now ready to move on, and see what all Colorado has to offer. If you’re traveling with us, via this blog, I hope you enjoy sharing our journey. I love having you along, and especially enjoy your comments.

Stay Tuned!