Our Night In An Earthship
When Chris and I first started planning our wedding one of the first things we did regarding the honeymoon was book one night in an Earthship in Taos, New Mexico. Chris's coworker mentioned it to her. We took a look at the Earthship Biotecture website and made our reservation about two months into planning our trip. Yes, we were THAT excited about it.
I have been a huge nerd for Earthships since I was a teenager. Truth be told, I spent my summer vacation at age 16 researching eco-friendly things at the library (we did not have access to the internet at home that year). I learned all about electric cars, sustainable building methods, and conservation practices that you can use in day-to-day life. I fell in love with Earthships at a young age and you bet your sweet bippy I was going to spend the night in one if I could.
Getting to Taos from Puye had been difficult. Our GPS and phones gave us two completely different sets of instructions. We opted to follow those provided by Google, which ended up being a huge mistake. The maps app directed our 2003 Volkswagen Jetta through the Rio Grande Gorge until we began climbing a dirt road up a mountain. That's when Chris said, "No way, Jose." We turned around and added an hour to our drive in the process. Note to travelers, don't do what we did.
Check-in time for the Earthship should have been before 4pm. Due to poor satellite reception, we weren't able to get in touch with anyone at the facility until after the check-in time had passed. The two of us were having panic attacks in the process. Thankfully, the girl responsible for taking the reservations assured us that we could still stay the night when we finally got someone on the phone. We managed to get to the visitors center before 5pm and were escorted to our Earthship shortly thereafter.
Our original plan had us visiting a natural grocery store in Taos for dinner-making supplies. After the nerve-wracking trek to the Earthship, though, we opted to eat what we had leftover from the wedding and to just spend the night relaxing.
We took so many pictures of the Earthship.
Never had I been inside a more beautiful yet small abode.
And it was SO QUIET inside.
All of the homes in the neighborhood were Earthships, too. Residences. With hopping rabbits between them and vast expanses of blue sky above them.
One of Chris's goals for our honeymoon was to see the Milky Way with her naked eye. New Mexico is one of a few gateways the world has to the rest of the galaxy. That's how it feels, anyway. It's rich in space history, and it does offer views of the Milky Way. At the Earthship colony, stars began popping out to see us as soon as darkness fell. I attempted to photograph them with my camera using the longest exposure setting I had, but not much came of that.
After a couple of hours outside admiring the universe, Chris and I relocated to the indoors. I had had a wonderful time listening to her ooh and ahh over the planets and other celestial objects she was seeing with her eye, binoculars, telescope, etc. Her happiness is my happiness! But even in October the nights in New Mexico can be freezing. When it came time to go inside, we happily discovered that our rental came complete with informative books on Earthship Biotecture and DVDs about building them. I remember watching them and feeling inspired to one day build our own. I did, however, have a bottle of wine that night so all of the details are a bit sketchy.
When I say "bottle" I mean like two glasses... Maybe. Anyway!
Watching architect Michael Reynolds discuss his designs and inspiration behind Earthships had us convinced that we needed to start saving to build our own. If money were no object, we concluded that it would be the best option for us. Realistically, though, as we are neither rich nor contractors, an Earthship is not likely in our future. It was really fun to dream about it while staying in one, though.
If you'd like the chance to do the same, visit the website and take a look at the models available to rent. Many are pet-friendly. If you can't make up your mind, one of the people who takes reservations over the phone can assist you. She chose the right one for us!
I have been a huge nerd for Earthships since I was a teenager. Truth be told, I spent my summer vacation at age 16 researching eco-friendly things at the library (we did not have access to the internet at home that year). I learned all about electric cars, sustainable building methods, and conservation practices that you can use in day-to-day life. I fell in love with Earthships at a young age and you bet your sweet bippy I was going to spend the night in one if I could.
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| The Earthship village we stayed in |
Getting to Taos from Puye had been difficult. Our GPS and phones gave us two completely different sets of instructions. We opted to follow those provided by Google, which ended up being a huge mistake. The maps app directed our 2003 Volkswagen Jetta through the Rio Grande Gorge until we began climbing a dirt road up a mountain. That's when Chris said, "No way, Jose." We turned around and added an hour to our drive in the process. Note to travelers, don't do what we did.
Check-in time for the Earthship should have been before 4pm. Due to poor satellite reception, we weren't able to get in touch with anyone at the facility until after the check-in time had passed. The two of us were having panic attacks in the process. Thankfully, the girl responsible for taking the reservations assured us that we could still stay the night when we finally got someone on the phone. We managed to get to the visitors center before 5pm and were escorted to our Earthship shortly thereafter.
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| The Lemuria Earthship, where we stayed the night |
We took so many pictures of the Earthship.
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| The greenhouse ran alongside the living quarters |
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| The bedroom. Small but so cozy! |
All of the homes in the neighborhood were Earthships, too. Residences. With hopping rabbits between them and vast expanses of blue sky above them.
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| Direct view from the front |
After a couple of hours outside admiring the universe, Chris and I relocated to the indoors. I had had a wonderful time listening to her ooh and ahh over the planets and other celestial objects she was seeing with her eye, binoculars, telescope, etc. Her happiness is my happiness! But even in October the nights in New Mexico can be freezing. When it came time to go inside, we happily discovered that our rental came complete with informative books on Earthship Biotecture and DVDs about building them. I remember watching them and feeling inspired to one day build our own. I did, however, have a bottle of wine that night so all of the details are a bit sketchy.
When I say "bottle" I mean like two glasses... Maybe. Anyway!
Watching architect Michael Reynolds discuss his designs and inspiration behind Earthships had us convinced that we needed to start saving to build our own. If money were no object, we concluded that it would be the best option for us. Realistically, though, as we are neither rich nor contractors, an Earthship is not likely in our future. It was really fun to dream about it while staying in one, though.
If you'd like the chance to do the same, visit the website and take a look at the models available to rent. Many are pet-friendly. If you can't make up your mind, one of the people who takes reservations over the phone can assist you. She chose the right one for us!
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