A day trip to Taos was specifically aimed at seeing the site where so many Eathships have been built, not so much to do or see the typical tourist attractions. However, the drive along the Rio Grande Gorge is always beautiful and interesting, so a few photo stops are mandatory. Look closely and you'll see the cemetery lying at the foot of that rugged butte.
The river is fairly smooth in most places, but there are just enough boulders and rapids to make for an exciting raft trip. This is always a popular activity here, as is fishing.
The bridge over the gorge attracts lot of people to walk out to the middle and get a sense of how far below the water is, having carved through the rock for perhaps millions of years.
Getting back to the Earthships, I have long been intrigued by the concept of using recycled materials to build homes that are more sustainable and less costly to operate. You may recall my posting several years ago of the Dennis Weaver home near my town in Colorado. Weaver wasn't trying to save money, since he had plenty of it, but did want to reduce its impact on the environment. His Earthship was much larger and generally much more beautifully finished inside than most. Also, Weaver bought property that offered a much more attractive setting than here on the desert near Taos. I would not find this location appealing, although I might consider applying the concepts in a better setting.
The $9 self-guided tour was a waste of time and money, as it really gave no hint at how the structure could be finished in a home. The demonstration building was small and showed very little of the structural aspects of an Earthship. Had I been there on a week-end, the tour would have gone into the actual neighborhood to see the various designs, but that isn't allowed during the week. Understandable that the homeowners want some privacy. Anyway, I saw enough variations in design from the road without going beyond the boundary. While all the designs are "interesting", many of them did not appeal to me.
In general, all exterior walls are made of old tires filled with sand and stacked as high as necessary. There is a "greenhouse" wall facing south to gain solar heat and support flowers and vegetables. Log ceilings are topped with an earthen roof and solar panels. The home is usually enclosed by a berm on the backside, although it could be built into a hillside.
The demo house had exposedd plumbing to show how scarce water, captured from minuscule rainfall, is filtered and re-used several times for different purposes from drinking down through plant irrigation.
Recycled bottles are used as filler in walls, but also allow some light and color into the building. While not visible, large ducts are used to move air through the home, providing heat and cooling where and as needed, eventually vented out through the roof. The stucco finish applied to the walls is made from the sand excavated from the building site.
You'll notice there has been little to no effort on exterior landscaping, which might have made the homes much more attractive in my opinion. The entire neighborhood spreads out across the desert landscape.
While avoiding most touristy activities, I did visit the Taos Plaza briefly, and I always stop at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Georgia O'Keefe painted the church numerous times from different perspectives and with different lighting, so I feel comfortable with my collection of photos taken over the years. The church is closed to visitors due to Covid restrictions, so I failed to get interior photos this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment