Plaza Blanca and Echo Amphitheater, 7/27/2019

We learned about several places we wanted to visit in Alibquiu, NM, about 60 miles west of Taos. John (the early riser) prepared dinner in the crockpot, packed lunch, and we set out on our adventure. (Isn’t he the best!?!)

Using directions we found online, we eventually came to the remote site (on a dirt road) of Plaza Blanca. It is located in the valley of the Rio Chama hills near Abiquiu.

Made famous by Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting, “The White Place” (1940s), today the valley is on the grounds of the Dar Al Islam Education Center and Mosque. While it is private property, they welcome visitors to hike and view this incredible place. (Many thanks to Dar Al Islam www.daralislam.org.) You will see this sign at the entrance to the dirt road that leads to the site.

This is the view from the parking area at Plaza Blanca. We began the ½ mile hike to the valley of eerie white limestone rock formations. 

The 60’ tall obelisks and other spires created by erosive forces in the valley are even more amazing up close. Can you see John standing in front of these huge rocks?

The view to the south is so different than the view to the north where the white limestone dominates the landscape,

We’ve learned (during our travels) that the only way to really appreciate these unusual rock formations is to walk among them.

Our girl, Sadie, had a blast roaming around this rocky terrain. And we did not see another person during the two hours we spent there. 

This area looked like pieces of gothic cathedrals with arches, buttresses, and spires!

The effects of wind and water have created windows, caves, towers, and other crazy rock formations here. 

We absolutely loved the solitude, unique beauty, and fascinating rock formations here. It is so worth the effort to find this place! For directions to Plaza Blanca (and additional information), go to www.plaza-blanca.com.

Next, we drove to the small town of Abiquiu and stopped at the Georgia O’Keeffe Welcome Center. The displays provide information on the famous artist’s time spent in New Mexico. 

Information about Ghost Ranch (now owned by the Presbyterian Church), tours to O’Keeffe’s Home and Studio in Abiquiu, and other local attractions was provided by the folks that work at the gift shop and information desk

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We headed north for a quick stop at Echo Amphitheater in Carson National Forest, before visiting Ghost Ranch. But along the way, we made a few stops to admire the natural beauty here. Below is Abiquiu Lake that was created to control flooding of the Rio Grande.

The contrast of the white sandstone of Plaza Blanca to the red cliffs of this nearby area was so striking! 

A few miles north of Ghost Ranch, the Echo Amphitheater is on the left side of the road (www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/carson/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=44462&actid=50). There is an admission fee of $2/vehicle (a real bargain!)

It is a short ¼ mile walk on a concrete path to Echo Canyon. Along the way are spectacular rock formations. There are multiple covered picnic areas along the trail.

Steps will bring you closer to the concave rock formation. 

A shout from this location (at the end of the trail) will result in a pretty incredible echo effect. Our girl, Sadie, found it all very confusing as she kept looking around for the source of the sound. 

It was only a quick visit, but what incredible rock formations!

We continued to our final stop in Abiquiu, the Ghost Ranch, that I will cover in my next post. 

What is an Earthship Community?, 7/26/2019

While browsing online to find attractions in the Taos area, I came upon information about the Earthship Community. It is located west of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on Rte 64. Curious about what it was all about, we stopped one afternoon at the Earthship Biotecture Visitor Center. 

Founded by Mike Reynolds (architect), Earthship Biotecture, is a company headquartered in Taos, that specializes in designing and building earthships. What is an earthship? Basically, it is an “off-grid, earth-bermed, passive solar home with exterior walls made of old tires rammed with earth."

The Visitor Center is a demonstration “Packaged Earthship with a Double Greenhouse” that is open for tours ($7/senior; $8/adult). Some of the rammed tires can be seen near the entrance. 

Exhibits about how the structure was built and the systems that support self-sufficiency can be seen in the area that would be the family living space in a residential structure. They describe core design principles of: 

• Passive solar heating and cooling;
• Building with natural and recycled materials;
• Water harvesting and contained sewage treatment;
• Solar and wind power; and,
• Food production.

Non-load bearing walls are constructed of a honeycomb of recycled cans (wired together to form a patented brick design) joined by concrete and then thickly plastered with stucco. Some decorative walls are built with recycled bottles and adobe and/or concrete. 

The tour begins in the at the greenhouse that supports food production. Vegetables and fruits are grown here. Hanging plants provide additional growing space in the greenhouse. Tubing from the grey water system is used to water plants in the greenhouse space. These windows (with some that open) on the south-facing side is important to climate control in the earthship. 

Solar panels are installed on the roof (also south-facing) power the building. The roof is designed to capture rain water (that is filtered and stored in cisterns buried in the earth berms). The roof is, of course, heavily insulated.

Behind the Visitor Center is a large earthship that provides housing for the participants in the Earthship Academy, a four-week program where the theory, design, and construction techniques of Earthship Biotecture are taught. Applications are accepted on line at the link provided below.

Across the road from the visitor center is a café in a revamped RV and the research area. 

Behind it is an earthship structure that is used for research, design concepts, and tests to improve upon existing structural and system designs. The vertical windmill has been designed here and is being tested, as are various wall designs. 

There are 50+ personal residences (earthships) in this community and trespassing on private roads and property is not permitted. It is a beautiful open space where residences are part of the landscape.

Earthships appear in 50 states and 20 countries, although modifications have been made for different climates. Below are a few in the Taos community.

Earthship Biotecture helped build emergency shelters in post-earthquake Haiti and environmentally fragile islands. Nightly rentals are available in the Taos community if you want to experience the lifestyle. And, existing earthships can be purchased or one can be built to your requirements. The building cost is approximately $225/square foot (although labor costs can be significantly reduced by owners, if desired). 

We found this community to be so interesting and aligned with our philosophical thinking about recycling and self-sufficiency. Having said that, we think we are not in a phase of lives where we could embrace the lifestyle (sadly, too old!) Some architects are highly critical of the design concepts and building standards employed by Earthship Biotecture. Nonetheless, I see great value in the design concepts put forth, as well as the opportunity to improve efficiencies of the self-sufficient systems. 

For additional information about Earthship Biotecture and earthship communities, go to www.earthshipglobal.com.