Taos to Celebrate My Birthday

Saturday was my birthday, but we decided to celebrate on Friday instead. Went to Taos to do some shopping, spend a little time at the casino and have dinner. Found a shoe sale so I got a new pair of sandals, made a contribution to the Indians at the casino, then drove out to an area that had piqued our interest since the very first time we’d come through Taos.

The EarthShip Project consists of homes built into the ground using old tires, cans and bottles and utilizing solar, wind power and the use of cisterns to collect water and allow them to be completely “off grid”. This is what the walls look like before they're plastered:

We were surprised to learn that the project was started in 1994—we’d thought it looked like a project from the old “hippie” days of the ‘60’s. The homes are all quite unique and nothing like typical houses. The Visitor’s Center is open to the public for a “donation” of $5 per person. It’s rather interesting with a 10-minute video that shows construction of the homes followed by a self-guided tour. Here are some different angles of the visitor’s center:

Here's a photo of the bathroom...notice the bottles set into the wall above the door to give a stained glass effect:

To end the day on a "high note" we had dinner at The StakeOut restaurant which is built several miles up in the mountains south of Taos. Outdoor dining allowed us to take in the fabulous views with dinner. Service was excellent and the steaks were wonderful! It was a great way to celebrate getting another year older!