Cruising day today.

Started off at the Taos Pueblo this morning. The people of this pueblo have been here for over 2,000 years. The pueblo is open to the public during the day, and they give guided tours. The inhabitants live in much the same way as they did 2,000 years ago. It was built of adobe brick covered with mud and chopped straw. They sell jewelry from their front rooms. They invite you in to see their wares.

One guy called me over when he saw the girls. We chatted about the girls for awhile and then I got a history lesson on his people, the government, and WWII . It ended up with long bible quotes and praises to God. Mahgrit came by and rescued me. Really though, he was a nice guy. He just liked to talk

From the pueblo we went to the site of earthships. These are totally off the grid houses built with recycled materials. We were given a tour of the demo house and watched a slide show of how they are built. The foundations of these homes are built with old tires filled with sand which is pounded in with sledge hammers. Then this is covered with an insulation blanket and concrete. The houses are powered by solar and wind. The temperature is controlled by passive solar and geo-thermal. All the electrical is D.C. run off the batteries. Really cool, but not my style. Also, they are somewhat pricey to build about $250 per sq. ft. But, after they are built there are no utility costs.

After this we once again took the road less travelled to find Georgia O’Keefe’s studio at Ghost Ranch. We didn’t find it but we did find some incredibly beautiful country along the way including the Red Rocks area and the Abiquiu reservoir. (As always see Mahgrit’s post for pictures).

After seeing the landscape of today’s drive, I am inspired to paint some landscapes. Unfortunately the only painting I have done is to some walls. (And not that good at that.) oh well!

I said in yesterday’s post I am not impressed with Taos but it really is better than my first impression and the surrounding area is beautiful.

We went back to the Downtown Bistro for dinner and had more of his red chile soup once again, yum!

Tomorrow is a trip to old Taos Which is the downtown area with shops and galleries. Then on to Taos ski area about 20 miles up in the mountains. We should be in awe again tomorrow night.