taos, new mexico. trip 1
Thursday
At 2pm, we found ourselves tapping our toes, bags in hand at the CINC. The chaperones were late but we quickly discovered that with their two precocious daughters, Zora and Josie (big scream and little squeal), this was an inevitability. Thirty-five minutes later and only mild bickering about seating, and we were off. The ride down took about 6 hours, and involved a lot of sleeping, brainstorming, entertaining the kids, and more sleeping.
Friday
Early morning, after an impressive hotel breakfast, we piled back in the vans and ended up at the Earthships. It was a brisk 45 degrees outside but we were all quickly overheating after we stepped into one of these 80 degree marvels of architecture. Made of only natural and recycled materials, powered by the sun and wind, and utilizing thermal heating and cooling, everyone was totally amazed by the beauty and comfort of these buildings. “I had honestly never heard of Earthships, and was blown away by what they were capable of. I know our bathhouse isn’t going to be anything like that, but it was just a really good precedent and inspiration for our long term design minds”, student Shannon Carlin said about the tour. Everyone’s shoes suffered some serious mud but the visit yielded a lot of inspiration for the upcoming project, especially from the buildings’ water-recycling system.
The ride back brought authentic Mexican food and an awe-inspiring (or fear-inducing) walk over the Rio Grande Gorge. The rest of the evening was spent resting and bonding over card games, hot tubs, and pizza (where an unfortunate round of telephone awarded Stephen the nickname “aspic”).
Saturday
The morning was spent exploring the culture of Taos, visiting museums and historically significant sites. In the afternoon we oversaturated ourselves with information from two different plumbers, Dan and Carl, who will be assisting us in the trickier aspects of the design/build. We learned SO MUCH PLUMBING.
Sunday
We finally visit the Lama Foundation! Our bigger van couldn’t make it all the up the mountain, so we parked at the bottom, and hiked our way up, where we were greeted by everyone with open arms (and hot tea). The next 3 hours followed a timeline of: introductions, brainstorming circles, design questions, delicious lunch, and a tour of the grounds. We were able to see the 3 structures built by the ENVD in past years, and the plot of land we will be building on. Our time was limited, and the snow was cold, but it was a wonderful and informative trip.