If you don't know anything about earthship homes (they call them vessels), they're worth looking into for curiosity's sake.
My friend Emily in Boulder built her own earthship (photos on 5/25 in this post:
), which is what really inspired me to visit. I'm so glad I did as it is super interesting. It's daunting, but it is such a great idea. Summary: They're made mostly of natural and recycled materials (tires, bottles, cans). Passive heating and cooling, so no fuel needed for these. Solar and wind energy, so they're off grid. Water harvesting - water collected from roofs and water is used multiple times. Gray water reused for toilets and plant filtration. Even water from the black water is recycled for landscape plants.
It was very hot and sunny, but when I went into the visitor center, which is an earthship, it felt so hot to me. I was told it was only 70 in there, but the humidity was really high due to the greenhouse, which is part of all of them. I figured it didn't bode well for me back in the NE for the summer! I've gotten really used to the dry air in the west. Even on the coast, it's way drier than in the East.
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| Roof water collection |
Stayed at a BW host north of Taos in Arroyo Hondo.
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| Nice view from the windshield. The area was small, so I couldn't do my usual maneuver to get the view from my slider. |
3/20 - Prairie, who I met at Faywood Hot Springs had told me I had to eat at the Farmhouse Cafe and Bakery, so that's what I did. Healthy and great food. Then I walked around with Zoe and met the artist below. I love his work. So colorful!
Then we went to downtown Taos and walked around and looked at all the art galleries, which I really enjoyed again. Nothing as great as the last one I went to in Santa Fe, but lots of amazing work.
My Hipcamp spot was near downtown; walking distance to the center, which was convenient. It was another very hot day and if the area was more accommodating, I would have turned the van around. It was 86 and sunny and shining on my windshield and even though it's covered, it still transmits some heat. I hung around long enough for the sun to get low and the temps cooled before leaving Zoe behind. The host had recommended going to the Historic Taos Inn for music. Nice place with the character of years gone by. The "band" was a one woman show. She sang and played the saxophone and she was really good at both so that was fun. And people watching is always a great pass-time!
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| He could have mowed around the area... |
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| The long straight road through the prairies. |
After a big drive day for me - about 200 miles - I ended up at Clayton Lake State Park on Sue and Bruce's recommendation. It was a pretty place (though very windy - stayed 2 nights due to the strong winds), but my site was fairly protected by some trees on the site, but it still had a nice view. I didn't sit outside since it was windy and chilly, but enjoyed it when walking around.
It seems that the rattle in the right front is back. I got that fixed at Scottsdale Mercedes 2 years ago. Why didn't it come back before I had to take it back there for my check engine light??? Grrr. It is REALLY annoying. Also, I had a terrible squeaking in the back that I'm not sure where it's coming from. And then the usual squeaks and rattles in the home section. I feel like all these noises are there to help me learn to not get so upset by them.. I'm not sure how well that's going...
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| View from campsite at Clayton Lake CG |
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| My poor girl was attacked by a neighboring dog. |
Zoe loves to meet other dogs, so I asked my CG neighbors if their dogs like other dogs. Yes, but can be a bit excitable. I said Zoe is OK with excitable, so one of their dogs came over and she and Zoe were saying hi. She brought the other over on leash, and that dog immediately latched onto Zoe's face. I'm glad the woman had the leash as she didn't hold on for too long. But long enough for Zoe to yelp in pain. It breaks my heart when I hear my dog (any of them) yelp in pain. 😢 I decided to just put some antibiotic ointment on it. It didn't seem bad enough for a vet visit. I was disappointed in them for not checking in on Zoe before they left the next day.
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| Nickname is now Scarface. 😒 |
3/22 - Zoe and I did the Dinosaur Track hike. It is crazy to see these footprints from so long ago. 100 million years! And these are some of the best preserved examples in the world.
I was happy to find that the bath house was open, so I was able to get a shower and it had hot water and water pressure. Always a pleasant surprise!
3/23 - I needed to head across Oklahoma to get to the Ozarks and was going to go all the way across the pan handle, but instead decided to head down to Amarillo, TX (in the Texas panhandle) and then follow Rte 66 across OK. Near Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon State Park, so I made a reservation to stay there for the night.
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| I guess it's healing OK |
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| Cadillac Ranch. The first Rte 66 stop on this current road trip |
Palo Duro Canyon |
| Palo Duro Canyon from the Visitor Center. It is supposedly the 2nd largest canyon in the US (after the Grand Canyon), but it's certainly not very deep. It is hard to compare this to the Grand Canyon |
There was a couple arriving when I was in the visitor center and they said they were there for three days. I felt terrible for them since the next day was supposed to be in the mid 80s and then get close to 100 for the next two days. I was thankful to be only staying one day.
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| I never knew this was where these sayings came from |
I decided to do the Lighthouse trail after arriving because it was fairly cool and cloudy. The next morning was going to be full sun and I didn't want to have to rush to the trail, because you know me - I'm a slug in the morning! I also know that the rangers tell everyone to go in the morning, so I figured I'd have fewer fellow hikers. I'm really glad I did. This is a 6 mile hike, which is long for what I usually do these days so I'm glad the sun wasn't baking me - or in the van.
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| They take drinking water very seriously! |
3/24 - Zoe and I went for a morning walk, but I didn't go on any hikes. I was going to do a short one, but after I showered it was getting late and I had a biggish drive planned for the day. Last night it seemed that many people were showering and someone said there wasn't much hot water, so I was a bit nervous, but I had plenty of hot water and it was a good shower!
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| Interesting rock all on it's own |
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| Leaning water tower along Rte 66 |
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| Some old barns |
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| McClean, TX. Why were there so many service stations on Rte 66? That seems to be the most iconic structure, maybe along with restaurants. |
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| I went to this Devil's Rope museum in McClean, TX. It was really interesting. |
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| They had an exhibit on the dust bowl as this area was in the middle of it. I don't think I realized just how terrible the dust storms were! |
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| This "Gator Board" was nailed down on railroad ties between the rails to prevent cattle from crossing. |
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| By 1893, the use of wire fences had become common, but there were people who didn't take kindly to this and would go and cut miles of fences. |
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| Fence maker machine |
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| barbed wire sculptures |
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| barbed wire hat sculpture. Impressive! |
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| Walking around |
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| Poor girl was hot! |
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| It's unfortunate, but this town (still McClean) was deserted. Not a single business in the center of town. The woman at the museum said that when I-40 was built, all the traffic passed by the town instead of driving on Rte 66 thru the town. She said there were hotels on practically every corner. Progress... |
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| Tower Building - a Rte 66 icon, still a restaurant. |
A new state for me! I don't think I've ever been to Oklahoma before.
I had planned to go to a Rte 66 museum along the way in Clinton, but they close at 5. With the long days now, I feel like I have tons of time, but that's not so for businesses that close so early! Bummer.
3/25 - I stayed at a BW in Weatherford, OK. Very nice people. When I woke in the AM, I realized I was hearing Cardinals and finches and it reminded me of home. When did I cross over into the land of trees? I hadn't even noticed while I was driving.
I decided to go to Lucille's diner in the morning (too late for breakfast though... 😕
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| Meatloaf, onion rings, and macaroni and cheese. Onions are vegetables! |
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| The original Lucille's |
El Reno, OK
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| Cool round barn. Roof is very different from the ones I've seen in VT. |
Stroud, OK
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| Retro ATM sign |
Heading to Tulsa to another BW stay with lovely owners. It was a nice spot in the shade (93 degrees today!). I've been super grateful for my AC today!
3/26 - I took a walk on my own in the neighborhood as the blocks were long and it was already hot. There's no way Zoe could have made it. I barely did! Found a tick on me. I think it was just a dog tick and it wasn't attached long, so no biggie, but GROSS!
I had requested another night stay at the BW, as it was super windy again, but in the end, I decided to head north as the wind was from the south. First we went into Tulsa and I took a walk along the river and at The Gathering Place, which is pretty cool. A wonderful place for kids!
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| Arkansas River |
The Gathering Place
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| Slides |
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| Boathouse |
And into Kansas! Another new state for me. The drive had been hard! Much of the time I was heading N or NE, but sometimes I was going East and it was a S/SW wind gusting to over 40 mph, which is A LOT with a high profile van like Big Bertha. My hands were so tired from gripping the wheel, so I was super happy to arrive in Baxter Springs, KS where I was going to stay at the county campground there.
3/27 - nice little campground and it even provided water and electricity for only $15/night. I ended up staying a 2nd night because the next day I was going to the No Kings protest in Joplin, MO and this was only 20 minutes away.
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| I enjoyed a short swing, but Zoe kept getting in my way... |
Walk around Baxter Springs, KS. This is along Rte 66.
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| Grabbed a bite here with Jason |
While I was walking around town, Jason, who I had met at City of Rocks in NM, appeared. He had seen my van and figured I was somewhere around. He's from NJ and traveling on his own as his wife didn't want to go on this trip. He joined me at Bricks and Brews for some pizza. Nice guy, but does not stop talking AND interrupts all the time! I'm sure he's lonely being out on his own. He ended up camping next to me and invited me to hang out with him, but I begged off.
It was going to be in the 30s overnight and since I had electric, I decided to plug in so I could use my space heater if need be and not have to worry about wearing down my batteries.
3/28 - In the morning, Jason joined me and Zoe for a walk, which didn't please me... I like my relaxing, somewhat meditative morning walks with my girl. I almost asked him to give it a break, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Off to the No Kings Protest in Joplin, MO, but I'll start that in another post!
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