Enchantment

Made a weekend jouney down the hill to Taos, New Mexico, which is only 7000 feet above sea level, a welcome relief from the 8000 feet in Snowmass (just kidding). Stopped on the way into town at the Earthship Visitor Center, which has a community of 50 earthships, all off the grid, just north of Taos. Now I want to build an earthship. If you ever get a chance to visit, do. It is absolutely amazing!

The other amazing thing about Taos is that it is the home of my IONS wizzard friend, Ken Ebert. No, we'd never met except in cyberspace, but it took all of five minutes to track him down, based solely on his job description. After Ken got off work, we met for dinner at the Guadalajara Grill, a short walk from our motel room and a short drive from Ken's house. Had a wonderful visit, and given Ken's predilection for the word, I've labeled the picture below the "Dos Compadres."


Today, Ken is heading up the hill on his day-off bike ride, and Wyn and I will visit Taos Pueblo, a Tewa Indian village that has been continuously inhabited since something like 1350. I also plan to visit an exhibit of DH Lawrence paintings in the Taos Hotel. Lawrence spent time here, among other notable authors.

And tomorrow morning, before we set off for the return run to Snowmass, we may look at some local real estate. Saw some very enticing foreclosures advertised in one of the free real estate mags. If we could pick up something and rent it out for awhile, it would give us just one more excuse to visit Taos again. Maybe Ken and I could start a new writer's colony down here in the land of enchantment.

By the way, since Ken is always writing about his shamanistic encounters with wildlife, I found it highly significant that we saw a wild bobcat just as we were leaving the ranch for the drive down south, and then came across a herd of mountain goats.