We are at the end of the original route of the Santa Fe Trail and will now venture to Taos.

Jerry leads us past the Trail!

Dinner at  Taos Mesa Brewing had direction, as they say, but the direction was a bit spicier that I like.  I sampled their brewed Root Beer but still rate the Steelhead brand from Alaska as the best tasted thus far. The live entertainment was great but missing ‘Big Bang Theory” did make it a bit less enjoyable. After dinner we returned to our quaint hotel, lit a fire and relaxed for the night.

 The steak sandwich had abundant direction, heat!

Just outside Taos we found the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge that spans 565 feet above the Rio Grande and is the 7th highest ridge in the Unite States. This is a bridge that is not visible until you are almost driving over because of its remote location. This bridge has wide sidewalks on each side with observation decks. What really struck us was that there are suicide call boxes on the beginning of each sidewalk, at each observation point and along the walk way. This bridge is in a remote area and has many suicides. 

A mile from the bridge is Earthship Biotecture, a village of 75 homes that are totally self sufficient. The walls are made of tires packed tight with dirt, stacked and then covered with adobe. To take up space between the tires cans and bottles are stacked and sometimes bottle bottoms are left visible for a decorative look. The homes recycle water three times before it goes to the septic system. The first time is for cooking, drinking, and showers then it is used to water the plants in the greenhouse, finally it is the water flushed in the toilet before it enters the septic tank., The homes are floor to ceiling windows on one side and this is used for the solar heat. Each home also has a small windmill that charges the batteries that create the electricity. The homes were scattered around a reclaimed quarry so the land was very inexpensive but the setting in-between the mountains was an amazing view.