Personal Adventure Blog and Professional Portfolio
My two week adventure to Austin started with a stop at the Monolithic Dome Institute’s Dome Research Park in Italy, Texas.
As a kid, I would always travel by Bruco, the giant dome caterpillar, on our family trips to visit my grandparents before they lost their home to one of the Texas fires several years ago. So this was the first time I actually pulled off the highway and took a look at the actual domes and houses that made up this unique dome community!
Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post
I spent the majority of Tuesday driving from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Lubbock, Texas, where I went to college at Texas Tech University – and stayed with college friends, Kelly Kingston and Sidne Smith, in their downtown bachelorette loft!
This is a view of downtown Lubbock, and yes, there are high-rise buildings in West Texas!
Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post
After the The Greater World Earthship Community, I traveled to the other side of Taos to visit Valverde Commons.
“Valverde Commons was conceived as an active adult CoHousing community in 2006 and developed from pastureland starting in 2011. Currently there are 22 energy efficient houses with 6 additional ones expected by 2023. Thirty four people live in the community as of 2018. The community is located in the heart of Taos, New Mexico and a short walk from the historic Taos Plaza.
The individual homes are clustered on 10 acres surrounding an almost 4 acre common green space, plus an adjacent 10 acre park with walking paths and gardens.
Our beautiful common house has a full kitchen, large meeting room, library, and laundry facilities. It is frequently used for group dining, parties, meetings, classes, and entertainment. The common house has rooftop solar energy to promote sustainability. We also have a barn building for communal garden tools, tractor, and garden carts. The barn also includes a complete professional wood working shop and other studio facilities.” – Valverde Commons FIC Profile
Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post
I left Valverde Commons late in the afternoon, with enough time to get back to the Commons on the Alameda and eat dinner with the community – OR – check out Meow Wolf, an interactive art exhibit, which I stumbled across the day before. (I didn’t regret my choice!)
“Meow Wolf is a Santa Fe, New Mexico based arts and entertainment group that established in 2008 as an art collective and is rapidly growing into a leader in the immersive art world.
Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post
After driving through the forested high mountains of New Mexico coming from the Hummingbird Community, I traveled through the desert prairie plains to The Greater World Earthship Community.
Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post
I left the Commons on the Alameda that morning and drove into the high mountains of New Mexico to visit the Hummingbird Community, also known as the Hummingbird Transformational Living Center.
“Nestled in a valley among the Aspens, Cottonwoods, and Ponderosa Pines in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, rests a 500-acre ranch that is home to a 20-person residential Hummingbird Community.