I Know What I Did Last Summer, Final Chapter

If you look up Taos, New Mexico on the internet, it’s nearly impossible to find a picture of the town. Before we went there I imagined that it didn’t have much of a downtown or it was ugly. It was neither. It has a lovely plaza area but, aside from the adobe, there is not a standout building or landmark. Kit Carson’s house is still there just off of the plaza. He was the famed Indian murderer and apparently quite good at it. So if you want to celebrate Indian murders, you can go there. There are however lots of nice shops, many with original art and gifts etc.
The city rests on a high plateau, almost 7000 ft. I found myself running out of breath at times. I thought I must really be getting old until I remembered that I didn’t have that problem in Seattle. The surrounding high desert is quite beautiful. You feel like you have never seen as clear before.
We stayed, for change, in a sort of hippie B & B. You know a hippie B & B by the shrine to Jerry Garcia. It had three foot thick adobe walls, timber-beam ceilings, a hot tub and a greenhouse affair. It also had a great selection of music and movies. The proprietress gave healings on the side. I didn't have anything that needed healing, so I passed.
Along those lines, we went out a few miles out of town to get a tour of some earth ships. You heard right. These are houses built in such a way that they are completely off the grid. They generate their own power by way of solar and wind. They process their saved water so that the water gets used four times. First for drinking, then for washing, then for the plants then for the toilet and then to a special septic tank. Something like that.
There is a community of about 40 of these houses, eventually to be 130. They are an interesting combination of hippie pragmatic idealism and modern technology. We were impressed. Search earthship if you’re interested.
Back in town we found the best chili relleno I’ve had in years. The chili filled the plate with the stem hanging over the edge. It was great. I asked the proprietor how he did it. He said that one difference was that he used local chilis. Then, he cooked them from scratch. He said most restaurants, even some of the better ones, purchase the dish frozen and there is no way to get the freashness and the crunch when it’s been frozen. Our first clue when we went in was the name of the place: “Relleno’s”.
We left for the Albuquerque (see if you can spell that without looking) airport. Had some time to kill. Went to the old town and found the greatest selection of geegaws, knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, trifles, trinkets and what-have-yous in the world. I now own 47 dreamcatchers, 12 sad-indians-on-horesbacks and 7 purple mesas on black velvet. I am one lucky man. (And I’ve already caught some dreams)
When we got home to Seattle, it was raining.