THE LOT * 10 beautiful acres with many - healthy - pine and pinon trees, interspersed with shrub oak and juniper * year around safe access on gravelled and maintained roads * locked-gate privacy and safety for the whole neighborhood [meaning the other 7 households I share 3000 acres of rolling hills, canyons, chama river frontage and forest with] * near El Vado Lake State Park and Wildlife Preserve * at the head of the Chama River Wilderness, a 23 mile stretch of virgin river only accessible by raft or canoe * a 45 minute hike from the 'secret' Chama river hotsprings [which - outside the rafting season - must be the least visited hotsprings in new mexico...] * great for hunting, fishing and riding... the trails start right outside the house... * the lot has been extensively landscaped ; in addition to a walled in back yard and a trout pond [well, there is a trout in it...] fed by rainwater there are more gardens and planters as well as extensive rock work * all gardens have been constructed to require a minimum of irrigation and have been planted with hardy fruittrees and berries as well as many medicinal plants such as echinecea, valerian, feverfew and so on, and also foods such as potatos, jerusalem artichokes, horseradish, comfrey and others suitable to grow at this altitude [7000 feet] * in addition to rainwater catchment off 6000 sqare feet of roof surface there is a strong 300 foot well hooked up to a 3000 gallon galvanized storage tank * there is - miracle over miracle - a phoneline to the house. the powerlines are about 1000 feet away, but I never hooked up to the grid. * electrical power is supplied to the house by a reliable photovoltaic system backed by a windgenerator. A 5000 watt honda generator is also installed. THE HOUSE * The house and the adjacent greenhouses and shops form a compound of 4200 square feet of enclosed space with a total of 186 linear feet of southfacing glazing. * a separate 400 square foot building houses the batteries and solar-electric gear, the well, the 3000 gallon storage tank and plenty of greenhouse space. * a few miscellaneous woodsheds, chickencoops and utilitiy buildings are incorporated and drain into a 150 ft. raised planter/windbreak full of fruit-trees * the house part [roughly 1500 sq. ft.] is heavily insulated, passive solar heated with woodstove and propane heater backup. I have never needed more than half a cord of wood for the winter, and often less... the space inside is mostly open, with the exception of 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms as well as a pantry. The floors are either hardwood or flagstone, the walls adobe as well as strawbale and poured pumicecrete. Aspen and pine boards are used in the ceiling. * 99% of the domestic hot water needs are supplied by a simple, extremely reliable solar hot water system. The remaining one percent is covered by a wood-fired backup heater. Propane is used for cooking only, and my average propane bill is 5 to 7 $ per month [ i barely ever see a need to run one of my propane heaters in the winter, since there is plenty of firewood in my back yard...] * there is a 150-gallon dinking water system which uses triple-filtered rainwater. [ the well water is good for the area, but still somewhat hard] * The house space is surrounded by 'temperate climate zones' such as sunrooms, greenhouses and shops totalling 3000 sq.ft. * The shops are accessible through gates measuring 8.5 x 8.5 ft and 12 x 8.5 ft, respectively * Due to the solar design, the shops are comfortably warm on the coldest days of winter. There is plenty of space set aside along the south face for planters. * Over 1000 sq.ft. of greenhouse space; some produces tomatoes, peppers, greens and herbs year-round, others from february til november [with no supplemental heat] *************************************************************************** THIS IS A BONA FIDE SAVE-THE-WALES, ECOLOGICALLY SOUND HOUSE. IT IS NOT A VACATION HOME [UNLESS YOU EMPLOY A CARETAKER]. IT IS A HOME FOR PEOPLE WHO ENJOY GROWING THEIR OWN FOOD, HARVESTING THEIR OWN ELECTRICITY, RAISING POULTRY AND LIVING HEALTHY WHILE LEAVING NEXT TO NO ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ON THEIR ENVIRONMENT. Back to Photo Gallery