An Enchanting Taos Hideaway in the Carson National Forest

This is the most soul-healing, peaceful, relaxing, put-a-smile-back-on-your-face destination imaginable!

"A truly great structure, one that stands the tests of time, never disregards its environment. A serious architect takes that into account. He knows that if he wants presence, he must consult with nature. He must be captivated by the light. Always the light. Always..."
-From the 2006 movie, The Lake House

Impossibly Cool Digs...
One of the very first “earth ship” homes ever built in New Mexico. What is an earth ship? In a nutshell, an earth ship is a green, eco-friendly, energy efficient home. Essentially, half of the house is “bermed” into the earth in order to retain heat in the winter and cool in the summer. The entire front of the earth ship is a continuous wall of windows, so the wonderful ambient light (day and night) and our magnificent mountain scenery fills the entire home. In other words, it is as though the outside is actually part of the inside. There are no artificial city lights to pollute the night sky, so the stars are downright breathtaking even inside the house!

Our mountain retreat is undoubtedly one of the most unique, whimsical, eclectic, magical homes you will ever run across. The inside of our earth ship looks as though it was taken right out of the pages of Tolkien’s, “The Hobbit.” One of the many outstanding features of our house are its three, separate, Bilbo Baggins-style “bed caves.” These amazing bedrooms are cozy, beautifully sculpted, plastered, carpeted works of art.

Kids especially love this house! When they first enter the place, they run around wildly laughing and screaming with delight...

What really makes this funky little Hobbit house so special is its extremely private physical location and the magical forest that surrounds it. Our Earth Ship is nestled at the end of a MAGNIFICENT, PRIVATE, fir and aspen-lined meadow at an 8,200 foot elevation. Our 'back yard' is hundreds of thousands of acres of pristine National Forest! The only neighbors in view of the home are elk, deer, wild turkey and a million hummingbirds!!!

There is a private hiking/mountain bike/horseback/snow shoe trail right out of the back yard that accesses hundreds of miles of abandoned logging roads. The amazing part is that there’s not a soul back there aside from the very-rare hiker or mountain biker.

The bird watching here is simply incredible. Because we are in a transitional zone between high desert and sub-alpine ecosystems, we have an unparalleled mix of bird species. The combination of grassy meadow, Gambel oak, pine/fir and aspen ecosystems attract myriad species. From May through September, we have hundreds of hummingbirds (4 different species) visiting our twenty-some-odd feeders at any one time. There are so many hummingbirds on the feeders in the morning and evening that they will literally land on your fingers! The chicadees and two species of nuthatch are also trained to eat out of your hand(September-April)!

From late June through early September, the wild flowers are exceptional. There are literally hundreds of different species blooming throughout the summer months. Wild edible/medicinal plants are also abundant.

Wildlife is extremely plentiful. Quite often, you’ll see elk, mule deer, wild turkey, grouse, bobcat,fox and coyotes right in the yard!

We have several hundred yards of seasonal creek that runs through the gated, fifteen-acre property.

Our earth ship is an easy 12-minute ride into downtown Taos (and about 20-minutes to Angel Fire, 50-minutes to Taos Ski Valley and 50-minutes to Red River), yet you’ll feel like you’re a million miles from the nearest settlement.

This is the perfect place for peace, quiet and nature seeking families, artists, musicians, writers, hikers, experienced mountain bikers (you can access the South Boundary trail from our private trail into the Forest), bird lovers, nature photographers, snow shoe and cross country ski buffs or just anyone looking for an extremely-private location in Taos to completely escape from reality!

Three bedrooms (queen-sized beds in each bedroom) with an additional futon in the loft/television area.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE VACATION RENTAL -- THIS IS TRULY AN ADVENTURE!!!!

*The open air arrangement of the three separate bedrooms does not allow a great deal of privacy, so you’ll need to be comfortable with the folks you’re staying with. All the bedrooms are up a small flight of stairs, so this is not an ideal rental for handicapped folks.

** Excluding the bathroom, this home is heated in the winter exclusively by passive solar and wood stoves (ample firewood and kindling are supplied at no extra charge). The house is extremely comfortable in the daytime, but really cools down at night in the winter after the fires go out (November through March). It’s quite cool in the middle of the night and especially in the morning before the wood stoves get the temperature back up. If you are unable or unwilling to use the wood stoves or are uncomfortable waking up in cool temperatures, this is not an ideal winter rental for you -- you're better off coming between May and October!!!

***Although we keep the driveway plowed at all times, renters must have all-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicles from November through March.

****Because of the layout, stairs and wood stoves this is not an ideal booking for people with toddlers, elderly or disabled folks in their party.

Also, check out our Santa Fe VRBO rental #74169. We book combination Santa Fe/Taos rentals if you're interested!

Keywords: House