Earthship Visitor Center — Local services in Four Corners States

We arrived in April and someone was charging admission to the Visitor Center even though there was some issue and nothing was available to be toured, making the trip a waste. I don't think it merited charging anything but more tourists came in after us: it's just a tiny gift shop in the middle of nowhere that charges entry and offers nothing more life-changing than a rest room. Someone who didn't know what they were talking about persuaded us to visit this place. As a person who follows solar and wind developments and has a serious interest in sustainable living and recycling, I thought this would be inspiring. Oh, no... outside of the gift shop, you're not allowed to visit any of the homes or even walk down the streets, all of which are cordoned off with gates and No Trespass signs. The rammed earth construction - the tiny area one can look at anyway - is falling apart, as is the reused bottle decor. I guess, if you build with trash, it eventually starts looking like trash again. The gift shop (sorry: "Visitor Center") has attached to it a moldering tiny greenhouse that will really underscore the mistake you made in visiting this place. I think they do try to provide some education about their gray water reuse system, but it doesn't justify charging admission. We saw no solar in action, and the one windmill looked to be entirely decorative. Indeed, we had to trespass to go look at it. The ticket taker also made some noise about pools of tilapia only to let us know all the tilapia were long dead and the pools were now full of goldfish. Honest, guys, you can order breeding pairs of tilapia on the Internet, so fix that, huh? Perfectly nice...

i wanted to stay in one of the Earthships and booked one on Airbnb with a host called Dan. When I messaged him that I had a service dog I received a nasty email demanding I send proof that it is a service dog or I have to pay $50. Asking for this is a violation of my rights and against the law. I carry the paperwork with me as there are many ignorant people in the world, but I instead contacted Airbnb and requested they send him a copy of their service animal policy. They must have because he cancelled my stay a few weeks before I was supposed to arrive. Since I live in Vermont this was planned for months. Needless to say I had to find another place to stay. I visited the Earthship Biotecture and found you can't see any of the Earthships unless there is a vacant rental. There are no trespassing signs preventing you from going past the Biotecture. There was an $8 charge to walk around the visitor's center and you were given a page of information about the Earthship construction. All of which is available online for free. There was a charge for everything including a business card. I didn't feel welcome while there and would never want to be part of a community of people that are so unwelcoming. You can see Earthships all over the country and most of the people that have created them are glad to have you come visit and they love talking about their homes. They also don't charge you for information that is already free...

I've delayed writing a review for two months- out of pure denial that I've come back home. All the articles I read, all the videos I watched, all the dreaming of what it might be like to see these inspiring buildings in person- none of that truly prepared me for the mixture of awe, respect, wonder, admiration, (and maybe a tad more jealousy than I'd like to admit) that I experienced seeing these homes in person, and even more so in meeting the people there! The collective consciousness-the "vibe" if you will, whatever term is preferred, is contagious. Everyone really seemed to have a clear grip on what the priorities in life should be. Everyone was extremely knowledgeable on the sciences that make the earthships, well, earthships. An overwhelming wave of motivation has crashed into my life, making me realize what I really want to create my life into, how much I want to inspire others to see how life can be reimagined, and above all how my priorities should be realigned. THANK YOU Earthship Biotecture, for being the catalyst I needed to make my life feel truly mine. I cannot fully express how hopeful I look to the future, to the time in my life where I can learn from the best how to build an earthship for my own family. Until then, I'll be dreaming of going back again! - Ciara...