We rang the bell at Black Range Lodge, and Cathy Wanek answered and eventually appeared, but seemed nonplussed by our appearance on her doorstep.
Cathy runs Strawbale Central in Kingston, according to the Steens. The Steens had pointed us to their friends Tom and Satomi, who live next door, but as they weren't home we decided to look in on Cathy's operation, who, it turns out, is a networker extraordinaire in the green building world.
She'd moved to Kingston in 1984 and started with permaculture, planting some orchards. Then in 1992 she built her first straw bale building - and was hooked. She published several books and is very on top of who is doing what in both the US and Europe. Her background was as an Assistant Director making movies -- and the lodge was their studio at first. But their films didn't make it, and they turned the lodge into a B&B. She made films about the straw bale process (a 3-part video is for sale) and started giving courses, then publishing books.
She's divorced now, but her husband sounds like he was an Initiator -- starting projects he never got around to finishing. So she's finishing off projects now, and has started some of her own (like the wall to divert run-off from the kitchen). There was a fire a couple years ago which destroyed the workshops (hence the new building we were shown) -- which it sounds as though her husband's (and other's) carelessness had a role in. Not that she said so explicitly, just that she'd 'taken on direct oversight of more things personally' since the fire.
Dave Farrell, a local artist, was there when we arrived, dropping by for some straw bales for his project in T or C staring tomorrow, and to look in on Cathy's mother Betty. Betty lives in a straw bale house Cathy built, and Cathy suggested we join Dave and have a look at the house.
Betty was cooking up plum preserves and the place smelled heavenly. Bill, the carpenter who'd done all the kitchen cabinets, the wood ceilings, bookshelves etc happened to be passing through. We were shown around the spacious one-bedroom, admiring Bill's woodwork and Dave's painting on the wall. Dave took the dimensions of the wall he was being commissioned to paint / sculpt / decorate and made a sketch of the existing faux-bamboo (sculpted out of adobe) reliefs.
We took our leave from Betty and Dave took his leave from us, but not before offering us a roof over our heads for the night (that of his 'School of Art' in Hillsboro), as the monsoon clouds were gathering overhead.
We found Cathy behind the lodge with some visitors who soon departed, and she kindly -- and with surprising enthusiasm given her initial lukewarm reception -- showed us around the property.
The newest building -- though taken for a relic of Kingston's mining days by stray tourists driving past -- is the workshop, started in February and substantially complete but for the finishing of the floor and ceiling (and addition of furnishings and appliances). Behind is a water catchment tub salvaged from a malt plant, which will be hooked up to the gutter. The windows are positioned to catch cross currents and hence ventilate; the north facing windows don't open, for example, since they're not on the ventilation 'route'. You can see on the outside that the West face of the building is more weathered -- more straw is showing as the coating of plaster has washed off -- as West is where the winds (and rain) come from.
There's a cute wood shed next door, with embedded pottery and glass, as well as wood wedges -- the 'masterly' addition of Rob Ray?
Up the slope is an eco lodge, more fanciful, with sculpted walls. It also has a built-in solar oven. And there's an outdoor shower, hooked up to a water tank painted black and boxed in under glass so as to maximize heat retention.
Just below that is a sandbag cylindrical hut, which has been excavated to the frost line (18-28 inches below the surface) so as to maintain a maximum temperature of 65F, which will serve as a cool box for vegetables and fruit.
From there we entered the lodge building -- more specifically, the greenhouse addition Cathy had built onto it.
And lastly, we were shown the tavertine mosaic-ed shower under construction in the lodge.
After which we hung out in the lodge lobby and jotted down book titles and the names and phone numbers of people Cathy had mentioned over the course of her 'tour', and who she encouraged us to look up in Santa Fe and Taos (and Moab). She seemed to have thoroughly warmed to us, and even asked Wren if she had some photos of Malian mud architecture Cathy could use in her upcoming book.
All in all we spent about 3hrs visiting, and parted with 'namastes'.
It was raining as we left Cathy's so we took Dave up on his offer of Schoolhouse shelter. We drove up to the 0ld Pump House and met Barbara grading art papers and watching the Emmy's -- George Clooney was just getting the Bob Hope Award.
Dave showed us down to the Schoolhouse and rummaged around for a lamp before going next door to cactus-man Jim's in his trailer home for a light bulb.
We had a picnic dinner of fresh fresh tomatoes, and avocado, peanut butter and pistachios, to a soundtrack of cool jazz from Dave's studio stereo where I could only get the cassette (!) recorder to work. Then we pitched our tent inside the studio, having seen one roach and one spider (black widow?) and too many mosquitoes for comfort.
++++++
Sunny Flat campground. Stunning valley between red rocks, like further north. Plus river and woods. Camped on pedestal in spot #7. Some fruit and leftover burrito for breakfast. / Short hike up to Vista Point. Examined the leaves piled 'vertically' by the now dry river; mushrooms; termite patterned dead trunks; spider webs. Nice panoramic view over the valley at the top. / 80?N to Lordsburg. Straight straight road (you'd think the Romans had been here), plain with some brand of cacti on either side, mountains in the distance, fantastic billowy clouds in big big sky. Was fading after only 30 miles and handed over to Wren. Napped soundly. Awoke at Lordsburg (nothing doing) and in Deming we stopped for a Sonic Burger (a drive-in -- not thru -- burger chain I'd never seen before Arizona, with servers -- all girls -- on roller skates). Called Sumitomi? to communicate our arrival but got vmail.
North on 26 then 27 -- hills encroaching more closely on the road, adding dips and crests and curves to the drive (me driving, Wren napping now).
Arrived in Hillsboro about 2.45pm and enquired at the only cafe open about Cathy Waller's? strawbale place only to be pointed 9 miles further down the road to Kingston?.
Rang Tom & Satomi's bell and then went next door to Cathy's. (Continue above...)
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