Taos

Taos enters the narrative as a place of anticipated possibility rather than a destination shown in detail. For Linda May, it is a planned stop on the way to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous and the land she hopes to see near Douglas, Arizona; for LaVonne Ellis, it is the region of a possible future home base between trips on the road.

A planned stop for Linda May

Linda’s route west from Kentucky was meant to begin with Taos. She hoped to visit the Nautilus Earthship, one of her favorites, and speak with an architect about adapting its design to her own needs. From there, her itinerary would continue to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous and then to the desert near Douglas, where she intended to see her land. Taos therefore represents a practical stage in a larger project: learning from an existing design before pursuing a home of her own.

The route changes

The plan shifted outside Taos, when a Check Engine light appeared on Linda’s Jeep’s instrument panel and she heard that snowstorms were moving into the area. Concerned about breaking down in bad weather while crossing the mountains, she rearranged her itinerary and headed straight to Douglas. She reached it without incident, but her account makes clear that the intended Taos visit had been set aside. The episode places the limits of mobility alongside its promise: a route can be chosen, but a vehicle warning and weather can redirect it.

A possible home base

Taos also figures in LaVonne Ellis’s longer-range plans. After returning to Ehrenberg from a two-week stay at Standing Rock, she began imagining buying land near Taos and permanently parking an old school bus there. The proposed base would give her a place to inhabit between van trips, joining a settled home with continued movement. The book presents this as a developing dream, not a completed purchase or established residence; in both women’s stories, Taos marks a possibility still being approached.