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Thank you for the relaxing environment. You have fit into
this breathtaking land. You have done a wonderful job
keeping such an ecologically sound business!
– C&L
Tacoma, Washington
…an inspiration to sustainable-living advocates
everywhere. Well done! Your B&B is an oasis.
– David
Wenatchee, Washington
This has been for us the “find of the last many
years” … we really appreciate your attention
to energy conservation, resource efficiency and in general,
your respect for our planet. We deeply share those values
and admire your ability to live them!
– Dale & Paula
Tucson, Arizona
What a wonderful place you have created here. I hope to
emulate it some day, with straw bales, plaster, radiant
floor heating, integral color concrete floors, solar water
heater, and on and on and on…. Thanks for sharing
your life with us “city folk”.
– Debbie & Joe
Scottsdale, Arizona
… We have enjoyed your comfortable, strawbale home
which was so thoughtfully designed & constructed to
be part of this natural environment. It’s been fun
to watch the myriad of colorful birds come & go and
to be visited by skunk & javelina during our brief
stay.
– Beth & David
Evantson, Illinois
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Newly constructed and completed in 1999, the guest house
was designed for maximum thermal efficiency and energy
conservation. The design is "passive solar",
to retain the sun's heat in the winter and provide "coolness"
during the summer. This is achieved through orientation
of the building to the south and careful calculations
of window glazing ratios, roof overhangs for summer
shading and insulation. The 2 foot thick, solid walls
are made of straw-bales pinned with rebar, wrapped in
remesh, quilted with wire, sprayed with 2.5" of
gunnite (dry cement mix) and expertly plastered to a
smooth finish on the inside.
All water is heated from solar collection heat
exchange panels on the roof. This system is backed
up by an instantaneous, ‘on demand’
water heater to provide unlimited hot water. Additionally,
rain water is harvested from the metal roof and
stored in 3 large cisterns with a capacity of
1600 gal each, for a total of 4800 gallons. All
appliances were purchased for their
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maximum energy efficiency, and we are probably one of
the only inns in the entire country with no dryer. All
laundry is "solar" dried on clothes-lines in
the Arizona sun, guests love the fresh smell.
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Many berms and swales were constructed to prevent
erosion and to help to build better soil, and have
since ‘weathered in’ with new vegetation
to blend in with the natural landscape. All gardens,
impacted areas, |
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driveways, etc are landscaped on contour to maximally
retain water during rain and to prevent erosion while
assisting the water to quickly penetrate as groundwater.
Native, drought resistant plants next to the guest
house attract butterflies and hummingbirds and
are all deer and rabbit resistant. These plants
are adapted to the area, require no special care,
and no fertilizers or herbicides as they are indigenous
to the high desert.
"Graywater" from the baths and showers
of the hosts residence goes to a worm composting
system.
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