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1(888)TAOS-HOUSE OR 1(888)826-7468 The toll-free telephone number for all of your Taos real estate needs. |
John Kejr, Associate Broker | |
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My Listings
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West of the GorgeThose looking for solitude will find it in this very sparsely populated region. Here you find "big sky" views of distant snowcapped mountains with lower isolated extinct volcanic hills dotting the center of the valley, surrounded by a sea of sagebrush. The chasm of the Rio Grande Gorge and surrounding mountains and canyons isolated this region for centuries until the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge opened in 1965. Lack of significant infrastructure such as utilities, distance from employment centers, scarce water, and public ownership of a majority of the land have kept this large area as one of the least populated areas of the lower 48 United States. This is a major center of off-grid living where homes such as earthships (see my TaosEarthships.com website for more information on these fascinating homes) harvest their own electricity, water, and climate control from sun, sky, and earth. The Rio Grande Gorge marks the east boundary, and crest of the San Juan Mountains - west of US 285 marks the western boundary - including some properties just over the Rio Arriba County Line. About the only area west of this zone not within Taos County is Ojo Caliente at the far southwestern western tip of the county. One odd feature of this zone is the fact that it contains the majority of the lots privately owned in Taos County. Over 30,000 quarter-acre lots were sold here in the 1970's and 1980's as investments or given away as door prizes at World's Fairs to people who had no understanding of the property. These lots fall in obsolete subdivisions such as Carson Estates, Rancheros de Taos, and Tres Piedras Estates. Most of these lots are worthless in that they lack clear title, utilities, and access via passable roads. Ramshackle shacks, junk yards, pig farms and old busses occupy some of these lots, but most are empty. Because of their minimal value and high liability, very few real estate brokers list these properties and place them in the multiple listing service. The few properties that are placed are typically those where some or all of the problems that made them unsaleable have been resolved. Boundaries between the zones of this huge region are undefined with many properties crossing over any attempts to mark lines - often by many miles. Anything very far south in this zone should be firmly listed in Carson, US 285 north of US 64, and 64 west of 285 is always Tres Piedras. Greater World is always West Gorge Bridge. Other areas are much less consistent and could be placed in multiple zones.
Carson (10A)An old abandoned lava rock school house on NM 567 and a few surrounding structures mark location of the original center of the hamlet of Carson but the modern center of the community lies about 2 miles to the west where a tiny post office and the Poco Loco convenience store provide the area's only services. The undefined boundary between the this zone and the West Gorge Bridge zone sits on the Carson Rim Road. Anything on or accessed from NM 567 is definitely Carson. The boundary with the Tres Piedras zone is somewhere on US 285 north of the intersection of NM 567, but is undefined other than it lies somewhere south of the Servilleta Subdivision. Tres Piedras (46A)The community of Tres Piedras sits at the junction of US 285 and US 64 surrounded by some intriguing granite monoliths and ponderosa pines. The boundaries of the zone extend far beyond the community, but are undefined. The post office considers everything west of the Gorge Bridge as Tres Piedras. I draw the line between the two communities as just west of the turnoff for the Cielto Linda Subdivision by Mile Marker 345, but you will find some properties listed in this zone far to the east - almost to the Gorge Bridge. It extends west to the San Juan Mountain pass summit, south to include the Servilleta Subdivision.
West Gorge Brdg (53B)As Taos County's most impressive manmade landmark, the Gorge Bridge marks the transition point between the sparsely populated lands of western Taos County, and the more settled area to the east. The other boundaries are much less defined. The fact that this zone has the easiest access to Taos, causes some listings that should be in Tres Piedras or Carson to be incorrectly listed here. This area includes the communities of the Greater World Earthship Community, Two Peaks, Three Peaks, and the subdivision of Cielito Lindo (and Cielito Azul, and Cielo Grande). The John Dunn Bridge - west of Arroyo Hondo - provides another entrance to this zone. The properties immediately west of the John Dunn Bridge extending up county road B-121 along the west rim of the Rio Grande Gorge also sit in this zone.
Information Request FormSelect the items that apply, and then let John know how to contact you. |
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| Dreamcatcher Real Estate, Inc. 515 Gusdorf Rd., Suite 2, Taos, NM 87571 (575)758-3606 | Licensed in the State of New Mexico |
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