Day 9: Milagro

Following our Earthship adventure, we headed to Tucson (or as Haley likes to say: Tuscon), Arizona to visit Milagro co-housing. This is a beautiful 48 acre property near the desert mountains, consisting of 28 family homes, fruit trees, flower gardens, lots of local birds, and a family of four we were lucky enough to mingle with. Lydia, Brian, Maia, and Clara are a wonderful family residing at Milagro who were able to give us the grand tour and answer many of our beating questions quite eloquently. We were able to learn a lot from them, including the meaning behind "milagro", which is the Spanish word for miracle, which perfectly describes the raise of this community. Also, that Quail are a great substitute for often loud chickens. Quail eggs contain twice as much protein as chicken eggs at half the size, and we were able to eat eggs they shared with us this morning: DELISH! Thanks Maia!

In addition, we were able to see the great benefit of co-housing for children. There's a large aspect of safety for the kids to play together, as well as a great support system for parents in the community. The neighbors enjoy taking the kids under their wings, where the kids are able to learn many trade skills as well as having a great place to fundraise for programs they're associated with. While talking to Maia and Clara, we wondered if they're learning anything about climate change in school. In response: they aren't learning about climate change and its effects in school but in fact, they are learning this within the community! Maia was very knowledgeable about birds and the effects climate change has on them and their habitats.

After our great time at Milagro, we headed to a local coffee shop in downtown Tucson called "Epic Cafe" (quite epically good caffeine stimulation here), where we updated the blog and contacted future communities we are scheduled to visit. Today we plan on hitting the town/local parks to get some rouge interviews and find out what the locals have to say about the past and future "American Dream". Tomorrow we are very excited to hit the road towards Tumacacori, Arizona to visit Avalon Organic Gardens and Ecovillage. See you soon!

Milagro Welcomes you

Beautiful Maia holding a beautiful Quail

One of the play places

Pool side

The grand tour (MTV style)

Community meeting rules (held every first Sunday)

Cheesin' hard 'cause I got a basket full of eggs and a pocket full of flowers #Earthling