Take refuge at Casa Ojo! Explore Northern New Mexico in style from this private adobe house just 4 miles south of the famous Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs and exactly midway between Taos and Santa Fe. Casa Ojo is a great place for longer term remote work stays! We have superior Kit Carson fiber optic internet service. VERIZON wifi calling is available inside the house. Cellular service not yet covered by the wifi is not available and spotty outdoors, on the road and trails. There is a Roku smart TV. The fully quipped professional and modern country kitchen has a vintage drain board sink, Bosch fridge, electric range, compact microwave, Bodum coffee grinder and drip coffee carafe, and Vitamix blender. There are two cozy bedrooms with organic mattresses. The bathroom is boldly designed with black and white striped tile walls, a large rain shower head, a heated patterned tile floor, and a stacked washer and dryer. Like most properties in Ojo, the house is set down from the “Ojo Road”, the rural two lane highway to Southern Colorado. There will be the sound of intermittent daytime traffic, typical of a country road, but it is a quiet place, especially at night when it is about as dark and quiet as it can be. Access to the house is by a key pad code. I am always available through the Airbnb app. I will not be available on-site. The house is conveniently located on highway 285 just 4 miles south of the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs. The village of Ojo Caliente is in the Ojo River Valley at an altitude of approx. 6200 feet, and is a sparsely populated unincorporated rural farming community. In the old days most residents did not have indoor plumbing (most had outhouses) and used a hot spring pool reserved for the community at the mineral springs. On the way to the mineral springs there is a gas station and general store, a post office, rural health clinic and cemetery. Two churches and the volunteer fire department are on Los Banos Road on the way to the mineral springs. There are hiking biking, and walking trails at the mineral springs property. Hikes can be taken from behind the house through four acres of grassy pastures, across the Ojo River, and along arroyos and trails that lead to above the western cliffs (see photo from above the cliffs). At Casa Ojo there is a major irrigation ditch in the front of the house with a lateral ditch on the north side of the property for pasture irrigation. In the spring you will hear creek-like sounds of running water from the ditch. There are traditional adobe houses in view to the north and to the south. Carson National Forest land is on the east side of the highway and the eastern edge of BLM land is defined by the western cliffs. The pasture view behind the house looks west towards an acre of alfalfa and the red rock cliffs. Black cows graze on the acre in the fall. The setting is farm-like and pastural. It is very quiet and dark at night with no artificial light pollution and spectacular night time star viewing. Ojo is perfectly midway between Taos and Santa Fe, but more in sync with Taos energy with an easy and breathtakingly scenic 40 minute traffic-free drive to Taos through Carson National Forest and over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge (You may be the only car on the drive through Carson!). Santa Fe is a 50 minute drive to the South, passing through Española and San Juan and Santa Clara Pueblos. Grocery stores: Española has a Walmart Superstore and a quirky grocery store called Center Market with a surprising variety of foods with organic food options, and an interior with the original 1950’s signage and graphics. The best natural food store in the region is Cid’s in Taos - take a day trip to Taos for grocery shopping, to visit museums, and have breakfast, lunch or dinner. Bode's Store in Abiquiu has groceries, a cafe and wonderful gift shop. During spring and summer there are farmer’s markets in Taos, Abiquiu and Española. Restaurants and shops: Española has some of the best restaurants in Northern New Mexico - El Parasol, La Cocina, and Gabriel's. Make sure to stop in the Chimayo Trading Post in Española for jewelry, weavings, pottery and antiques. The gift shop at the Sanctuario De Chimayo is a treasure trove of religious artifacts, folk art and trinkets. My favorite restaurants in Taos are The Farmhouse Cafe, Manzanita Market and The Love Apple. The museums in Taos are outstanding including The Harwood Museum, Millicent Rogers Museum, Mabel Dodge Lujan House, and The Blumenschein House. The Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Artesian Bar and Restaurant, just 4 miles down the road, will become one of your favorite hangouts during your stay, as well as sitting on their long south-facing porch. The Abiquiu Inn has a great restaurant with outdoor seating and a gift shop. Also in Abiquiu is Bosshard antiques for high-end Southwestern antiques, furniture and rugs. Visit the cafe El Farolito in El Rito for an authentic New Mexican lunch on the way to Abiquiu. Most popular destinations such as Abiquiu, Georgia Okeefe's house and studio, Ghost Ranch Retreat Center hiking, Christ in the Desert Monastery, Rio Grande River rafting, and Los Luceros historic hacienda are easy day trips within a 26-50 mile radius from Casa Ojo. See casaojo dot com for detailed descriptions of nearby destinations and a special section on area hikes and trails. Casa Ojo is a completely renovated adobe house originally built in the 1950s that is part of a former farm compound that was in the same family for three generations. In addition to Casa Ojo, the compound includes two other structures - a 120 year old one bedroom adobe house and Casita Colores, a studio apartment attached to the west side of Casa Ojo.