Plateau Hame De Colquhoun is a family owned business. On top of a desert mesa overlooking the Rio Grande Valley. Ran totally off-grid using solar and generators to run any sound and lights needed for an event.
Our family had site managed, built other semi off-grid event centers for other businesses for many years. But our dream was to do something similar for ourselves. Our dream became a reality in 2020. We had been asked to come to New Mexico for the winter of 2019-20 and help clear, build an event center. During this time we saved all our money we could with hopes to make a down payment on a vacant piece of land in Minnesota.
But plans changed, we loved the New Mexico winter so much that we started looking for vacant land anywhere in New Mexico. when we came and looked at this piece of land we fell in love right away. The land was secluded, majestic, peaceful, raw, and a perfect place for our dream.. On January 3 2020 our dream started to become a reality. A dream of building a safe space that all are welcome. A place where you can find peace and relaxation (Dependent on mother nature) for a night, week or month, to be able to be yourself without fear of ridicule and judgement.
One of ore requirements when looking at land was that it be secluded, we wanted privacy, no issues with noise. This seclusion became our biggest fear, Will people be willing to travel the 11 miles of washboard dirt roads to be out in the middle of the desert. To test this we decided to try by opening a few sites for campers (at the time the land was untouched, no toilet, really rough road that was hard to get on to get in). To our surprise two days after posting we had a booking, a few days later we had yet another 7 day booking, and they kept coming. So we cleaned, mowed campsites, paths, built easier to travel road, compost toilet, and a communal firepit. This year we are working on finishing the community store front and a shower.
This is our 3rd year of campers. Each year we get more bookings and hope to continue to grow.
Last year we got to the point of opening the land for events. This has been a very scary jump for us. Some of the same questions we asked ourselves about campers. Will people come down these roads for unique event experiences?! The few events we held last year weren’t badly attended, those that did attend seemed to enjoy themselves.
April Fool’s Open Mic will be our first event this year. We have our fingers crossed that attendance will be better than last year.
The Nomad Gathering in the Desert is in May, this will be our first of such an event. The fear and anxiety are high for this one. There are so many questions: Will people show, will they like it, is the cost too high, is it too low, will we be able to cover costs, are we offering enough activities. Many of these are fears all hosts have. But especially for the first event, and at a place that is just starting out. A place many don’t know about, and some have fear that it’s a scam.
We try to ease fears by inviting individuals out, take a tour, talk with us, and hanging out. Come to the April Fool’s Open Mic which is free. We try to be as transparent as we can, it is what it is out here. Roads are passable for any vehicle (if you follow our directions and not GPS). Though the roads are washboards, dips. It’s really not bad for dirt roads, we’ve driven on interstates that are worse (umm I10).
I will cut this here. We wanted to share a little of our story. If you’d like to learn more visit our website, send us a DM, email or comment. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Image is of the new stage!
Plateau Hame De Colquhoun LLC 