PIE TOWN, N.M. — For travelers who are looking to really get away from it all, Desolation Resorts International (DRI) offers two-week to two-year tour packages at most of their very out-of-the-way properties. 

 

There is no television, no radio, no internet connectivity, no telephone or mobile phone service, no books, no newspapers or magazines, not even clocks or calendars to mark the passing of time. Electricity and running water are provided on limited schedules. 

 

For guests staying longer than 30 days, once-a-month day trips are offered occasionally to on-the-map locations such as a deserted forest service road, a played-out coal mine, a demolished nuclear missile silo, or a long-ago abandoned snowmobile dealership.

 

Besides its flagship resort here in Pie Town, destinations include Oymyakon (Russia), the Kerguelen Islands (France) Motuo County (China), Socotra Island (Yemen), Tristan da Cunha (Bitian) and Ittoqqortoormiit (Greenland).

 

Although a few guests who have stayed at DSI properties have complained that they would rather spend time in prison, most guests find the experience mind-clearing. Indeed, Erhart Verner, the founder of Support for Travelers, or EST, has high praise for DRI properties. “The two weeks I stayed in Oymyakon,” said Verner, “seemed more like two years."