Like many truly old creatures, our tree remains alive today due in part to good luck and the “dodging of bullets”. It sits just feet away from commercial forestland, and except for that, would long ago have become an anonymous part of some building. However, this good fortune had a considerable downside as the logging of trees to its west exposed it to high winter winds, making it very likely that, due to its size, it would eventually have become a “blow-down”. But good luck intervened again: long-time residents in the area tell us that in the 1960s, a storm blew out just the top of the tree, greatly reducing its wind-profile and thus its chances of blowing down.

We’ve cleared out a quiet little grove for folks to come and visit this venerable giant.
You don’t have to stay with us to be very welcome to stop by. It’s not a Sequoia, and, hence, will not utterly dwarf you with its size. However, the closer you get, the more you feel the looming presence of this impressive creature.

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Please join us in welcoming Marcy Schley, our new resident manager, who will be starting July 1, 2013. Marcy will be a familiar face to any of you who stayed with us in 1999-2000, as she was our principal housekeeper during those years. In 2000, Marcy moved to Wenatchee, where she eventually joined the staff of Wenatchee Valley College, rising to the position of one of their assistant Deans.

You may well ask “what the heck is she doing returning to the Manitou?”. Well, it seems that Marcy just loves innkeeping, and will be returning to the life for a couple of years while she pursues a Master’s Degree in the “The Flowering of Renaissance Literature in Firenze under the Medicis 1444-1553″. Truly fascinating stuff, way better than becoming an expert in the “Twilight” literary genre now so popular out this way, but you do need a backup plan

Naturally, just kidding about in the above paragraph. Marcy will in fact be pursuing an advanced degree while managing the lodge, but in a far more utilitarian discipline. We are delighted to have her back!

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A fully equipped 40′ RV (stationary -sorry, you won’t be able to drive-off) with queen bedroom, fold-out couch, bathroom with shower. Fully equipped kitchen and living area both expandable via slide-out, retractable awning, TV with VHS player, wireless internet connection. The RV site is close to the lodge, yet quite private and will include lawn chairs, picnic table, as well as its own firepit. Grocery-shop in Forks and prepare your own meals or request breakfast from us.

The RV will be available from Memorial Day weekend through approximately the end of September.

Currently not available for online booking.

Call Lynne at 360 640 4366 for details and pricing

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The Rainforests
“Paradise is a (cold) rainforest… Sword ferns and giant cabbage leaves were everywhere, in a plethora of luxuriant green shades. The bark of each tree was concealed under a mantle of velvety emerald moss. Labyrinthine draperies of lichen hung from the branches of western red cedars and hemlocks. Although I couldn’t see more than a few feet in each direction, I wasn’t claustrophobic… When the rain got heavy I took refuge in the hollowed-out trunk of a tree several hundred years old. From here I watched a Steller’s Jay land silently on a branch, its fabulous midnight blue clashing with the green background – the same bird first described by Meriwether Lewis(nope, Robert… they don’t call it “Steller’s Jay” for nothing – it was first described for science by Georg Steller during Vitus Bering’s Alaskan expedition in the 1740s) The mist, too, was a plus. In the forests of the Pacific Northwest the mist enhances and distills the quality of the landscape. Unlike the fog of the East, weighted with more heat and dirt, the fog here is a silken lacework, slipping over and falling off the hillsides, making their surfaces that more desirable… I found trees even wider than my car. Their trunks sparkled with moss, and their branches were cobwebbed with hanging lichen. The cool, sea-green dampness of the forest was delicious: a sort of glassy purity reigned. I felt as if I were walking on the bottom of an aquarium. The thin mist made the mountains look like reflections of themselves in smoky, sunlit glass. Looking at the spruces and other evergreens. I thought: These aren’t trees – they’re gods! No wonder totem poles became the principal means of artistic expression for then area’s native peoples.”

The Beaches
“I reached the beach, a hard-packed stretch of sand punctuated by black volcanic rock. I saw couples holding hands and people walking alone, deep in thought, but there were no crowds or even groups… Everyone was a lover of some sort – of nature, of solitude.”

The Mountains
“The Olympics are well named. They gather cloud formations as though the gods themselves resided on their summits. Everywhere I walked in the park, there were black tailed deer, unafraid of people. But it was the mountains themselves that gripped me, thickly clad as they were with the darkest steeplelike balsam fir. The escarpments were so steep that the base of one line of trees was near the top of the next. Beyond the tree line were sun-polished glaciers and summits that looked like crinkled tinfoil…with mountaintops appearing and reappearing through columns of fog.”

The Wines
“Like a lot of people a few years back, when I heard of Washington State wines, I laughed… But the rainy climate, combined with mild winter temperatures, makes for a long grape-growing season. Many of the regional wines, especially the rieslings, have become quite good. The marketing of them is even better…Countries with fine winemaking traditions but uncertain marketing and worse environmental records may not be able to compete…”

“This region of North America is utterly relaxing…without the motorcycle-exhaust roars and tailgate-prone, stressful driving of southern Europe. Moreover, it will stay beautiful. Meanwhile, the wine here will continue to improve…”

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Outside Magazine is known for its “attitude”. Here’s a quote I like from their National Parks Companion …”People actually steer clear of Olympic National Park because they fear being rained upon. Pity the fools.”…

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