Natural Building Road Trip

Originally India was supposed to take the train back from her Not Back To School Camp.
But after my workshop at White Oak Farm in July, I hatched a plan to head back up there with Krista, to show her what we'd done, and get her more interested in cob construction.
I also was interested in checking out different parts of Oregon for possible relocation, but that didn't really happen.

So our first stop was White Oak Farm and we got there just after dinner time. Folks were still hanging about the barn area and it was deeply wonderful getting warm welcomes from my farm friends. And amazingly Katie and Macy happened to be visiting! Macy (the two year old) really lit up when she saw Eden! Wow, another small person! She came right up and gave Eden an enormous hug that went on and on. It was so darling to watch and yet, poor Eden, who is so reserved and shy, was just totally freaked out. Especially because Macy was inadvertantly pulling Eden's shirt up and skirt down. Oops. They did end up playing the next day, once Eden got over her terror of Macy.

Anyway, Jim wasn't there. I really wasn't expecting him to be, though I secretly hoped. And Taylor was also gone, hiking around Mnt. Shasta. That was a bummer.
But we got welcomed 'home' by Stacy and Tami and Lee and Sam and Mike and they put us up in the Common House, which had been freshly plastered the week before. It looked great, too. So did the cob oven, which was empty of sand and looking big and impressive. And the deer fence walls and the cob bench outside. It all looked great.
So we visited, and looked around, listened to Mike play his guitar, and went to bed pretty early. My one big disappointment was with the moon. I had been longing to see the stars there again, which are just so bright and clear. But the moon was out and very strong. Oh well, maybe next time.
The next morning we had breakfast with everyone and then pitched in doing some chores. I raked up goat and duck shit with Mike and Krista worked in the kitchen. We also dug potatoes and mint. Farm work. After lunch and a swim in the pond, we took off for the next big stop:
Meka's Cottage.

I had emailed Meka and gotten permission and directions to visit. I'd also called Dragonfly (who owns the property) and she said to c'mon over. So we got off at Wolf Creek and only got lost once on the way.
I had seen Meka's photos of his cottage, and seen more on the web, and I really didn't expect to like it that much. It seemed a bit 'over the top' to my taste and I figured Krista might just hate it. I was so wrong!
It was stunning. Eden got so excited she was ready to move in right then and there. The photos just can't capture certain key aspects of the place--the sense of proportion, the way it all fits together, the way it smells and feels. I don't know. It was lovely.
We took a gazillion photos and even a bit of video (which I'll hopefully be posting on Youtube soon). The stairs were probably my favorite part. They were so beautiful and economical of space. And just plain fun to climb.
You'll just have to study the photos. I could never say enough. The place had been closed up for some time I think and it was a very hot day. It was hot inside and a bit stuffy. Even so we stayed and stayed and Krista finally had to drag Eden and I out of there. We all agree--it was the high point of the road trip.
From Wolf Creek we tore up the road to Eugene and Nancy's house, where we basically just crashed and took off the next morning for Portland. The Road Trip continues....