Sequoia National Park Lodging

Almanac Archive 2003

Dateline: Tuesday, November 4, 2003, Elsah reporting in for this week
Somehow we have gone directly from summer to winter with no transition. I have been traveling for 2 weeks, when I left it was 100 degrees and very hot, now when I return, it is getting only up to 60 degrees and it is nippy. It feels very good and we have had some much needed rain.
I love the smell of the ground after our first rain in 5 months. The earth becomes sweet and moist, all the garden inhabitants become greener and taller. There is a kind of hidden hope in the earth now, a reminder that Spring will be coming again. I usually say that Spring is the best time to come here, although it is the time when I have the least amount of reservations. And Spring still is the very best time to come for the months of March, April and early May when you will see wildflowers in the meadow in front of the cottage.
But it is Winter that is truly the most magical. This is when all the power potential of Spring is gathering under the earth. The ground becomes the magnetic potentate of the Sky giving orders to the rain clouds to surrender their life giving waters in a command performance. I love to watch for the first green snippets of future wildflowers peaking out their tiny newborn heads from the earth.
The cottage is still open for Christmas, but the other two holidays are booked. Think about coming for a week-long Winter retreat. Sometimes there is snow in Sequoia and you can cross-country ski. It is best to contact the Park for the latest snow levels. It is not easy to predict anymore. It rarely snows here as we are at 1200 ft elevation, but we can see it on the mountaintops.
(On a mundane note, please make sure you put Cort Cottage or reservations in the subject line if you try to email. Too many garbage emails are arriving these days and I cannot use filters due to the fact that my future guests are obviously not in my address book yet.)
All for now........................................................................

Dateline: Monday, September 1, 2003, Elsah reporting in for this week
Summer is trying to head out, I can feel it in the air even though it is still warm enough for the evaporative cooler. As the lazy days of summer leave so do the back-to-back bookings of the cottage and the larger crowds up in the Park. Now is the time to come and stay for a week of living with a slower pace.
I have changed the rates for the cottage to reflect my encouragement for guests to plan longer stays. It makes more sense to me, the cottage is a home, not just a bed and breakfast. And in order to really experience it as your home you need to come and stay a while. Weekend stays are still available but at a slightly higher rate.
Just a note on the night time sky, we have had Mars in full force out our windows for much of the summer. I will miss it when it changes time and course in the sky. I do love living where I can actually see the Milky Way in the sky. It offers a broader perspective on almost everything. Come tell me how you experience the Universe here.
All for now.........................................................................................................................................

Dateline: Sunday, June 29, 2003, Elsah reporting in for this week
Summer is here, bringing for me mixed emotions. It is hot during the day when the sun is high in the sky, but the night brings the scent of my childhood when I used to come to Three Rivers to visits cousins and aunts and uncles and stars. We would go up to "the Cabin" in Grouse Valley and stay for weeks. I remember July 4th's up there with sparklers but no fireworks because it was too dangerous for fires. The cabin is in a valley at about 4000 feet, this little cottage is at 1200 feet. I wonder if people who come here in these days are birthing memories of summer lazy days and cricket chorus symphonies resonating in the night air.
I was up in the Park this past weekend visiting old friends for a meeting. The wildflowers are in full force at that higher elevation. Brilliant red Indian paintbrush and even blossoms still sitting sweetly on dogwood boughs...........and a cool breeze wafting across my brow as I watched two yearlings and a doe graze peacefully--appearing oblivious, but mostly just graciously patient, to the humans who stood quietly remembering times when we all knew animals eye to eye and face to face in our daily lives. Now we find it rare and "awesome" when gentle creatures cross our paths only to show us how to walk where there are no paths amidst the graceful meanderings of bush, tree, flower and earth.
Take time and courage to walk off the beaten path for a while and even to sit still and serene. Summer is waiting for you to slow down and maybe to let slowing-down be the new pattern flow of the century.
I like naps myself.
All for now.....................................................................................................................

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