New garden growing beautifully

Andrea and I have created a bit of a monster here. That is to say, we’ve built a reputation that seems to resound around the globe, and

touch people in just the right way. We realize that Cabin Falls is a very special place within a relatively new wilderness park, and on the traditional lands of the Teme Augama Anishnabe. As a teaching/learning facility, all aspects of the environment, as well as the prehistoric, historic and political landscapes, are part of our every day sharing with our guests. It’s been a long, arduous journey for Andrea and I, building an off-grid lodge in such an isolated location, but we are nearing an end to the building phase. We plan to build one more, double-bedroom cabin so that we can use ‘Rapidan’ (the historic log cabin), as a common meeting place. People can gather here in the evenings, peruse our extensive nature-related library, enjoy the archival pictures (new addition) in our journal, relax by the fire, and enjoy sharing stories. I will also have my lodge gallery set up with books and art on display, as well as local maps of the area.

Planned as well, will be author nights and readings (not just by me but we have several other visiting authors from time to time). We are still researching the best electric power system for the lodge, one that leaves the least carbon footprint. We did have solar for a decade, but batteries froze after a winter storm disconnected the panels. A combination solar and micro-hydro system is certainly not out of the question.

Most of the trails at Cabin Falls had been started back in my ranger days when I patrolled the park and a system of trails had been planned to connect all waterfalls between the north and south channels. Other trails are either historic or prehistoric, as in the case of the portage trails which date back 5,000 years. With climate change weather anomalies, there will be a lot of clean-up this spring, so we are looking for volunteer trail workers to give us a hand. Talk again soon!