Archive for June, 2010

Online Reservations Now Open for Chiwana Village!

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Click here to go directly to the online reservations page, or visit the Chiwana Village webpage for more information about the yurt features & amenities.  And don’t forget….if you’d like to see what all the fuss is about, come visit the yurts during our Chiwana Village at SageCliffe Open House:  July 14, from 11-4.  There will be food, fun and (nearly guaranteed) sun!  RSVP to: 509-785-3291.  See  you there!

Chiwana Village at SageCliffe Open House!

Monday, June 28th, 2010

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Curious about our yurts? Want a day that feels like a mini-vacation?  Come join us on Wednesday, July 14 from 11-4 at Chiwana Village at SageCliffe.  Chiwana Hosts Bob & Mary will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, Tendrils Vineyard Restaurant provides the refreshments, Cave B Inn staff will be giving guided tours of all the SageCliffe amenities Chiwana Village guests may enjoy:  The Cave B Inn pool, Tendrils, The Spa at SageCliffe & Cave B Estate Winery.  But most of all, just enjoy walking throug and lingering in these amazing yurts!  Gaze up through the yurts’ sky domes, lounge in their comfy seating areas, enjoy the beautifiul view from the yurt patios and check out all the interior features, like the yurt private bathrooms, king-size beds and elegant earth-toned decor.  You’ll go away with that signature SageCliffe after-glow (ahhhh….), and with a real sense of what a stay in a Chiwana Village yurt would be like.  We’d love to see you!  RSVP to let Bob and Mary know you’re coming:  509-785-3291.

Chiwana Village at SageCliffe – Photos of Yurts-in-process

Monday, June 28th, 2010

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The process of raising a yurt is intensely interesting…the Chiwana Village yurts join in a long history of these round dwellings….yurts have been used in a wide variety of countries and cultures for centuries, and are still used regularly in places such as Mongolia.  We can’t wait for you to try them out…stay tuned for more photos (of interiors, too!)

What’s a Yurt-raising? It’s happening at SageCliffe

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

As we begin to erect the 25 yurts which will make up the new Chiwana Village at SageCliffe, we think of the Amish.  We’ve all heard about their barn-raisings; with neighbors, friends and family stopping what they were doing to  come to a farm and help that family erect their barn.  There’s beauty in such community, and also consequent speed of the building of the barn.  Many hands do indeed make light work.

 Raising yurts is not much different.  We may not have the entire community out at SageCliffe, but we certainly have a dedicated team working in great harmony to erect these unusual, tantalizing, and ultimately beautiful round structures.  First there are the pipes and conduits for water and electrical.  Then the ground is prepared.  And then the fun part:  the foundation, the lattice skeleton, the windows, doors, roof and skydome. 

Sebastian (responsible for much of the beautiful rock work found everywhere on the SageCliffe Resort) and the entire crew, helped by the experts at Rainier Industries (the yurt manufacturers) slowly but steadily raise the yurts.  They are like half hot-air balloons rising out of the ground; discreet, nestled on gentle slopes among sage and beautiful long lines of vineyard.  Perhaps the yurts aren’t going up quite as quickly as a barn in the midst of the Pennsylvania countryside.  But they might just be going up as quickly as if 25 barns were being raised!  And in the midst of it all there is great energy as we learn all about this new, environmentally-friendly structure.  A true tenet of SageCliffe Owners Vince and Carol Bryan is to enjoy the process; not just the result.  And in that way the yurt-raisings happening at Chiwana Village at SageCliffe are part and parcel of the entire yurt lodging experience we will ultimately be providing….It’s an awful lot of fun getting them ready; maybe even as much fun as it will be to stay in them.

Is Your Footprint Light Green? Chiwana Village comes to SageCliffe

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Yurt Sky Dome     If there is one thing that is SageCliffe, it is The Land.  Those of you who have visited Cave B Estate Winery, or Cave B Inn & Spa know that it is this place which is SageCliffe….pick up any of the above and place them somewhere else and you would not have SageCliffe as we know it.  We are here on the edge of these gorgeous cliffs, seemingly in the middle of nowhere but actually in the middle of everywhere.  Natural beauty and interest abound.  So it is the land that informs everything we do at SageCliffe:  why we chose this location, how and when and in what way we build structures and pathways, parking lots and landscaping.  It is the land that orients our windows and it is the land that allows for the quality of the Cave B wines.  It is also the land that keeps us focused:  in the hospitality, culinary and wine industries it is easy to get carried away…to ever-expand, to go in many different directions, to forget what started it all.  But at SageCliffe we have a promise to ourselves that we won’t forget that it begins and ends with the land.  This keeps us on the right track.  And there have been times we have been tempted to stray!  But, always, the gorge, the vineyards, the river and the sage bring us gently back.

 And so.  As we do expand and grow, we do so with what we hope is a lighter and lighter tread…we’d love to see our footprints fading almost as quickly as we place them upon the ground.  This is why our newest addition to SageCliffe is Chiwana Village:  a cluster of yurts nestled among the Cave B vineyards, with new and beautifully startling views from their (sustainable Douglas Fir!) windows.  Rainier Industries, based in Seattle, is the manufacturer of the yurts, which will number 25 when all are complete.  Rainier has achieved the premier certification for environmental stewardship, and that’s extremely important to us.  We like their barely-there footprint, too.

So where are the yurts?  When erected, they will be on the gentle slopes south and slightly west of the winery roundhouse; just a short vineyard-walk away from the winery, Inn and Spa.  And yet, like the cliffehouses and Cavern Rooms, they nestle and hunch and wallow and hide among the hummocks and hills and vines…they are unobtrusive, these yurts.  Just like we’re trying to be. 

For now, we are in the midst of yurt-raising; and yes–it’s as community-building and exciting as a barn-raising!  Seeing these yurts go up is engrossing, different, exciting and satisfying…this last particularly due to the fact we are not displacing to place–the land stands.  We are feeling great about Chiwana Village, and simply can’t wait for you to give them a try.  The Chiwana Village season will run from May-October, with a July opening this first season.  We’ll have all the info you need up on our website soon, so keep checking back and stay tuned.  And we’re already out there online:  you can find Chiwana Village at SageCliffe on FB, and @chiwanavillage on Twitter.  See you there!