Archive for June 10th, 2010

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.