tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81114818713398621732024-02-18T17:59:47.127-08:00t i n y g o g o It's time to bathe! Tinygogo explores the art of a good sauna, soak & steam. borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08882808247464850288noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-17839898713410768512017-07-01T22:29:00.000-07:002017-07-02T09:32:52.341-07:00Combustion air upgrade, wood-fired sauna<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I want to share an innovation I came up with that provides fresh combustion air to the wood stove of my sauna. I use clothes dryer ducting to do this. It's relatively simple but it makes for huge improvement in the overall efficiency of the heater. I don't remember how I came up with this. Not that there's much to it but I'd like to think it was an original idea. Maybe it was but usually these sort of things come from elsewhere and I just don't remember.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was forced to recently refurbish the air intake. Doing so inspired me to write about it so I could share it with fellow sauna enthusiasts. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UrsOPD-uunXItaDC9JE55xtZOabvkhQG3Kw9NWFm8wJpFeeoCRR23JueftcUOBrhZ4CXgCib6sCsK8WsJRjI7Hxa1RxhRw9KjD-jwo8wf955nFKgF_prFaXKPMC89gRfJLLCpSZ8d2_e/s1600/DSC_0372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UrsOPD-uunXItaDC9JE55xtZOabvkhQG3Kw9NWFm8wJpFeeoCRR23JueftcUOBrhZ4CXgCib6sCsK8WsJRjI7Hxa1RxhRw9KjD-jwo8wf955nFKgF_prFaXKPMC89gRfJLLCpSZ8d2_e/s640/DSC_0372.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What we see here are the remnants of the old clothes dryer aluminum ducting that I used as the fresh air ducting. There's maybe something related to the heat and/or the caustic chemistry of wood ash that caused the aluminum to lose it's malleability. The aluminum skin became wispy and started to crack and fall apart. It lasted about 15 years but now needed to be replaced. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">First, some basic wood-fired sauna theory: There are two ways you can situate a wood burning stove for a sauna. One has the feed door on the <i>outside </i>of the sauna space. This might be completely outside or in the antechamber/changing room. The wood stove goes through a wall. The advantage of this is that it keeps smoke outside the sweat space and none of the heat generated by the wood stove is wasted by the fire pulling it into the stove.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are disadvantages to this though. For one it's a little more of a hassle to manage the burn of the fire since you have to go outside to feed or check on the fire. Second, the wall needs to be built with some consideration so the heat of the stove doesn't, ahem, burn everything down. This is usually pretty straightforward and done with sheet metal or masonry. Third--and which to me is a deal breaker--is that you do not get the primordial, soul nurturing of seeing and listening to the fire from inside the hot dark sauna space.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The other more common method is to have the stove entirely inside the sauna. One of the big draw backs of doing this is that the fire and the "chimney effect" of the fire and stovepipe draw a lot of air out of the sauna space. Also if the fire is dampered, or somehow the chimney becomes blocked, smoke can get in the sauna space. Even worse, in some rare circumstances poisonous carbon monoxide can fill the sauna space. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wood stoves consume a lot of air. I remember on certain particularly cold nights growing up in Alaska watching a thick cloud of "fog" roll in from the door and snake it's way along the floor into the firebox of the wood stove. It was eerie and mesmerizing. Sometimes it would be a layer 18 inches or so thick. It would completely obscure the floor. This experience gave me a strong visual impression of the enormous volume of air that gets pulled though the sauna into the stove to feed a fire. That's a lot of cold air getting pulled in from the outside into what should be a hot space! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I built my urban wood-fired sauna I had this experience in mind. I improvised a method for getting fresh outside air for the wood stove directly to the fire. This would help improve the efficiency of the wood burner: more heat in the intended space and less of it wasted going up the stove pipe. It also provided some assurance that we had fresh air to breathe.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I came up with is simple and it works surprisingly well. Essentially it is a simple flexible aluminum clothes dryer duct routed so that it terminates right in front of the wood stove door. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let the photos demonstrate:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDx7p_C4W3eVZKLS7-E-NFIR5GrQbUL4g1tFygG_S-Ob6e5_F_F-B4CyeOPhiD309rb2xN2xTCFGRYvwYYhzCwryX0m9-jDI_xqxApPWC8ljpaC_XTp4Vb77n-aNzEDbDvm-K9ELIUfhr/s1600/DSC_0364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDx7p_C4W3eVZKLS7-E-NFIR5GrQbUL4g1tFygG_S-Ob6e5_F_F-B4CyeOPhiD309rb2xN2xTCFGRYvwYYhzCwryX0m9-jDI_xqxApPWC8ljpaC_XTp4Vb77n-aNzEDbDvm-K9ELIUfhr/s640/DSC_0364.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the vent on the outside. (Forgive the un-aesthetic T1-11 and plastic vent cover. No one ever sees this wall!) There were louvers on the vent cover which I broke off. The louvers were there to help prevent cold air from being drawn toward the interior. Nope. We want that! The grill stays on to keep the critters out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yLjFjSMksvD5MBcF6J3w8Gc5pnYtdPKKo5ZAlLnubSIggD6X1YAgcDl84ZCBuLse5VBSXP_8S0OdzbTyUnM-jOrF4lF9zw7Ca9d-CUOJCabO7O6HF9KcN1mW0DyKfK4besN7-Ag5fLRX/s1600/DSC_0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yLjFjSMksvD5MBcF6J3w8Gc5pnYtdPKKo5ZAlLnubSIggD6X1YAgcDl84ZCBuLse5VBSXP_8S0OdzbTyUnM-jOrF4lF9zw7Ca9d-CUOJCabO7O6HF9KcN1mW0DyKfK4besN7-Ag5fLRX/s640/DSC_0358.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This photo is taken under a bench near the wood stove. The wood stove is to the right just on the opposite side to the cementitious tile backer board. In the recent refurbishment, I replaced both the vent cover and the aluminum wall ducting. Here (above) is the new vent coming in through the exterior wall on the left. The new ducting is pushed through the backer board on the right. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_D7EQN8nughWTvZMzc9Cqa7w6fO_wY8oiAS12Iqn8VgMzAT91A-wjk7bWAmWcsLC7B-_LzRRucmoLMjupTDPHIh8V4ELQYknf2u2m28Tr-rwQ4-osz_VwUY3GsPvyVFxEOyvSBAHgIOd2/s1600/DSC_0359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_D7EQN8nughWTvZMzc9Cqa7w6fO_wY8oiAS12Iqn8VgMzAT91A-wjk7bWAmWcsLC7B-_LzRRucmoLMjupTDPHIh8V4ELQYknf2u2m28Tr-rwQ4-osz_VwUY3GsPvyVFxEOyvSBAHgIOd2/s640/DSC_0359.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why is it always so damn hard to slip the ducting on over the vent pipes!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzQvqh91nxrm96ks-izqTgtRkUTr0MfUoMn2r_ubdcCv-z1Jylk2CCVuozmDzD2hf87B-3R7krE56YZm-LjdDXuQnkj-jXhyphenhyphene5Ru-tc705_9BxDhOtkXjsMG8_lf6Fgsqy6Gwfeoqnh_F/s1600/DSC_0362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzQvqh91nxrm96ks-izqTgtRkUTr0MfUoMn2r_ubdcCv-z1Jylk2CCVuozmDzD2hf87B-3R7krE56YZm-LjdDXuQnkj-jXhyphenhyphene5Ru-tc705_9BxDhOtkXjsMG8_lf6Fgsqy6Gwfeoqnh_F/s640/DSC_0362.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A cementitious cider block is placed near the ducting to protect it from being crushed by fire wood which will soon be piled back under the bench.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cFUfFzOlq3HXfrmjV7VICo5kQ9vcMv9iyvLZkkG4O1xxDncPPbWZPJjNewLKonqWuRbOiWk3t5xuzo-TWCRg7_0Hb8obg8f9jiH3Tk1EzXO95L9mNN288K4Yp611PEjdaDsGUsyxeaNM/s1600/DSC_0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cFUfFzOlq3HXfrmjV7VICo5kQ9vcMv9iyvLZkkG4O1xxDncPPbWZPJjNewLKonqWuRbOiWk3t5xuzo-TWCRg7_0Hb8obg8f9jiH3Tk1EzXO95L9mNN288K4Yp611PEjdaDsGUsyxeaNM/s640/DSC_0363.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This photo shows the ducting going through the backer board (on the left), through another cinder block and terminating right near the door to the wood stove.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It may not be pretty but it works great! My sauna uses an old 1970s-era home heating wood stove. It's welded plated steel so it could potentially handle drilling and welding an air intake but with my method, I didn't have to do this. The ducting was quick, inexpensive and very effective.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For a variety of reasons, I typically do not damper the stove. In fact I often leave the door cracked open just a little to help concentrate the air movement into the stove. This acts like a black smith's air bellows, blowing air onto the fire to really feed it. I want the fire to burn fast and hot. I'm not trying to keep the fire burning over night and since this is an urban sauna I want to minimize bothering my neighbors with smoke. Also a hot oxygen-rich fire reduces the impact on the overall regional air quality--something I care about. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even though the entry door to the sauna is not particularly air tight, there's still enough negative air pressure for gobs of air to get pulled into the fire directly through the air duct. I know this because when the fire is going well I can put my hand in front of the duct and feel the rush of cool oxygen-rich air being drawn through the duct directly into the stove. The flow is similar to lightly blowing on your hand from about 8 inches away. It's really noticeable!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In summary, while my system is super rudimentary it is an important feature and it works great. In my experience, I believe some sort of provision for a combustion air intake should be made for all wood-fired saunas where the stove is on the inside. It does a lot to improve the heating efficiency and it helps keep the occupants safe.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy31nXYUk912wZmD3y5xmaLGg1mLi7yOjKosxKwjnuf6F3N1dWtLeGfXQRl8nI2HwVR4zf6SYQAToIReOZAVuemV7COYq-OUMx4UEjO6d8xeE6Pj0a5SciQXI9CteMyVs_b_vyO2Ix-_rS/s1600/sauna+wood+stacked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="941" data-original-width="1255" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy31nXYUk912wZmD3y5xmaLGg1mLi7yOjKosxKwjnuf6F3N1dWtLeGfXQRl8nI2HwVR4zf6SYQAToIReOZAVuemV7COYq-OUMx4UEjO6d8xeE6Pj0a5SciQXI9CteMyVs_b_vyO2Ix-_rS/s640/sauna+wood+stacked.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Happiness is a sauna with wood under the benches. </span></span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-33066275795244368142017-05-18T21:11:00.000-07:002017-05-19T10:15:35.151-07:00My Varusteleka haul<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2SXAGm7vkxIuV0ampCEu-TUHSC4AwbN9WnISVLIlezSvmWe4qpyIGc664t8ecVSOI47G91Yx8aHHCYK-xSXat4BK1K43ECAzxt_dBBQKfPAPKtlnKD9yvdrAzH2UQoVUg6DfJMvDPkN-/s1600/P3269999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2SXAGm7vkxIuV0ampCEu-TUHSC4AwbN9WnISVLIlezSvmWe4qpyIGc664t8ecVSOI47G91Yx8aHHCYK-xSXat4BK1K43ECAzxt_dBBQKfPAPKtlnKD9yvdrAzH2UQoVUg6DfJMvDPkN-/s640/P3269999.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I recently discovered the weird and wonderful Finnish military surplus store, <a href="https://www.varusteleka.com/en" target="_blank">Varusteleka</a>. I've always had a soft spot for surplus. Wool is a great fabric and practical utilitarian clothing tends to be my style. The site often has pretty darn funny, self-effacing descriptions of certain items. (Take for example these now-sold-out <a href="https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/russian-navy-shoes-with-rubber-soles-surplus/51463" target="_blank">Russian army surplus boots</a>.) Plus being in Europe, they have access to more exotic items, particularly former East Block stuff. There's a brick and mortar store in Helsinki but they currently offer $10 flat-rate shipping to the U.S. This makes it hard to resist making orders even for clothing where the fit might be questionable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Related to <i>this</i> blog, I was surprised to find a couple really useful items for my sauna/bathing/swimming enthusiasm. Here's what I scored:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoDitfmFNkmFMyBA5saFsV-FQCNjYQaH9laEtHyQk1UyqFflSOUmN6A_-RwklnIz9YoIIEgI65gnHQNONr7rRBc5x0r0ygw003bNwZhJqglpNO9_ItRmW_CAIamZ-IoX1RELRajjvm3BZ/s1600/P3260002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoDitfmFNkmFMyBA5saFsV-FQCNjYQaH9laEtHyQk1UyqFflSOUmN6A_-RwklnIz9YoIIEgI65gnHQNONr7rRBc5x0r0ygw003bNwZhJqglpNO9_ItRmW_CAIamZ-IoX1RELRajjvm3BZ/s640/P3260002.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Towels! </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These are almost certainly from the former socialist republic of Czechoslovakia. Being small they were definitely intended as institutional/military towels. They were designed to get men dried with industrial efficiency. One towel is just large enough to dry someone off. While a few in the batch I got are sort of a dimpled textured cotton, <i>none</i> are terry cloth. For some this may be a no-go. Most Americans these days take for granted a flat piece of fabric is not a towel. (Those who feel this way have not discovered the wonderful Turkish towel tradition of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtemal" target="_blank">peshtemal</a>, but more on that later.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For me, however, this is exactly what makes them great: The small size means that they work well for fitting in travel bags. I can pack two if I go out to a friend's sauna or, when visiting a public sauna, I can save a few dollars on the towel fee. I always keep one in my shoulder bag now for impromptu swimming in the Willamette River or laps at the local community pool. Since they are not terry cloth, they air dry more quickly and therefore tend to not get as smelly. They all come with a little loop so I can hang them up at work for on-the-go drying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Why else do I love these towels? A few of them are cotton. But most seem to be a linen blend. This makes them softer and more absorbent. A few I absolutely treasure, as they are almost certainly 100% linen. They have a subtle sheen that is similar to my fancy vintage estate sale dinner napkins. They are silky smooth on the skin. Deelish!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It took about two and a half weeks for the box to arrive from Finland. Opening it up, I encountered a mysterious and compelling bouquet. Partly it was that characteristic military surplus odor. (What is that anyway? Rotting rubber?) This was mingled with a cloying but exotic Third-World-ish floral detergent fragrance. Bleech!!! I had to wash them all. Unfortunately, this messed up how they had arrived perfectly laundered and pressed. Since many of the towels are linen (or have a high linen content) they needed to be ironed. It's a huge time suck but I get an odd relaxing satisfaction with ironing these. (Maybe, if I keep buying them, I'll have to invest in an industrial pressing mangle?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I ordered a fair number, all told I have somewhere around 50 now. Am I out of control? My intention is for them to live at the family cabin in Alaska. They can be used for the sauna there. The towels' inherent efficiency will work well for this purpose: They won't take up too much space. I can store a number of them in case we have guests and they will be easy to wash and identify as designated "sauna" towels. There will be enough so some can stay in rotation even while dirty ones are in Anchorage getting laundered. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Don't hate me! I may have bought them all out. There is however this <a href="https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/hungarian-cotton-towel-surplus/36165" target="_blank">Hungarian version</a> still in stock--another small towel with hanging loop. They're just maybe not linen but still great! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sandals!</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One difficult lesson I've learned with "sauna-ing" in Alaska is that you really need proper footwear when standing outside in the snow. For my Dad's <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2014/11/anchorage-sauna-re-habilitation.html" target="_blank">urban Anchorage sauna</a>, to cool off we usually run around in the back alley. It's relatively private and/or it's fun to, on rare occasions, alarm the new neighbors or tourists with nudity. There's a vacant lot to roll in the snow and the alley is a good place to move around and air out as you cool off, getting the core temperature down for the next sauna hot cycle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Over the years I've toughened myself up (or gotten used to) dunking in extremely cold water or giving myself snow baths. In fact I love this and saunas just don't feel as good without it. But the one thing I can't get used to is having my bare feet freeze while standing on ice or snow. Oddly enough, it's ok to be completely naked in even subzero temperatures but with bare feet on ice, it doesn't take long for them to hurt really badly even if it's comparatively warm out.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0euNrGIWffKWcNg1V-Khb7ZwXGApwrofYFN8CrQnPDwn0cDlBPCx3huPkLPKpk34jXJpifsYsr2Q-NmTgmavUT3P3MQfRlTkp4_vrzz1p0DDSyu7AuJ9YVQ_DYlHXLb0osdle3sIweQn/s1600/russian+sandals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0euNrGIWffKWcNg1V-Khb7ZwXGApwrofYFN8CrQnPDwn0cDlBPCx3huPkLPKpk34jXJpifsYsr2Q-NmTgmavUT3P3MQfRlTkp4_vrzz1p0DDSyu7AuJ9YVQ_DYlHXLb0osdle3sIweQn/s640/russian+sandals.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">photo credit: Varusteleka.com </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Whenever I visit Alaska somehow I never seem to have the right footwear for the sauna. I've often settled for awkwardly slipping into a pair of Sorel boots or lace-up shoes just so I have something to wear in the snow. Then I found these <a href="https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/russian-slippers-surplus/53764" target="_blank">sandals</a> at Varustelka. Sure I could pick up some dollar store flip-flops or maybe some no-name Crocs but these are just too cool! </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Being army fatigue green, my feet will be camouflaged if shit gets real. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Russian star and Cyrillic writing on the sole adds proper pro-level banya street cred to my sweat bathing. I've ordered enough to have a small sandal army for the saunas in Anchorage and at the cabin. No more frozen feet and we will be bathing in style! Plus they fit great: They're easy to slip on and off and they stay on my feet comfortably. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I can imagine lots of Finns buying these for just the same purpose. I bet they are popular so the site seems to restock them in small quantities so they don't all sell out at once. Good luck grabbing some.</span><br />
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<br />borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-72830388816309656802017-05-11T20:46:00.000-07:002017-05-15T09:47:55.204-07:00Sauna inspired, not dog-tired, A rememberance of the Green Tortoise sauna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VxuyIRTgaTQ0YW0GT43tY9ZuTL44Hl5MM5kqh_8E7ByGsZ8fr1ONsoHZ1w8sGFpfNWGt7pWSfrdLJl-Jo5gZjY1j4WVxDlav8nw6koQvdiqMBEciCIDlieJ5bLjo8Js22RclHZncF-gv/s1600/p3168317_13836695364_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VxuyIRTgaTQ0YW0GT43tY9ZuTL44Hl5MM5kqh_8E7ByGsZ8fr1ONsoHZ1w8sGFpfNWGt7pWSfrdLJl-Jo5gZjY1j4WVxDlav8nw6koQvdiqMBEciCIDlieJ5bLjo8Js22RclHZncF-gv/s640/p3168317_13836695364_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are a few saunas that stand out as "most-famous" in the United States. Up near the top is one from the post-1960s American counterculture scene. This is the Green Tortoise sauna at Cow Creek, Oregon. In the 1980s up into the 2000s, two different saunas here were frequented by tens of thousands of travelers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today most people know of the Green Tortoise as two hostels, one in Seattle (<a href="http://greentortoise.net/" target="_blank">Pike's Place Market</a>) and the other in San Francisco (<a href="http://www.greentortoisesf.com/" target="_blank">North Beach</a>). They are noted for their laid-back anti-consumerist ethos and cooperative community spirit. But the hostels grew out of what was once the Green Tortoise's primary business: an alternative travel bus service. The main route went between Los Angles and Seattle. (Buses still run but they are now exclusively for "<a href="http://www.greentortoise.com/adventure.travel.html" target="_blank">adventure travel</a>," excursions to specific destinations like Alaska, Yosemite, or Baja.) Sometime in the early 1990s I traveled this West Coast route, starting in San Jose (I think) to Portland. Back then fliers for this particular line peppered college campuses, record stores and food coops up and down the West Coast. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's what I remember: After a long nighttime journey the bus arrived early in the morning at some midway point. I woke up to see we had turned off of Interstate 5 and were driving into the woods. I was disoriented and a little alarmed. Weird! What was going on here? Were we being abducted? Someone allayed my fears, explaining that we were headed to a secluded camp--owned and maintained by the Green Tortoise--about 10 minutes off of I5. The land was purchased specifically so it could be used as a rest/layover space. I'd later find out that this was just inside the Oregon side of the California/Oregon boarder in Cow Creek, Oregon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eventually the bus rumbled up a narrow dirt driveway, tree branches crowding in and brushing the sides. We stopped in a spot surrounded by woods. I was still bleary-eyed and groggy. In spite of it still being pretty early, the travelers piled out of the bus. The experienced knew what to do and you could tell they were looking forward to it. They made a beeline for the sauna! Modest, shy and unfamiliar, somehow I knew that I needed this. I followed some people through a forest path to the river and the sauna. I overcame my trepidation and off came the clothes and I crawled in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure if I remember weed or chanting or drumming. I do remember the shared experience of the serenity of the space and the slow awakening of mind and body as my temperature rose and the sweat began to roll. We listened to the water hissing on the rocks and watched the billowing of the steam through the narrow rays of morning light coming through a crack in the door. Then came the river plunge. Cow Creek is really more of a river and there is ample room to swim in a bend. A number of people were lounging on a sandy beach. Unfortunately I wasn't sure of the process and I didn't want to miss the bus, so I missed out on more than one hot to cold cycle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We ate our breakfast (partly prepared by our fellow travelers), helped clean up, and we were on our way, headed north through the Willamette Valley to Portland. Thanks to the good food and the rawness of morning bathing in a sauna and swimming in a cold wild river, I was delightfully awake and alive. Looking out the window I physically felt and understood the famous Green Tortoise sales line: "Arrive inspired, not dog tired."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That was my experience. Maybe if I was older I would have appreciated
the wondrous location more: the clean air, the isolated natural setting, the
wild river and the amazing communal sauna. But recently I got to
re-visit the spot. Using my Tinygogo press credentials (bah!!!), I
contacted the illustrious Gardner Kent, the founder of the Green
Tortoise franchise. I asked if I could pay a visit to Cow Creek to help
memorialize the sauna. Gardner was super cool and accessible and I got
the green light. (Thanks, man!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0EpX6RFrKuqL-d7qWZ5pMk3WUWsn-oLLee92LPzIiTSdB5p0Di_84T79RuIiQb0-jbT81hvhKqVNI6XQot5pB-ULJrQSagm2Fry6aUZPxiDO_-GMH2EKq24WzGI83vNZROp_05xKYAAV/s1600/p3168328_13836257145_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0EpX6RFrKuqL-d7qWZ5pMk3WUWsn-oLLee92LPzIiTSdB5p0Di_84T79RuIiQb0-jbT81hvhKqVNI6XQot5pB-ULJrQSagm2Fry6aUZPxiDO_-GMH2EKq24WzGI83vNZROp_05xKYAAV/s640/p3168328_13836257145_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhHJ3pJPfGle7s6-EjMRvMggte0PZoocofbJCQKsBkateNVaPjggEN84pW-b8W50adUyEPeIjXsnqqkyN1kuM-OyV0TYuCHsIboUBFDvnLI452vuERk2R9q3tSrV2k7kCoG1kvfw5sNgE/s1600/p3168343_13836231563_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhHJ3pJPfGle7s6-EjMRvMggte0PZoocofbJCQKsBkateNVaPjggEN84pW-b8W50adUyEPeIjXsnqqkyN1kuM-OyV0TYuCHsIboUBFDvnLI452vuERk2R9q3tSrV2k7kCoG1kvfw5sNgE/s640/p3168343_13836231563_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Cow Creek encampment is still remarkably preserved. The geodesic dome where the travelers disembarked and meals were served is still standing. The covering is gone now though. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlwyhxnHnDLNPnOmj7y0LOluAbLATHwzaFyc_9IlVZ-JutLlhFie10I5ZR7NgC7Wf3wRDGpkTOQWo8v0IDaqN80BbLFxu9TZxxAuHgTO1RDbiiOgr6m-ZL0hG8RBXUJQSKv7deYe-ThV8/s1600/p3168337_13836576314_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlwyhxnHnDLNPnOmj7y0LOluAbLATHwzaFyc_9IlVZ-JutLlhFie10I5ZR7NgC7Wf3wRDGpkTOQWo8v0IDaqN80BbLFxu9TZxxAuHgTO1RDbiiOgr6m-ZL0hG8RBXUJQSKv7deYe-ThV8/s640/p3168337_13836576314_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDqxCx2O2DvjApBMDhT5OgFg1aH0qfsQhnsodWCSQU3moDdOwBELmZD2a3mYv_kf99wCSn6sRWpLFfLZlbpxdTqKNsN18FrJmxsc8BHjhvP3LHTx1XYuVv9Jeja4WplwJZNs945TK2I4I/s1600/p3168359_13835917783_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDqxCx2O2DvjApBMDhT5OgFg1aH0qfsQhnsodWCSQU3moDdOwBELmZD2a3mYv_kf99wCSn6sRWpLFfLZlbpxdTqKNsN18FrJmxsc8BHjhvP3LHTx1XYuVv9Jeja4WplwJZNs945TK2I4I/s640/p3168359_13835917783_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSf55VkuKHITDTeM1PNdkVZTXfD9lQMfNsbtR3mWjtCnjGjU3-XuhLuRn66xZZr2l1XTzt345oNtv8LR2UUvdJ9YXcr7xH3aomJ-kvG3GXBXrq73zwGiN2uBbmr4jWr-6oj3ZqME63NM4o/s1600/p3168335_13836588044_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSf55VkuKHITDTeM1PNdkVZTXfD9lQMfNsbtR3mWjtCnjGjU3-XuhLuRn66xZZr2l1XTzt345oNtv8LR2UUvdJ9YXcr7xH3aomJ-kvG3GXBXrq73zwGiN2uBbmr4jWr-6oj3ZqME63NM4o/s640/p3168335_13836588044_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEZR7NDkQknT8-wbtJ4nCiQ2Fq-mwz8fHxdpy4Us37dTpGrUdAAgHLNg6rz53mq6U1hMwoO2BaE9CCA0FI8krR0IvlMEuMwBbgfhzBK9356XspfSEi2jXdKYRh8N6xRjdZVo9LDs5c3Fx/s1600/p3168319_13836344173_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEZR7NDkQknT8-wbtJ4nCiQ2Fq-mwz8fHxdpy4Us37dTpGrUdAAgHLNg6rz53mq6U1hMwoO2BaE9CCA0FI8krR0IvlMEuMwBbgfhzBK9356XspfSEi2jXdKYRh8N6xRjdZVo9LDs5c3Fx/s640/p3168319_13836344173_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was put in contact with Debi Sulliven. "Tortoise Deb" arrived at the property in 1999 and hasn't really ever left. Even though the buses no longer run, she remains on as one of the property caretakers. She helps keep the place up and today it is an amazing time capsule of the bus route's glory days. At night around a camp fire Deb told tales of the Green Tortoise's heyday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like clock work, buses would arrive four days a week. There were two morning days and two evening days. The travelers' layover was a leisurely three hours (longer than I remembered), 7 am to 10 am and 7 pm to 10 pm. Shortly before arrival it was always crazy busy. The prep work required of just a few people could be intense. There were two fires to build, one in the dome where people were fed and one on the beach by the river. Food needed to be prepped and cooked (though, travelers were expected to help with the meal prep and clean up.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Deb related that the </span><span style="font-size: large;">Green Tortoise operation was proud of the quality of the food that was served. Typically for breakfast there were pancakes, fruit salad and tea or coffee. The pancakes were made with real butter and real maple syrup. Dinner might include seasonal fish, steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, tossed green salad. Pies were made by someone's mom from Eugene. Real wild and local chanterelle mushrooms were used when they were in season. The blueberries came from a local farm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course the sauna also needed to be prepped and pre-heated four times a week. Fortunately the system was remarkably easy to run. It was a marvel, both carefully considered and constructed. Sometime in the 1990s a flood on the river washed away the original sauna (the one I had used) and a new one a little higher up on the river bank was built.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below is mostly a photo journal of what remains of Cow Creek's second sauna.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DuqerA6BJ3UT9eiK__czj6u7b6v-WQyUG5uUHfpmBAoqIcjPW1cpO9Zt4ro920FdmprqVBm_N4nixt6zDviOhLk42be6g4kGbJd7czQFEKQOoyIKSBEjBGxDbPDuAzulxvFpym23muvR/s1600/p3168363_13836380814_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DuqerA6BJ3UT9eiK__czj6u7b6v-WQyUG5uUHfpmBAoqIcjPW1cpO9Zt4ro920FdmprqVBm_N4nixt6zDviOhLk42be6g4kGbJd7czQFEKQOoyIKSBEjBGxDbPDuAzulxvFpym23muvR/s640/p3168363_13836380814_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here is the sauna. It is a hexagonal structure constructed of logs and a cedar shingle roof. There's a roof dormer bump-out to accommodate a short door and single window.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzrY8CZ1Evojs7CQ5ZNkQGNfIpX_B5WxhfRXikbSrBcHx4_jGLKku_ZU5EBTufhx8xlV2FfqfAwKC6NTIveA7f3tsQmY3R4tNYC79bNCznUs-ypCHJeU063nZFytO_CZVw3xqEWkx-Ty6/s1600/p3168238_13836767125_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzrY8CZ1Evojs7CQ5ZNkQGNfIpX_B5WxhfRXikbSrBcHx4_jGLKku_ZU5EBTufhx8xlV2FfqfAwKC6NTIveA7f3tsQmY3R4tNYC79bNCznUs-ypCHJeU063nZFytO_CZVw3xqEWkx-Ty6/s640/p3168238_13836767125_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Around back and just below is the remarkable heating system for the sauna. It's really quite ingenious. A large propane burner heats up huge pieces of scrap steel sitting in a barrel or inverted pipeline pipe section (above). This, in turn, sits on a roll cart outside the structure. When the cart-cum-burner is hot enough, a heavy but counter-weighted lid is swung off the barrel. The nearly red hot iron in the barrel is then rolled under the structure by means of an old mining ore cart and rail track! (Where would you even buy these implements if you wanted to? I imagine this stuff was scavenged from an old mine in the backwoods nearby.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVFTopv_CKl336CbOQJzv1QEHHqg_Blp7g0L9XlZLl3stuUcnbZ_sDVexrNKpX9JMqMwNhigAAgQUunkBVtkTsByttC0_PMynsEwe0R5d1spZLPGXcARSCcTnw_j012WFZ5e-r5XxgEiX/s1600/p3168278_13836626633_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVFTopv_CKl336CbOQJzv1QEHHqg_Blp7g0L9XlZLl3stuUcnbZ_sDVexrNKpX9JMqMwNhigAAgQUunkBVtkTsByttC0_PMynsEwe0R5d1spZLPGXcARSCcTnw_j012WFZ5e-r5XxgEiX/s640/p3168278_13836626633_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the lid which swings on a counter weight, a whimsical play on the duality of the sexes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-w3yB-5MYCjk5TJmdtTLMjvI8q0VVeibDf0lP37utT1BrcbYwiBiA3asfJxy1HyW7nA25KfGd4UL41Z6UwOesO9kR-RtKPgRKyFIV-xRe-JqhIxX9Mh0xinD_gZ0HiOaotHCrvCrdZMB/s1600/p3168242_13837129174_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-w3yB-5MYCjk5TJmdtTLMjvI8q0VVeibDf0lP37utT1BrcbYwiBiA3asfJxy1HyW7nA25KfGd4UL41Z6UwOesO9kR-RtKPgRKyFIV-xRe-JqhIxX9Mh0xinD_gZ0HiOaotHCrvCrdZMB/s640/p3168242_13837129174_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">A view down below with the lid off: we see heavy steel that would get heated up. Stars and lighting! You can see steel gears and other high-mass "heatable" iron items in the background to the right. This was probably a reserve pile that never got used.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2jWC4xRJjm8ITmejXYiAfmms7tqaGnvmAEvbq4SDCAxWYDGlFIw7hpCyWH3_CXzsHKjed2ojH_mszAMewLatgQ5FPVg6Ap7xgpsuprsOHLE4e4XCkK_SD59Xf0HZRjDPYKDrbMm2FaEq/s1600/p3168264_13836721363_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2jWC4xRJjm8ITmejXYiAfmms7tqaGnvmAEvbq4SDCAxWYDGlFIw7hpCyWH3_CXzsHKjed2ojH_mszAMewLatgQ5FPVg6Ap7xgpsuprsOHLE4e4XCkK_SD59Xf0HZRjDPYKDrbMm2FaEq/s640/p3168264_13836721363_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This was lying on the ground. I kicked it over. It may have been discarded from too much use, rotted away after years of repeated heating and water dousing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A sauna session required a 45 minute propane burn to get the cart material hot enough. A second round would take another 15 or so minutes reheating. To do the second round, the process was repeated with the barrel rolled outside and blasted again with flame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The cart hadn't rolled in years. I cleared off the tracks and pushed it under the sauna for the sake of better demonstrating how the system worked. Here below, my dear reader, is a photo demonstration:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLN1uiwE6rT3KgkGuGSH-gswgFi95miB4Dr2EEuo_HnD-fDDGx07COA1xU6r6rY6Ei2Icfc5haeBL2SDEYZNZvLXu0sjfN6bFIS91tfADjYLDaICHHLLpGk6cHSxwqbomWW06EPEgF_6a/s1600/p3168227_13836866593_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLN1uiwE6rT3KgkGuGSH-gswgFi95miB4Dr2EEuo_HnD-fDDGx07COA1xU6r6rY6Ei2Icfc5haeBL2SDEYZNZvLXu0sjfN6bFIS91tfADjYLDaICHHLLpGk6cHSxwqbomWW06EPEgF_6a/s640/p3168227_13836866593_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The door to the crawl space is closed and the furnace is outside at the heating station.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHvempyYKuZEzeQtvnUr6JdDEZsDaIOhPgI6_nwEQYXb1IkR0hBmQltFSv4YswXykoqPuzWbp2S-JjoWaZIofCqL72LDFZSsDGsTumHUorn4KopSaHCl3ru5XOMDQAADyvzq5GI8hBBzP/s1600/p3168271_13836645155_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHvempyYKuZEzeQtvnUr6JdDEZsDaIOhPgI6_nwEQYXb1IkR0hBmQltFSv4YswXykoqPuzWbp2S-JjoWaZIofCqL72LDFZSsDGsTumHUorn4KopSaHCl3ru5XOMDQAADyvzq5GI8hBBzP/s640/p3168271_13836645155_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The lid is lifted off, the crawlspace door under the sauna is opened and the cart rolled in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVRyi0MeeAryAzn9WHvwkp1vo9yWJQOl11jkhlPShNqcaJhrVfIK7Kt2FmXYS3YytH4Xhi2KSyf-MJfXl4zRfdPe69QQ05mnj1Aw1bepUvi0DBxbErs3Qt7f1giGitlceoD2kCaz9hX3lL/s1600/p3168268_13836693583_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVRyi0MeeAryAzn9WHvwkp1vo9yWJQOl11jkhlPShNqcaJhrVfIK7Kt2FmXYS3YytH4Xhi2KSyf-MJfXl4zRfdPe69QQ05mnj1Aw1bepUvi0DBxbErs3Qt7f1giGitlceoD2kCaz9hX3lL/s640/p3168268_13836693583_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFr280CaGg0DZG0N5k6GgNfN_SM5Tb3ozZCV92DiyI0VRvmMaPVtmVHhH7LtQKTr87xh1XYdfMxMTq-0CXao_EkadiDCwaDXIXfXoLotT2uWPNHQ072-_ifzWE2TBc_dff5i7vWKhemYr/s1600/p3168231_13837177694_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFr280CaGg0DZG0N5k6GgNfN_SM5Tb3ozZCV92DiyI0VRvmMaPVtmVHhH7LtQKTr87xh1XYdfMxMTq-0CXao_EkadiDCwaDXIXfXoLotT2uWPNHQ072-_ifzWE2TBc_dff5i7vWKhemYr/s640/p3168231_13837177694_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The cart would be placed in here. Above you can see the joists supporting underside of the sauna. The cart with hot metal would rest just under the cement chimney. The crawl space door would be closed and expectant bathers could then ladle water over a grate in the middle of the floor from above. The water would fall on the cart to release the steam. Brilliant!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82PO6emQgVwG81cVruq7y3uOhtaLnYumdYqg0I4xHG7hgfU-09s3GYP1w1tyscWb8B6wu4Ibrv28l2cwRM9Eef0kr7m9LDLzP3s7p_4D1NhqGd1NlFVsxbQnZ0gBCRNuLAM7c09I0uYUS/s1600/p3168217_13837272884_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82PO6emQgVwG81cVruq7y3uOhtaLnYumdYqg0I4xHG7hgfU-09s3GYP1w1tyscWb8B6wu4Ibrv28l2cwRM9Eef0kr7m9LDLzP3s7p_4D1NhqGd1NlFVsxbQnZ0gBCRNuLAM7c09I0uYUS/s640/p3168217_13837272884_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a shot from inside the sauna of the grate in the center of floor. Pour water here!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrALEk4MkZE2N6HNVhR_RYjaIX63BAnj6HvJq8qry1edjJhRTKo7OAkCap1BdL-Zn6n4g7TbOSoowgjjONxKnAPy_XzNcf8c9cdsrnPR_X_1z-POCP0jiFKKp-tISjNpJEMh6K9q7P5h2/s1600/p3168301_13836795704_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrALEk4MkZE2N6HNVhR_RYjaIX63BAnj6HvJq8qry1edjJhRTKo7OAkCap1BdL-Zn6n4g7TbOSoowgjjONxKnAPy_XzNcf8c9cdsrnPR_X_1z-POCP0jiFKKp-tISjNpJEMh6K9q7P5h2/s640/p3168301_13836795704_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Imagine working up a nice sweat and going down to the river to cool off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSLCqmIghsPcdNsN_FK5XqKvp_s2myfCjEBXfMyJ0DRwF7X0fAKs_43EE2VaPS9s5DLixjkoHjXJ9NmSSRsCTlUPHEKxyQcwHF7o5uS3hyphenhyphenHjPCLtLfKdJsdjQmih4Lw12bIQYX4Um1anZ/s1600/p3168291_13836869174_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSLCqmIghsPcdNsN_FK5XqKvp_s2myfCjEBXfMyJ0DRwF7X0fAKs_43EE2VaPS9s5DLixjkoHjXJ9NmSSRsCTlUPHEKxyQcwHF7o5uS3hyphenhyphenHjPCLtLfKdJsdjQmih4Lw12bIQYX4Um1anZ/s640/p3168291_13836869174_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">For the wrap-up cool down you could chill out on your choice of deck tiers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few more photos because this is important:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CXPAevYfUZIqyBa76CPZMSrIysb5Y0QOGc7eOiANnSmOUoO7LmEU9tnfW4S4vQQlgXohALryWtl8SsQBkeELmMwROgU6XApZpgHtDXrvQ9R2eqQa-fQRXEikQtPlD_0szQ3sXH4lF9ep/s1600/p3168228_13836828785_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CXPAevYfUZIqyBa76CPZMSrIysb5Y0QOGc7eOiANnSmOUoO7LmEU9tnfW4S4vQQlgXohALryWtl8SsQBkeELmMwROgU6XApZpgHtDXrvQ9R2eqQa-fQRXEikQtPlD_0szQ3sXH4lF9ep/s640/p3168228_13836828785_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakcgMkmylgl_0DQrYzVbbZj16lSmg9ARwhQXqSNRJm7BsYOqo4PEmLMgXk23orO514Fg3vMJSq0NXIoQU2f5RsiEEqE3OBzD7IoVg4dBU5ts6sIMQtdJW4N4jRiNDskOhu6EwQVpao3cT/s1600/p3168366_13835994865_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakcgMkmylgl_0DQrYzVbbZj16lSmg9ARwhQXqSNRJm7BsYOqo4PEmLMgXk23orO514Fg3vMJSq0NXIoQU2f5RsiEEqE3OBzD7IoVg4dBU5ts6sIMQtdJW4N4jRiNDskOhu6EwQVpao3cT/s640/p3168366_13835994865_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7k0XLv2ZVxHpvOWQ9RSiVJGMPgxTKttvrakpdPhvvGzSLsngVDEi_B87UL49sX64GD9UG4Kweqt8tb0q0XnhrZw1Hso23JRMhvowZYoqkX5H9PdEIR0smy4Kw96K3yIiDEQ0zLG5WUdU/s1600/p3168285_13836545395_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7k0XLv2ZVxHpvOWQ9RSiVJGMPgxTKttvrakpdPhvvGzSLsngVDEi_B87UL49sX64GD9UG4Kweqt8tb0q0XnhrZw1Hso23JRMhvowZYoqkX5H9PdEIR0smy4Kw96K3yIiDEQ0zLG5WUdU/s640/p3168285_13836545395_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY3XjVGjUWow8eUtVTi6mlu6Dx8HrqQijB_GGFNbUgMj9yzPEs_8M5KjZysHkU5Y5qcy4FhSpX4_WQ57r4QoAP47N8d_3ukxrMQ545OUh7mhuCv0wYN2pMbB1LeQ-UENC-Lp74k16oRW8/s1600/p3168220_13836887515_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY3XjVGjUWow8eUtVTi6mlu6Dx8HrqQijB_GGFNbUgMj9yzPEs_8M5KjZysHkU5Y5qcy4FhSpX4_WQ57r4QoAP47N8d_3ukxrMQ545OUh7mhuCv0wYN2pMbB1LeQ-UENC-Lp74k16oRW8/s640/p3168220_13836887515_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The sauna is the creation of Mike Cobisky who was also the primary mechanic on the Green Tortoise buses. He was responsible for buying old buses and refurbishing them mechanically. Based on the work put into the sauna, I sort of also suspect he was the guiding hand in the interior design of the buses which were well known and admired for their carefully considered details and how they intelligently converted from daytime travel to sleepers. Maybe someday I can speak with him and pick his brain on sweat bathing?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The sauna is more or less still intact. In a pinch and with a lot of effort it could probably be fired up. Unfortunately the beautiful interwoven log structure was built directly over a wood deck. Both the lowest logs and some of the deck boards are really starting to deteriorate. Parts of the deck flooring have been covered with plywood where boards have given way. But these are just patches and they aren't fixing the decomposing wood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If there was such a thing as a National Register of Historic American Counter Culture, the Cow Creek sauna would certainly get my nomination. The Green Tortoise, the Cow Creek compound and this sauna influenced many people for a number of decades. It was a place that helped people see a new way to live, where like-minded people could cultivate trust and cooperation. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Mike Cobisky's stunningly beautiful</span><span style="font-size: large;"> sauna was right at the center of it all. Also for literally thousands of people, this was where their first sweat bathing experience happened. If you are going to be initiated to the world of the sauna this is certainly a wonderful and safe place for this to happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Restoration is possible but it would take a big effort. Maybe we could all pitch in? Kinda like making breakfast on the Green Tortoise.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmmS8OAYm53BjBk_eroxLq2YstIKWViYbmiuxn8fMWUyXff4KDCV46j2vxmfwB5vdBHzZLKpdI0fZVP5dT6vf9nBitKNfX0XMxrUBYhP3H5FUtoy5a-pJRbc1zr6qM8nagMDl1nufSCEU/s1600/p3168309_13836742144_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmmS8OAYm53BjBk_eroxLq2YstIKWViYbmiuxn8fMWUyXff4KDCV46j2vxmfwB5vdBHzZLKpdI0fZVP5dT6vf9nBitKNfX0XMxrUBYhP3H5FUtoy5a-pJRbc1zr6qM8nagMDl1nufSCEU/s640/p3168309_13836742144_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br />borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-74213633718873379512016-12-21T20:49:00.000-08:002016-12-24T19:52:52.176-08:00Moiling for darkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAiujuktDmxpxr8No_4TVrPZ51pzaRGKXCtpyCggt-NyL1mUhpkJMdqpmece9AqNmYB9h1YxDlhqqcVPiv6CdK2VVDRyYwkg_f9PNGJ4jsKdFVfTh30o4EgCxbkDknHHBIfRlrFBJH3rp/s1600/sled-boat.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAiujuktDmxpxr8No_4TVrPZ51pzaRGKXCtpyCggt-NyL1mUhpkJMdqpmece9AqNmYB9h1YxDlhqqcVPiv6CdK2VVDRyYwkg_f9PNGJ4jsKdFVfTh30o4EgCxbkDknHHBIfRlrFBJH3rp/s640/sled-boat.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here at Tinygogo headquarters we believe in celebrating Christmas, not so much with Santa, the tree or the questionable actual birthday of an important religious figure. We celebrate the return of light to the earth. Before this can happen we must go deep into the darkness. And tonight is the darkest longest night. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below is a tribute to the darkness. Facing our shadows--the fear and the emptiness--helps give us courage, strength and hope to carry on in a difficult world. There is no better tale which comes closer to this than <i>The Cremation of Sam McGee</i> by Robert Service. (Someday I'll find a recitation of this story on Youtube that is to my liking. For now you get this one.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is sauna related because warmth and fire are both at the core of a good sauna and this story. Growing up in Alaska, I can certainly relate to Sam McGee's desire to warm his bones. Fire is part of what gives us humans courage to go deep into our spiritual cave. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we say in my family's sauna vernacular: "STFD, shut the fucking door! "</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Merry Christmas everyone!</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kMvBuuA7Zjo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kMvBuuA7Zjo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-20484666526433477802016-11-29T18:15:00.002-08:002016-12-03T04:56:50.471-08:00Plenty of lemons for lemonade in my sauna life<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Neighborhood gentrification continues full kilter here in Portland, Oregon and it only seems to be picking up speed. The character of the neighborhood has changed. Off street parking has dried up--and along with it comes the incessant chirping and staccato honks of people locking their cars with their remotes. (Why, people?! Why?! It doesn't make you safer. It's just annoying.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The casual<span style="font-family: inherit;">ties <span style="font-family: inherit;">mount: </span></span>One of my favorite local groceries, Mercado Don Poncho, was pushed out for more up-scale retail. The Know, a cool pretty authentic punk venue will be leaving soon. Both places will probably be replaced by shoe stores or some such. Neighbors I know and care about have become financially stressed and/or are disenchanted and are moving on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One new characteristic of this growth is that there has been <span style="font-family: inherit;">an up<span style="font-family: inherit;">tick in </span></span>new home construction. Older houses are getting torn down, replaced with bigger or multiple homes. Lots with big yards are being divided and long-vacant lots are being developed. We've heard a lot of hammering lately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">For me there has been one small recompense: free wood! I've been troll<span style="font-family: inherit;">ing</span> the neighborhood with my pull wagon, bicycle (with bike buckets) and truck, <span style="font-family: inherit;">scavenging</span> scrap wood from the construction sites. Much I've burned in the sauna already but I do also have the beginnings of a proper wood pile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Behold!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijBC-lCN5FZ6xD7Tl6c3NZjK5rKX4fSXnZOOuPSq0Mao9ENW8fYG4ebdy5V2bbZ7RoENBSccnSRL6Hw7YZICzcacNwMSsyNWUOTJaf4B4dWY2bbeJbuFg1aEuiN53mlda-MET7tSmOLuJ/s1600/PB029730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijBC-lCN5FZ6xD7Tl6c3NZjK5rKX4fSXnZOOuPSq0Mao9ENW8fYG4ebdy5V2bbZ7RoENBSccnSRL6Hw7YZICzcacNwMSsyNWUOTJaf4B4dWY2bbeJbuFg1aEuiN53mlda-MET7tSmOLuJ/s640/PB029730.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Many of these lumber pieces are 2X6s. The building code requires them for exterior walls. Maybe the ceiling of the second floors are a little shorter now or they had to use 10 footers? I'm not sure but there were a lot of short perfectly-cut-for-my-stove 18 inches 2X6s. Heaven! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My new rule this summer for rooting through the scrap wood piles: pick up nothing that I have to cut--only short pieces. Skip the tiny scraps too. There's such an abundance of wood, why make work for myself? The vertical pieces in the foreground are me failing with this rule. Discipline, Dave! Discipline.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I love burning lumber. Yes, it lacks the concentrated BTUs of hardwood but fir and hemlock burns fast and hot which I think works best in an undampered sauna stove. Plus cut lumber stacks densely--Tetris style!</span><br />
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<br />borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-49527037788563499612016-08-25T10:46:00.000-07:002016-08-25T13:36:30.265-07:00Waterfest! Manitou Springs' gathering to celebrate mineral water<span style="font-size: large;">Here we are just helping spread the word about this cool upcoming event, <a href="http://www.manitouwaterfest.org/" target="_blank">Manitou Waterfest</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCRdnW9DB7llSOZDDPfiP4Z5WZGRUPZQUBBdsjJJJoHopUOGR24RSqfid15y9hM8PtjuEgaH_3WgdwGviWznsaadxuHlYF-Xl1GFy_4-90h3nFBvLnAMzFxynbxSHdSi6GdqErS97Fiko/s1600/Waterfest_GeneralFlyer-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCRdnW9DB7llSOZDDPfiP4Z5WZGRUPZQUBBdsjJJJoHopUOGR24RSqfid15y9hM8PtjuEgaH_3WgdwGviWznsaadxuHlYF-Xl1GFy_4-90h3nFBvLnAMzFxynbxSHdSi6GdqErS97Fiko/s640/Waterfest_GeneralFlyer-1.jpg" width="518" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mineral water is kind of an amusing side interest for me here at Tinygogo. Previously we wrote about the wonderful water of <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-mineral-spring-tour-of-manitou.html" target="_blank">Manitou Springs (here)</a>. The water is indeed wonderful. Although admittedly part of this is the hype/civic booster-ism that accompanied the growth of Manitou Springs during the early years. Manitou Springs remains a quaint historic throwback, it's hard not to love this place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">An attendee of <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2014/05/perfect-sweat-summit-international.html" target="_blank">The Perfect Sweat Summit</a>, <a href="http://balneology.org/" target="_blank">BANA</a> (Balneology Association of North America), will be a sponsor of the event. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I probably won't make it but please feel free to share a report with me!</span><br />
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-46918408116957787542016-01-16T22:01:00.001-08:002016-01-17T08:56:16.189-08:00The hot springs of Hot Lake Resort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFt-g8pTJ8I/UkHVSFZc_JI/AAAAAAAAEdo/MB1knjbK75s/s1600/P9187530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFt-g8pTJ8I/UkHVSFZc_JI/AAAAAAAAEdo/MB1knjbK75s/s400/P9187530.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lost in remote Eastern Oregon (yet conveniently only five miles off of I-84) is Hot Lake Springs Resort--a grand historic mineral hot springs resort that is remarkably open again for business.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you are traveling on I-84, Hot Lake Springs can serve as a wonderful (if weird) layover. Or, if the timing is not quite right for spending the night, a short stop for a recuperative soak can be just the ticket for improving one's disposition during a long stint of driving.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Lgs_weSQN8/UkHVd23TmoI/AAAAAAAAEdw/bvGd83ZdYG0/s1600/P9187531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Lgs_weSQN8/UkHVd23TmoI/AAAAAAAAEdw/bvGd83ZdYG0/s400/P9187531.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The resort is steeped in the history of Europe and America's obsession with mineral water health spas and is one of many that thrived in the Pacific Northwest around the turn of the century. What compelled people to travel so far and spend so much time and money to soak in these remote mineral water baths? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When Hot Lake Springs was first built this spot must have seemed impressively isolated. There was of course the city of La Grande, a mere 8 miles further down the line. In its heyday of the 1910s and 20s, La Grande was a small but well-established full-service western desert railroad/cattle town. But you wouldn't really be aware of this if you got off the train at Hot Lake Sanitorium (sic). You could do this because Hot Lake had it's own train station (and post office). This enabled visitors to come directly from all over the U.S.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I imagine people traveling from the East Coast and getting off directly at Hot Lake. Stepping off the train onto the platform at the station must have been something. Looking around you'd see great stretches of emptiness. But behind the lake of geothermally-heated mineral water with vapor wafting up into the hills, was the giant "modern" resort, seemingly plopped down in the middle of nowhere. A traveler might have been on trains for days clattering through the desolation of the Great Plains, the Rockies and eastern Oregon desert only to step off into an oasis resort of high grandeur. Visitors could maintain serious bragging rights of having traveled deep into to the Great American West without ever really having suffered the loss of any modern convenience.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPeiE3vLtqwrhVW2SmAGroNsWQK5B32P4AVtwuo1iPUs2K1t7lmsJsci5-LGSkLwnTjeY4e7u9StC4tU_1EXAJbu-9lmoeNMFgvQfik3446Rg2Lgu57E5EHqjON5yNseZyrjWcMwnshOg/s1600/Post+card+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPeiE3vLtqwrhVW2SmAGroNsWQK5B32P4AVtwuo1iPUs2K1t7lmsJsci5-LGSkLwnTjeY4e7u9StC4tU_1EXAJbu-9lmoeNMFgvQfik3446Rg2Lgu57E5EHqjON5yNseZyrjWcMwnshOg/s640/Post+card+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Given the relatively isolated location, and considering when it was built, the facility was remarkably big and modern. The brick addition (as pictured above at the left) was completed in 1908 and became the new focal point of the complex. This three-story structure is most of what remains today. When completed, it boasted full modern appointments: indoor plumbing, central heating and electricity. Residents' rooms were airy and well lit: with tall ceilings, awning lights above the doors and big exterior windows. The third floor was a dedicated and modern medical facility which included a surgery. Contemporary accounts often refer to these services as the "Mayo Clinic of the West."</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHgm-iGy9jSrVCLUKWgcUWLRq61dhOmv_8Dg6o-uxupArijX2jNWfGCZu2gj9N71yZ3bZFiaTePPA4JTY2f_xr5tBzlELWf-WqV1ULR66kAg4EpEXKo2icrW3esPWA7LyOSFROmr3hMiX/s1600/Hot+Lake%252C+hospital+beds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHgm-iGy9jSrVCLUKWgcUWLRq61dhOmv_8Dg6o-uxupArijX2jNWfGCZu2gj9N71yZ3bZFiaTePPA4JTY2f_xr5tBzlELWf-WqV1ULR66kAg4EpEXKo2icrW3esPWA7LyOSFROmr3hMiX/s640/Hot+Lake%252C+hospital+beds.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #111111; line-height: 16.744px; text-align: left;">Photo Flickr user, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/" target="_blank">Allen</a>, taken from the Flickr group Hot Lake Resort (link at end of article)</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55HqYwbteAsungm_3BjdrKNWov-aZ-7i92JtAJkkoHo8AFDy6XYNWvKKH7kY0ES8MVmsr3Kl3jd9-lgCMWHTkew_8adGr4kwRYJU746cc3btLY3YaH3LVrldQ-Wg9j0edbVka93jcEzBr/s1600/Hot+Lake%252C+operating+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55HqYwbteAsungm_3BjdrKNWov-aZ-7i92JtAJkkoHo8AFDy6XYNWvKKH7kY0ES8MVmsr3Kl3jd9-lgCMWHTkew_8adGr4kwRYJU746cc3btLY3YaH3LVrldQ-Wg9j0edbVka93jcEzBr/s640/Hot+Lake%252C+operating+room.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #111111; line-height: 16.744px; text-align: left;">Photo Flickr user, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/" target="_blank">Allen</a>, taken from the Flickr group, Hot Lake Resort</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Look at that tile! Yowza! The counter top may be newer. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHvPu_G9UiRu99Ux1zaOLnhUujmTDp7zKMCgWwx23IDidcPScnFj77jhbYxF0ilHDgKSWpsDDlD7a2Cs8iZuug_4BHWD3WxbNp9DsFPbV4rM2liXgTrZEXp94xhfkKgWANpVgt9VW-nf0/s1600/postcard%252C+Hot+Lake+lobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHvPu_G9UiRu99Ux1zaOLnhUujmTDp7zKMCgWwx23IDidcPScnFj77jhbYxF0ilHDgKSWpsDDlD7a2Cs8iZuug_4BHWD3WxbNp9DsFPbV4rM2liXgTrZEXp94xhfkKgWANpVgt9VW-nf0/s640/postcard%252C+Hot+Lake+lobby.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #111111; line-height: 16.744px; text-align: left;">Photo: Flickr user, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/" target="_blank">Allen</a>, taken from the Flickr group Hot Lake Resort </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As stated, the 1908 brick structure was an add-on to an even earlier Victorian-era wood structure that was more-or-less built over the source waters of the hot spring. This earlier wood portion burned down in 1934. Even though the business recovered and carried on, the original section was never rebuilt. Since the original structure appears to have been built directly over the springs, I'm curious to know how it was utilized. Where and how did the Victorians take their water?</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E-Yngypw9HQ6kMK3nfV82UnJPfZFouIF61svC4wS135Kyx4Um5WWn6VLtNj89EGxmltlpxskew7DwaVJugn4pyTw9yYlpclxH4yoPw36yqk1BxqtiOd0wp-ZTAE1mOcPZG2Do6eDgcaj/s1600/bottled+water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E-Yngypw9HQ6kMK3nfV82UnJPfZFouIF61svC4wS135Kyx4Um5WWn6VLtNj89EGxmltlpxskew7DwaVJugn4pyTw9yYlpclxH4yoPw36yqk1BxqtiOd0wp-ZTAE1mOcPZG2Do6eDgcaj/s640/bottled+water.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #111111; line-height: 16.744px; text-align: left;">Photo: Flickr user, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/" target="_blank">Allen</a>, taken from the Flickr group Hot Lake Resort </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">At one point water from Hot Lake, as with many mineral water resorts of their day, bottled and sold the source mineral water.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A big part of the Hot Lake Resort story is its miraculous resurrection. Moving into the 20th century modern medicine replaced mineral hydrotherapy and business died off. The resort closed in the 1950s and for the next few decades there were a succession of other tenants using the space. For a number of years it was completely vacant. The facility slowly crept into dereliction. At the its low point, vandals had smashed out all of the glass windows and the roof was seriously leaking and even missing in some sections.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7Vb-IqGV_UpEESTSMpantMt8llGme1WJL07ndM_RqL8KRkS1GkEeNhmQKJPyEXZJkAXQhulJI2WuHc6YExqzBEHANYqzpe6GBQXh9TMKU4iF3J9k1EcHrHb8jnbxf52oy5-_aotHYo9C/s1600/Hot+Lake%252C+pre-rehab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7Vb-IqGV_UpEESTSMpantMt8llGme1WJL07ndM_RqL8KRkS1GkEeNhmQKJPyEXZJkAXQhulJI2WuHc6YExqzBEHANYqzpe6GBQXh9TMKU4iF3J9k1EcHrHb8jnbxf52oy5-_aotHYo9C/s640/Hot+Lake%252C+pre-rehab.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo: Flickr user, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/" target="_blank">Allen</a>, taken from the Flickr group, Hot Lake Resort (link at end of article.)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In 2003 a family bought and began a significant rehabilitation. While the restoration is a blessing for bathing and history enthusiasts, here the story turns a little weird.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The restoration considers the building's history but in a way that is really odd. It's not so much a restoration as someone's fantasy/nostalgia recreation. The hotel rooms are redone with faux historical elements and are drenched in what I refer to as "potpourri excess." It's bed-and-breakfast cute gone wild. Here are some photos of my room:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-48G-SB3fE/Ul4fkTXl7hI/AAAAAAAAEjo/y37gfyI5yPQ/s1600/P9247649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-48G-SB3fE/Ul4fkTXl7hI/AAAAAAAAEjo/y37gfyI5yPQ/s640/P9247649.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">And it's not just the excessive frill and artificial fragrance. Watch out for the the flocks of peacocks and geese on the grounds who tend to honk (at least in the case of the geese) and poop everywhere. Speakers outside and in the common areas play canned Big Band-era music from morning to evening. To make matters worse it was the same hour or so tape loop. I don't know how many times I heard Glen Miller's <i>In the Mood</i>. It made me feel rather crabby.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In spite of my complaints we are extremely lucky to have Hot Lake Resort back in business and the water, as it has been for thousands of years, is no joke. It comes out hot, 208 degrees, and is mineral laden. Sampling it with a good soak helps you understand why this place was so popular a hundred years ago. After a relaxing bath, all (most) of my grievances about the stay were forgiven.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are a number of different soaking options at Hot Lake:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There is what remains of the old spring house that is filled with acrylic hot tubs and artificial plants.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uNtvZRRv7MQ/UkHUvSYXWyI/AAAAAAAAEdM/-2nDTPy2oYg/s1600/P9187527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uNtvZRRv7MQ/UkHUvSYXWyI/AAAAAAAAEdM/-2nDTPy2oYg/s640/P9187527.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Around the back of the spring house I thought these two outdoor claw-foot tubs had potential. Were they intended as cool-down cold plunge tubs or will they be set up for outdoor soaking? I would sure rather soak in the wonderful outdoors in these instead of the plastic tubs inside.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There's also the relic of an old brick structure. The water in here was super hot, almost too hot to stand, but I had the space to myself and it was wonderful.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GYRQafsn7CaOuli-p_3ZQsO-eVDexNTswgQ1WWTiUDwSSOOLxDVsbfOwxRGcVUW0BbEpfMdQuX5neV1az-vLv77bRzSKF2MxWX24f2CYALptqiyaBD0VHWhu3KEoDlcEa4dOHxf7TcZP/s1600/P9187520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GYRQafsn7CaOuli-p_3ZQsO-eVDexNTswgQ1WWTiUDwSSOOLxDVsbfOwxRGcVUW0BbEpfMdQuX5neV1az-vLv77bRzSKF2MxWX24f2CYALptqiyaBD0VHWhu3KEoDlcEa4dOHxf7TcZP/s640/P9187520.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> You can close this gate for a little privacy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YT67CbxoNKs/UkHS7mjoCXI/AAAAAAAAEcQ/cQCjCkX6zrM/s1600/P9187521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YT67CbxoNKs/UkHS7mjoCXI/AAAAAAAAEcQ/cQCjCkX6zrM/s640/P9187521.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stepping in the gate and just to the right is this little semi-private deck next to the private soaking area. The chairs face the soaking pool to the left.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8yA58LmYq1E/UkHTG5XuKjI/AAAAAAAAEcY/ACgws9CPFNs/s1600/P9187522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8yA58LmYq1E/UkHTG5XuKjI/AAAAAAAAEcY/ACgws9CPFNs/s640/P9187522.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ahhhh!, a private pool of super hot water! The open trellised roof, old brick and vines winding down to the water made for wonderful atmosphere. The only negative was that soaking in this water with really challenging. It took me a while to adjust and even then and I could only stand soaking for five or so minutes at a time, after that I was cooked!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Next to this brick hot soaking relic is a neat-o waterwheel contraption that lifts, slows and cools the water for a series of outdoor soaking tubs. The water, at 208 degrees, as it comes out of the hillside, is near boiling so it needs this process to cool off for the next series of soaking pools.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1JTUaMMGhYxLI5J6SVPDu9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="449" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6SKgdt81CBM/UkHOziyNRsI/AAAAAAAAEdE/Lx4HJdcCy34/s800-Ic42/P9187517.gif" width="800" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100458189916905605019/HotLakeResortLaGrandeOregon?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">Hot Lake Resort, La Grande, Oregon</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Water from the wheel pours into a gutter which is channeled into the outdoor pools.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7XzOolvPAXs/UkHSSIOyN6I/AAAAAAAAEb4/78X5iowywIQ/s1600/P9187518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7XzOolvPAXs/UkHSSIOyN6I/AAAAAAAAEb4/78X5iowywIQ/s640/P9187518.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CnMb7Qm6h8Y/UkHTfHQuNiI/AAAAAAAAEco/uYjVcQYnZRM/s1600/P9187524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CnMb7Qm6h8Y/UkHTfHQuNiI/AAAAAAAAEco/uYjVcQYnZRM/s640/P9187524.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Again, I'm not a big fan of acrylic tubs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2qmfcZw1YYs0wMGIJ9DtM4UgJgPOs73NIqQ_PyFJaO9gYLcK-iqaqdbyWN1yx5GtTYtoh1xLzXk3oEGILeqZJTqXb21cKMVXCcamD5p0eMQ4pNAKy6H8XLFsA4VbrR6CJngUM3bFx6p7/s1600/P9187525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2qmfcZw1YYs0wMGIJ9DtM4UgJgPOs73NIqQ_PyFJaO9gYLcK-iqaqdbyWN1yx5GtTYtoh1xLzXk3oEGILeqZJTqXb21cKMVXCcamD5p0eMQ4pNAKy6H8XLFsA4VbrR6CJngUM3bFx6p7/s640/P9187525.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">My favorite was this one (above), a pool made out of cement and local rocks. The trouble with it was that it was the farthest one away from the water wheel and it was hard to keep it sufficiently hot. There was a fair amount of lake algae as well. I was warned about this by the staff but it didn't bother me at all. Relaxing, looking out over the lake, made it all worthwhile.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hIuwAVeuFV4/Ul4it3cNa7I/AAAAAAAAEkg/vuOppgFdW7M/s1600/P9247657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hIuwAVeuFV4/Ul4it3cNa7I/AAAAAAAAEkg/vuOppgFdW7M/s640/P9247657.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's another view of the cement outdoor pool taken from above, water vapor lifting up off the lake.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhfGRvXwDerXSZB9idKZbzNaSwsyhibHdrBn89dDCuLtuTb8_BGpO3dxGCmAWm1oDuvEMDcyfb5zBkZ3aEPp8T7WSQgGKmmVgT3c-i9ma6ZrLpeTBTGRcmDiDNx33eTUNtg-GqekGt3Na/s1600/P9187526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhfGRvXwDerXSZB9idKZbzNaSwsyhibHdrBn89dDCuLtuTb8_BGpO3dxGCmAWm1oDuvEMDcyfb5zBkZ3aEPp8T7WSQgGKmmVgT3c-i9ma6ZrLpeTBTGRcmDiDNx33eTUNtg-GqekGt3Na/s640/P9187526.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There is a very <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/91931935@N00/pool/with/22922275/" target="_blank">good Flickr group of photos</a> of the resort/sanitarium. I used some of the photos for this post from that group. Thanks to <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/" target="_blank">Allen</a> Sandquist, in particular, for making his collection available.</span></span><br />
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-51697300992891253112016-01-01T14:22:00.000-08:002016-01-02T11:03:38.404-08:00A Tinygogo bibliography<div class="milo" id="yui_3_8_1_1_1392873075124_1067" itemprop="name">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For the new year, I want to share some of the books that have helped inform my sense of mission with this site. I share these as an overview. Later I hope to explore some of the books below (and others) in more depth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There are numerous how-to books on saunas and hot tubs. Most fall into the garden variety "home-improvement" category such as the Ortho and Sunset series of books. These have scintillating titles such as: <i>Sunset Ideas for Hot Tubs, Spas </i>and<i> Home Saunas</i> and <i>Spas: Planning, Selecting and Installing. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Still there are a few that stand out for their insight and vision, reading that informs us of the deeper meaning for enthusiast bathing. These are the books that I occasionally revisit for reference and rediscovery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I hope what I share below will inspire you to seek and create some quality bathing in 2016. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let's start with five:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Cathedrals of the Flesh</i>, Alexia Brue</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Such a good read! Alexia Brue considers the possibility of opening her own Turkish Hammam in New York City. In order to properly appreciate this potential huge investment, she does a world tour, making careful study of the bathing customs of various countries by experiencing them for herself. (Her writing style reveals a certain wry joy for the weird and awkward that I particularly love.) <i>Cathedrals</i> is a travelogue written around the subject of indulgent pleasure seeking via bathing. What else is there to life?</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c7OpZcLsHnI/UxD2HPDIrSI/AAAAAAAAFv8/F7tTW260TaI/s1600/P2248092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c7OpZcLsHnI/UxD2HPDIrSI/AAAAAAAAFv8/F7tTW260TaI/s1600/P2248092.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Sweat</i>, Mikkel Aaland</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is an indispensable book that explores the world of sweat bathing. It's important because it is one of the first books that provided information on sweat bathing from around the world. It's a great mix of well-researched material with some fun travel writing and personal story telling. <i>Sweat</i>, really gets the credit for being one of the first works that explores the shared commonalities of sweat bathing in numerous different cultures around the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The title says it all. Just as Carl Sagan (coincidently working around the same time <i>Sweat</i> was written) integrated up-to-date scientific information from a wide array of sources to show us the "big picture" of how we fit into the universe, Mikkel Aaland synthesized diverse cultural and historical knowledge to tell us an important story: sweat bathing is a common reoccurring theme with how humans have traditionally cleaned themselves, communed socially and reconnected to being alive and human. <span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">W</span>e've just lost sight of these traditions in our culture of quick-and-easy morning showers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mikkel has been covered earlier here at Tinygogo. He is responsible for the <a href="http://www.tinygogo.blogspot.com/2014/05/perfect-sweat-summit-international.html" target="_blank">Perfect Sweat Summit</a> which took place at <a href="http://banyasf.com/" target="_blank">Archimedes Banya</a> in San Francisco.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Getting Wet, Adventures in the Japanese Bath, </i>Eric Talmadge</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This book focuses exclusively on the Japanese national passion for bathing: ofuro, onsens and sentos (wood hot tubs/baths, hot springs and public bath houses) and other related bathing activities. Eric Talmadge is an Associated Press reporter based in Japan. He's lived there for a number of years now and really knows and loves sharing Japanese culture. As with <i>Cathedrals of the Flesh,</i> exploration of Japanese bathing culture becomes a great travelogue where we learn more about the country through amusing personal stories. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aE-Gu9zQQjo/UxD16YtQweI/AAAAAAAAFvs/mDpaXGF79SE/s1600/P2248090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aE-Gu9zQQjo/UxD16YtQweI/AAAAAAAAFvs/mDpaXGF79SE/s1600/P2248090.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Undesigning the Bath</i>, Leonard Koren</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If bathing were a political movement, this would be my <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotations_from_Chairman_Mao_Tse-tung" target="_blank">Little Red Book</a></i>. It is my bathing manifesto. It's is out of print but worth tracking down. If anyone is considering building their own bath or sauna retreat, <i>Undesigning the Bath </i>is essential primary reading. Inside there are no "how-to's" but instead important philosophical conceptions on the aesthetics of the bathing space and how such spaces can become environments for deep reflection and satisfaction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Leonard Koren was a speaker at the <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2014/03/perfect-sweat-summit.html" target="_blank">Perfect Sweat Summit</a>. He is probably best known for being the founder/publisher/editor of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_%28magazine%29" target="_blank">Wet Magazine</a>. </span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgCVjro5yag_1_YnzAnOLhjZnTFeHDlr64X09AmohMpSh0D0g5KEpaLgL8ybe_jYY9LT1jhv2v8jr53Upq2KrlPMeXZJM3AlQwM7PFSP5sorbD7Hzh7MDWxyF1QV7rcT4BH11PzvPksE5/s1600/P2248093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgCVjro5yag_1_YnzAnOLhjZnTFeHDlr64X09AmohMpSh0D0g5KEpaLgL8ybe_jYY9LT1jhv2v8jr53Upq2KrlPMeXZJM3AlQwM7PFSP5sorbD7Hzh7MDWxyF1QV7rcT4BH11PzvPksE5/s1600/P2248093.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Sauna Book</i>, Tom Johnson and Tim Miller</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I don't know much about this book's background or the authors. Way back in the 1970s it probably competed for bookstore shelf space with Mikkel Aaland's <i>Sweat</i> as <i>the</i> book for do-it-yourselfers building their own backyard or basement saunas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Like <i>Sweat </i>it's out of print and getting harder to find. Also like <i>Sweat, </i>it goes deeper into sauna background, health and history. But primarily it provides good solid information on how to build a sauna. It's remains one of the better books for DIY sauna building. This book was indispensable when my brother and I built our backwoods wood-fired sauna in the 1990s in Alaska.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> </span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-68796170100240163262015-01-06T19:51:00.001-08:002015-01-06T19:53:54.266-08:00Carson Hot Springs Resort gets an update<span style="font-size: large;">Here are a couple snaps of a cool new development at the venerable <a href="http://www.tinygogo.blogspot.com/2013/11/carson-hot-springs-resort.html" target="_blank">Carson Hot Springs</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagAKhwubvRmkZlMpVMar931ExmLmzeRLt06F7PZLi0nLkfRihKuSxTS2hpFbQzUM8Cn852lyJ5BxGrTBo5vm55MxNie7A4u6JpPbAac7K4R3GwnwSBGfk10G9b3HFUyPrsqvwqg3vxvuo/s1600/IMG_20150105_120248742_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagAKhwubvRmkZlMpVMar931ExmLmzeRLt06F7PZLi0nLkfRihKuSxTS2hpFbQzUM8Cn852lyJ5BxGrTBo5vm55MxNie7A4u6JpPbAac7K4R3GwnwSBGfk10G9b3HFUyPrsqvwqg3vxvuo/s1600/IMG_20150105_120248742_HDR.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Check out the pool that is going in on the right.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IGzbw0_Rn9vxrXp1bdCAX3lL-NftA2K4HQAyYYmyxQcugAAVf3G5Obon2qkKi55IqQ4MhmC053zS9oZ3dEvOphyphenhyphenmRG2jR0Zwwbdz4XvAq9hyphenhypheni8NcPiIUgXaISXve3LakM6miXeVa1BCY/s1600/IMG_20150105_120316354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IGzbw0_Rn9vxrXp1bdCAX3lL-NftA2K4HQAyYYmyxQcugAAVf3G5Obon2qkKi55IqQ4MhmC053zS9oZ3dEvOphyphenhyphenmRG2jR0Zwwbdz4XvAq9hyphenhypheni8NcPiIUgXaISXve3LakM6miXeVa1BCY/s1600/IMG_20150105_120316354.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here it is directly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The new owners of the resort are putting in an outdoor soaking pool! I think this is a very good move for the facility. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was hard for me to see a way forward for the resort. Space is now limited with overbuilt new hotel rooms that were put in by a previous developer. (You can see one building in the photo above and there is a similar building right behind me from the photo above.) Also the wonderfully quirky old historic hotel and bath house (in the top photo) simply can't go. It is too historically important and a part of the cultural legacy of the region. But, honestly, the old soaking tubs and wraps are a little antiquated. It's a bathing method that is not for everyone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the outdoor soaking pool, guests can will now take in the splendor of the Wind River Gorge while soaking in a more congenial, social setting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another big bonus is that kids will be allowed in the facility. The bath house has traditionally had an age limit. Now families will soon be able to soak together outside!</span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-79883025540988974952014-12-30T17:21:00.001-08:002015-01-06T19:55:03.525-08:00Happy sauna time<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here nephew Andrew lights and stokes the sauna for a quiet and dark winter sauna. Thanks, Andrew. Playing with fire can be fun!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTnEGzYExfisnJFDp8r2mtjlp1m7ThoHKEChSqoI4Wi12_XXvRx7I5NLFqm23J9Oz9aYrnRP2dDQZ6RW6lg06I2iT3f-XdIRoBOvecLchgiZ7YnudJ8ldejook2TKmha_PAX4h1FuZwBE/s1600/IMG_20141228_172718362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTnEGzYExfisnJFDp8r2mtjlp1m7ThoHKEChSqoI4Wi12_XXvRx7I5NLFqm23J9Oz9aYrnRP2dDQZ6RW6lg06I2iT3f-XdIRoBOvecLchgiZ7YnudJ8ldejook2TKmha_PAX4h1FuZwBE/s640/IMG_20141228_172718362.jpg" height="640" width="358" /> </a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpkMR8NJIlT1wDPpWBDzTeKMQehi5Fx_nzq_0BhWwb_bNdijSZf3wvuVTfLnzAOnLVLyVYU57NSJFjF1LkIP8Vt6OIJuXXVrsh1B_qDKuX61JGxjt6543cIODMLuBqSJX35eo7_d5ZtPvZ/s1600/IMG_20141228_172657108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpkMR8NJIlT1wDPpWBDzTeKMQehi5Fx_nzq_0BhWwb_bNdijSZf3wvuVTfLnzAOnLVLyVYU57NSJFjF1LkIP8Vt6OIJuXXVrsh1B_qDKuX61JGxjt6543cIODMLuBqSJX35eo7_d5ZtPvZ/s640/IMG_20141228_172657108.jpg" height="640" width="359" /> </a> </div>
borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-29219578777727473722014-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:002014-12-11T17:39:44.347-08:00Sauna in cinema: Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUR7gQElhI_Cba9h3zzJlmCKLniUWCEGT-PPC_Oc8zfdKcqBhQtmIh5OXJJfeM1lVa_H5jXSa0Qxa77PjY4OLeSixPO2xSpebY0bnd_kc17K0FpF28-aTA0RttfFBp60WTwhtX3xSnpQS/s1600/vlcsnap-2583171.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUR7gQElhI_Cba9h3zzJlmCKLniUWCEGT-PPC_Oc8zfdKcqBhQtmIh5OXJJfeM1lVa_H5jXSa0Qxa77PjY4OLeSixPO2xSpebY0bnd_kc17K0FpF28-aTA0RttfFBp60WTwhtX3xSnpQS/s1600/vlcsnap-2583171.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Saunas are not just for hedonist pleasure (though there's nothing wrong with that). For many they are used for ritualistically connecting with life. They are used as a contemplative space for coping with life transitions, including the pain of loss and sorrow. There is a very powerful sauna scene in Ingmar Bergman's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_Spring" target="_blank"><i>The Virgin Spring</i></a> (1960) which uses the sauna as part of a tragic tale of loss. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oddly enough, I've actually scene a couple Bergman films just recently (<i>Wild Strawberries</i> and <i>The Seventh Seal</i>). I'd always wanted to know what people were talking about by "Death on the beach," etc. So I was surprised when a sauna friend of mine, Michael Nordskog, mentioned a sauna scene in another Bergman flick, <i>The Virgin Spring</i>. (Michael, by the way, is the author of one of the U.S's primer sauna books, <a href="http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-opposite-of-cold" target="_blank"><i>The Opposite of Cold</i></a>. He was a speaker at the <a href="http://perfectsweatsummit.com/" target="_blank">Perfect Sweat Summit</a>.) He suggested the movie might make for a good topic for Tinygogo's Sauna in Cinema. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got a copy from the library and all I can say is "absolutely." It is a powerful movie with a powerful poignant sauna scene.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLTpApP1KrY/VHn4PAlPfAI/AAAAAAAAKGE/GeWCG3i6ckM/s1600/vlcsnap-2583665.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLTpApP1KrY/VHn4PAlPfAI/AAAAAAAAKGE/GeWCG3i6ckM/s1600/vlcsnap-2583665.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The story centers around the rape and murder of an attractive, if spoiled, innocent young girl, Karin. She is the only daughter of Swedish parents who act as the heads of a small medieval feudal compound. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Human pettiness and resentment set the stage for bad things to come. The mother and father both desperately love their daughter, though there is a rift between them in that their love is not a shared mutual love. The mother dotes on the daughter. Her daughter is all she has in the world. She is jealous of her daughter's relationship with her father, Töre. The father, tough, stoic, clueless, doesn't bother to reach out and share these affections with the mother as a family love. There is a adopted step-sister, Ingeri, who is treated more like a domestic servant. She deeply resents Karin for the love and happiness that is bestowed on her. Ingeri is further shamed with an unwanted pregnancy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A tragedy ensues. Karin is sent off on an errand to deliver cheese and candles to a church for the Virgin Mary. Along the way she is waylaid by goat herdsmen, she is raped and murdered. The act is witnessed by her jealous step-sister Ingeri who fails to try and stop the act. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Later that night, the herdsmen seek lodging unknowingly in the very house of Karin and Ingeri's parents. One of the murdering herdsmen offers some of Karin's clothing they stole off her body to sell to the mother. The mother, in cool silent horror, brings the dress of her dead daughter to the Töre. On his way to investigate, the stepsister returns to tell the tale of murder she witnessed. She confesses her jealousy of Karin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With little doubt now of what became of his daughter and who was responsible, Töre, begins to ritualistically prepare to exact retribution and kill the herdsmen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He calls on Ingiri to prepare "the bath," a traditional Nordic sauna. While it is heating up he wanders off to collect birch branches. He vents his rage by tearing down a tree with his bare hands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXXFWAwYO0FeNvAOl6fwMpzpnUqtchSuC8t-ULSxs7Ywgbhru0wdjegZDr0O1WW9YEE4269s1Orl_uuapBHt7iDGPiSz_jx3n1-KH_-ncSSwT-SfJvppFJj0KNf11tNIHL8i9d2LpAM-0/s1600/vlcsnap-2584886.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXXFWAwYO0FeNvAOl6fwMpzpnUqtchSuC8t-ULSxs7Ywgbhru0wdjegZDr0O1WW9YEE4269s1Orl_uuapBHt7iDGPiSz_jx3n1-KH_-ncSSwT-SfJvppFJj0KNf11tNIHL8i9d2LpAM-0/s1600/vlcsnap-2584886.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-evX4jFsYrnE/VHn4PVtdBLI/AAAAAAAAKE8/51V5yvADRCU/s1600/vlcsnap-2585211.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-evX4jFsYrnE/VHn4PVtdBLI/AAAAAAAAKE8/51V5yvADRCU/s1600/vlcsnap-2585211.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">He chops off birch branches for the bath to be used as <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vihta" target="_blank">vihta</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wm4NJPXapgE/VHn4P9vk5JI/AAAAAAAAKF8/WE2Ma3r8EXA/s1600/vlcsnap-2585260.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wm4NJPXapgE/VHn4P9vk5JI/AAAAAAAAKF8/WE2Ma3r8EXA/s1600/vlcsnap-2585260.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Dutifully, the step-daughter has prepared the bath--water on the rocks for <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/l%C3%B6yly" target="_blank">loyly</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFSFGZhhDBuOLte3v4NG9TC5nBpvc9gMmdm79VC7AzLrO-eNsPGawgXXUbzFYnDlASrdhagPDkbuqLhHjv7xPAc-YP7jO6ATzHJiw5UtVacQFZOL_oBxtTIIRgxfmQJbnj6h_vLTRSCC1/s1600/vlcsnap-2585313.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFSFGZhhDBuOLte3v4NG9TC5nBpvc9gMmdm79VC7AzLrO-eNsPGawgXXUbzFYnDlASrdhagPDkbuqLhHjv7xPAc-YP7jO6ATzHJiw5UtVacQFZOL_oBxtTIIRgxfmQJbnj6h_vLTRSCC1/s1600/vlcsnap-2585313.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJi6VAp1z5U/VHn4RfpeBVI/AAAAAAAAKFs/DwfjiPT-DvM/s1600/vlcsnap-2585372.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJi6VAp1z5U/VHn4RfpeBVI/AAAAAAAAKFs/DwfjiPT-DvM/s1600/vlcsnap-2585372.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEyCkpk8UIS09y5IDk1ozaaOsyN0BuymhMdXVvCHh7XkDCEs06A9FwU_E4d723cife2KENRw-ILuOR-ZQjDdSRwx-fL5B3WTsyIirdUEbCjdBTdd-mU42YWowXtBdHUkj_tSPypdjN75S/s1600/vlcsnap-2585688.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEyCkpk8UIS09y5IDk1ozaaOsyN0BuymhMdXVvCHh7XkDCEs06A9FwU_E4d723cife2KENRw-ILuOR-ZQjDdSRwx-fL5B3WTsyIirdUEbCjdBTdd-mU42YWowXtBdHUkj_tSPypdjN75S/s1600/vlcsnap-2585688.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Töre cleanses himself. It is ritual purification. The flagellation and dumping of cold water on himself are acts of waking himself up and gathering strength to face the deed he must carry out. (Max von Sydow, you hardbody! How'd you get yourself so fit for this role?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BTCICczLpcw/VHn4TYf0FMI/AAAAAAAAKFw/Uf1i3cLfnMw/s1600/vlcsnap-2592545.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BTCICczLpcw/VHn4TYf0FMI/AAAAAAAAKFw/Uf1i3cLfnMw/s1600/vlcsnap-2592545.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Töre locks himself in the great hall with his wife and the herdsman. He stands vigil until dawn when he kills both men with a knife and his bare hands. However in his fit of murderous rage, Töre kills an innocent younger brother of the herdsman, a child. He realizes that he has overstepped his bounds in exacting vengeance. "God forgive me for what I have done." Töre, dude, you're going to need a lot of sauna sessions to work this one out.</span><br />
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<br />borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-82060096679263823192014-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:002014-11-16T20:15:20.233-08:00With Light Steam, book reading event<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gEd72-ZD5EpfdB7kAsVUnRyyi9Fj7Bba6wl4o3-uuM-FrFHPeqh7XsX4eCCg4XziEtWVwqwjSZkOEc-uK5EnjBUu7YXDfwq1TfP9-pAG6y4QMLwOQvrKQKiaclXaTgKQFhX34e3Qh5Bb/s1600/Steam-Room-photo-by-Za-fotokritik.ru_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gEd72-ZD5EpfdB7kAsVUnRyyi9Fj7Bba6wl4o3-uuM-FrFHPeqh7XsX4eCCg4XziEtWVwqwjSZkOEc-uK5EnjBUu7YXDfwq1TfP9-pAG6y4QMLwOQvrKQKiaclXaTgKQFhX34e3Qh5Bb/s1600/Steam-Room-photo-by-Za-fotokritik.ru_.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">copy write Bryon MacWilliams</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hey Portland sauna enthusiasts! We're in luck. Come meet Bryon MacWilliams and listen to him read from his new book <i>With Light Steam. </i>I met Bryon earlier this year while we attended the <a href="http://perfectsweatsummit.com/" target="_blank">Perfect Sweat Summit</a> in San Francisco in March 2014. He spoke at the summit, sharing stories and reading from his upcoming book. It was great.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We got to hang out (and sweat) a little at the end of the day after his talk and a long day of discussion. He's a friendly personable guy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bryon's talk and reading will be on his damn-it-all move to early-90s post-Soviet Russian, his life there, adjusting <i>and </i>banyas--the Russian equivalent of saunas. He spent a fair amount of time here traveling around and, while he did, his favorite passtime was visiting Russian banyas, big and small, public and private.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Right now he's on the West Coast. His website has the latest reading times and locations: <a href="http://withlightsteam.com/news/" target="_blank">With Light Steam</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here in Portland he will speak at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Guildhall-of-CSE/518773594841591?sk=info&tab=page_info" target="_blank">Guildhall of CSE</a> (Community Supported Everything) 1626 NE Alberta Street from 5 to 6:30 pm. There will be a group walk to a community soak and sauna following this at <a href="http://soakandsauna.com/" target="_blank">Common Ground Wellness Coop</a>: 5010 NE 33rd. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have much to learn! I'm looking forward to it and getting my hands on his book. </span><br />
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<br />borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-67210813887110397332014-11-08T07:00:00.000-08:002014-11-11T22:17:50.901-08:00Seward Highway spring water, Mile 109.5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fhQHQN1SaRs/VFCGDTfXjUI/AAAAAAAAJaM/agXUVBCKlAs/s1600/IMG_20141028_155701774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fhQHQN1SaRs/VFCGDTfXjUI/AAAAAAAAJaM/agXUVBCKlAs/s1600/IMG_20141028_155701774.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">For many years--driving the Seward Highway between Anchorage and the family cabin on the Kenai Pennisula--I've passed a spring. It seems like there are <i>always</i> people parked on the side of the road here, filling up with water. This is at the Mile 109.5 pull-out, not far outside Anchorage. If you are driving south, it's just past <a href="https://plus.google.com/104239414395552231692/about?gl=us&hl=en" target="_blank">Beluga Point </a>but before Rainbow Valley. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a side interest to my blogging about saunas and bathing, I occasionally discuss mineral water and mineral springs. There are few hot springs in Alaska but the state does have some fantastic fresh mineral water. Maybe this spring water was worth a try?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I stopped and tried it and<i>, </i>it was <i>really</i> good!<i> </i>As I drove on, I kept reaching for that cold delicious water. Glug, glug, glug. It was quickly all gone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Good tasting water is a subtle thing, much of its quality is what it doesn't have more than what it does. Nevertheless, there are certain good characteristics. The spring water at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@61.0027825,-149.6628472,3a,75y,40.93h,68.25t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sT8zZd5GJrzy6LrJKTLDugw!2e0!6m1!1e1?hl=en" target="_blank">Mile 109.5</a> is marked by it's purity but also a certain crispness and sweetness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sure it's great water but what makes this water so good that it's developed such a cult following? I mean, sometimes there are lines of people here waiting to get some. Geologically, the water would be percolating through what is known as the <a href="http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1372d/report.pdf" target="_blank">McHugh Complex</a>--mountain rock that is a little bit different than the historically-famous gold-bearing material just a little further east down the road. McHugh is known to tend to not contain quartz. This is the rock the gold miners were looking for because quartz was the rock that also included the gold. The McHugh deposition is a mixed up jumble of geological record, compressed here on the highway up into a majestic mountain. It includes igneous rock (cooled molten rock) and sedimentary sandstones and conglomerates. But one unique feature is the occasional inclusion of some limestone in the form of calcium carbonate. This may explain the water's higher alkalinity and "sweet" taste.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Not much is know much about the spring's history. It's been there and been used by travelers for a while now. Some of my earliest memories are of people gathering water along this stretch of the road. In the 1970s it was from potentially dubious sources such as the many little waterfalls along the hillside. I remember a turnout that had a little cave (four feet deep maybe) that always intrigued me as a kid. (In retrospect I wonder if the cave was an old lode mine prospect hole. Or maybe the highway department was having fun with some leftover dynamite?) But I seem to remember this also being a water gathering location for people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our spot in question now was established 25 or so years ago when the road was straightened and widened. At Mile 109.5, along a newly-blasted cliff face, a pipe was inserted into the rock wall. The pipe was specifically placed to help divert the water coming out of the cliff so ice wouldn't build up next to the highway in winter. The pipe channels the water into a culvert running under the road. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Does the pipe continue to be maintained by the highway department? I wrote the Alaska DOT. I got an earnest response but the answer was that they weren't completely sure. I would suspect that it is on an as-needed basis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What about for water collection purposes? Realistically the answer probably is that whoever did it just can't admit it. The routing of the pipe is such that it's perfect for filling up water jugs. The pipe could have easily been positioned differently so the water was run more directly along the ground straight to the culvert. If the highway department fessed up it might create obligations to maintain it and liability for people crossing a busy highway to get the water. I think some benevolent and creative-minded worker tasted this water and thought that it should be shared with others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Whatever the case, this water has slowly been discovered and developed a loyal following. It's a convenient stop on the way out of town for filling up water for camping or hiking. Others go out of their way to gather this water simply because it is so good. On my first visit, I encountered an older man filling up some big plastic jugs. He was serious about stocking up. He looked up at me, smiled and declared, "This is the best water!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 2012, Anchorage TV station KTUU (Channel 2) did a story about it. The story is no longer online but <a href="http://chuckheathjr.com/mile-109/" target="_blank">text from the piece can be found elsewhere</a>. Their concern was that the water might be hillside surface runoff that is channeled through vertical fissures in the mountain. If it was, then it wouldn't be so safe to drink since it could be prone to bacterial contamination, sheep poop and such. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The station had a lab test the water to check for bacteria and harmful minerals. The tests came back stating the water was safe to drink. Nix to dangerous stuff like lead, arsenic and nitrate. There were also no harmful bacteria. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Put this water in a glass bottle and pretend you are a Euro sophisticate. It may not be bubbly but the water qualifies as mineral water in that it is somewhat "hard" with calcium and magnesium, both traditionally considered desirable ingredients to good mineral water. <a href="http://www.findaspring.com/locations/north-america/usa/mile-109-mountain-spring-anchorage-alaska/" target="_blank">Another web citation</a> helps verify this is indeed a spring, again based on the higher mineral content and water alkalinity. I'm not a scientific expert but I doubt that the water could easily pick up these minerals if it only was taking a short trip through cracks in the cliff face. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To me the fact that this is more of a spring than runoff seemed rather intuitively obvious. Stand at the base of the cliff and look up. The water has to travel through a lot of mountain before coming out this pipe. It's certainly not trickling down the face, just below the surface, of 150 feet or so of near-vertical cliff. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Plus, and perhaps more tellingly, the water appears to run year round, not something that would happen if it was runoff. </span>Still, as a reassurance, it's good the water was tested. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is now a certain stop for me when I travel this way. We used to stop for donuts in Girdwood. I'd much rather stop here for water. It's healthy, free and delicious. Plus the view is amazing. Take in the cold sea air and view Chickaloon Bay across Turnagain Arm. Maybe you can see some Dall sheep up above on the cliff? (I did on my last visit.) Or Beluga whales on the incoming tide? </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qi54-liQoyk/VFb8B0geRcI/AAAAAAAAJvc/FeyULf2ssbs/s1600/IMG_20141028_155715206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qi54-liQoyk/VFb8B0geRcI/AAAAAAAAJvc/FeyULf2ssbs/s1600/IMG_20141028_155715206.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">On this basis alone you could say the water is spiritually rejuvenating. </span>Others appear to agree. I appreciated the sticker graffiti on the ABS pipe of the spring. (Why not mark up an object that is already not particularly attractive?) But what made someone take the time to create this odd painting? And what's the message? Is a v</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">eil parted in the rock to reveal what's really inside? </span>Are those apples (or cherries?) floating in a different sky-like dimension inside the mountain? The fruit's essence dripping as water outside the inter-dimensional window for us to savior? Someone clearly appreciates this spot and the water here enough to have taken the time to reverently paint this message. Like me, they want you to know that this place is special. </span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-26177494495419884662014-11-02T23:49:00.001-08:002014-11-06T13:17:18.331-08:00Anchorage sauna re-habilitation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IBrcr6-kd6I/VElYLxZmWCI/AAAAAAAAJNU/viLSwxPLBo0/s1600/PA218929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IBrcr6-kd6I/VElYLxZmWCI/AAAAAAAAJNU/viLSwxPLBo0/s1600/PA218929.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.tinygogo.blogspot.com/2009/06/father-day-sauna-tale-urban-makivik.html" target="_blank">The old sauna at my parent's house</a> in urban Anchorage, Alaska has been extremely neglected. Over the years it's gotten a lot of use but we haven't done too much to keep it up. In particular the rolled roofing had long since failed. Also squirrels got into the insulation. They did an incredible amount of damage, tearing out insulation, gnawing through wood and vapor barrier. The destruction was truly impressive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few years ago I purchased some rolled roofing material with the
intention of doing a quick and easy re-roof. How hard can that be? Unfortunately I
never had enough time during my periodic visits to actually replace the roofing. A few weeks ago I
arrived in Alaska to do some work for my family. One of my own projects
was to finally finish this roof. I finally had enough time but this project took a lot of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPZGQ0t_O2637O4EcYofQfa2D8-bQ_w_taSmBSHqFk9ZlkMyDZgZxWN4eyXtmVBFaiFvcwO1e4HJ9WtXUMcMUEI8hUPj4pBAzvYxcrYyhW_uWEHFYYr6czuGUMWbHgbrZJLbJhX2H89sC/s1600/IMG_20141015_104844050_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPZGQ0t_O2637O4EcYofQfa2D8-bQ_w_taSmBSHqFk9ZlkMyDZgZxWN4eyXtmVBFaiFvcwO1e4HJ9WtXUMcMUEI8hUPj4pBAzvYxcrYyhW_uWEHFYYr6czuGUMWbHgbrZJLbJhX2H89sC/s1600/IMG_20141015_104844050_HDR.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">As you can see, once everything was swept off, there actually wasn't much roof left. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately the roof was much worse that I had expected. We let it go too long and some of the decking was rotten. Additionally the chimney system was completely shot. The chimney "thimble"--the old sheet metal double-walled cylinder that provided spacing between the hot 6 inch stove pipe and the potentially combustible framing--was old and second-hand even when my dad put in the wood stove in the late-1970s. It was now pretty resoundingly rusted out. All of this needed to be redone. The trouble was such items are no longer made. Wood stove pipe parts are now built around stainless steel insulated pipe and this is expensive!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, off came the roofing and out went the old chimney. I selectively replaced the roof boards, saving the good ones for the other side of the roof. When the boards came off I discovered that the insulation was a disaster. Much of it was simply missing, carted off by squirrels. The rest was torn up, the insulative capacity pretty much totally compromised as it was tunneled and trampled and chewed up!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHq6tHKhJ0Fw0M_xVOh84I4rCWXffE2z2ZoHbTl_ge58J8kwaomWA2BQpZdVLa0DH5KhEj27zU87goSvT8Dh26x535V889Lla2eDsvQjVfHr2aIM1MZ414IT6DhMN48nfVToiEzYcema7/s1600/IMG_20141017_142929210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHq6tHKhJ0Fw0M_xVOh84I4rCWXffE2z2ZoHbTl_ge58J8kwaomWA2BQpZdVLa0DH5KhEj27zU87goSvT8Dh26x535V889Lla2eDsvQjVfHr2aIM1MZ414IT6DhMN48nfVToiEzYcema7/s1600/IMG_20141017_142929210.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> Busy squirrels. Impressive!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iQ9Ga7vRszI/VEf3wfpQL5I/AAAAAAAAJI0/s8g9ej6XVuc/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iQ9Ga7vRszI/VEf3wfpQL5I/AAAAAAAAJI0/s8g9ej6XVuc/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a bit of Alaska history. It's a little hard to read but it says, "Anchorage via Seward," documenting that the shed roofing boards arrived via the Alaska Railroad back when Seward was the primary seaport for the region and there was no road to Anchorage.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X-Vh5K84lTk/VFco81g5lRI/AAAAAAAAJzk/VcYyVPREG8M/s1600/IMG_20141018_141858910_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X-Vh5K84lTk/VFco81g5lRI/AAAAAAAAJzk/VcYyVPREG8M/s1600/IMG_20141018_141858910_HDR.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Progress! Next comes framing in the new chimney and replacing the roof decking with a few good boards and some scrap plywood. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c10ZVtlT2l8/VEf3wZQsMDI/AAAAAAAAJI0/ow9Dv4yq3_E/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c10ZVtlT2l8/VEf3wZQsMDI/AAAAAAAAJI0/ow9Dv4yq3_E/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I ran out of original boards so I was forced to use 1/2 inch plywood. The plywood wasn't as thick so I doubled up around the transition edge with extra tar paper and roofing to feather the edge. This seemed to work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7i8lIFEABso/VEf3wYRLG0I/AAAAAAAAJI0/0ogmsDu6SLQ/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7i8lIFEABso/VEf3wYRLG0I/AAAAAAAAJI0/0ogmsDu6SLQ/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Viola! The finished roof with new chimney. It's not pretty but looking at gives me a strong sense of satisfaction knowing that underneath it will be dry again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZF2-2jZlYA/VFb-7to8PrI/AAAAAAAAJwQ/BUNmfaiL3Qk/s1600/IMG_20141021_153035394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZF2-2jZlYA/VFb-7to8PrI/AAAAAAAAJwQ/BUNmfaiL3Qk/s1600/IMG_20141021_153035394.jpg" height="640" width="358" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This turned into a seemingly never-ending project. Not only had the squirrels gotten into the roof, much of the insulation had made its way into the sauna itself. Can there be anything less sensual than bathing in a dusty sauna filled with fiberglass insulation?</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YLNgisV_OLA/VFb6AZERdTI/AAAAAAAAJuw/ZUI0E7Xz2C4/s1600/PA218932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YLNgisV_OLA/VFb6AZERdTI/AAAAAAAAJuw/ZUI0E7Xz2C4/s1600/PA218932.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Get a load of the wood pile under one of the sauna benches. Ick! Everything needed to come out. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2MC0OizKh8I/VFb6DLDEzsI/AAAAAAAAJu4/kyZL2pHmEss/s1600/PA218933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2MC0OizKh8I/VFb6DLDEzsI/AAAAAAAAJu4/kyZL2pHmEss/s1600/PA218933.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This included the rocks around the wood stove since the squirrels managed to get insulation in all the rocks as well. Bending down in this small confined space, with itchy insulation everywhere was an absolute horror. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bXQzw2oprnvFFFkQuTQy7xbqKAzybJ-Sf19mulUcR7ncAVFx1_U9c4q671XqCv2WFdFkXQdk7J18-7NH_yxLZDg9U5e1p3hF_Fa7osC89llHXoZXoE0MVRa41qso1JJVH8wBSv3g_oD0/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bXQzw2oprnvFFFkQuTQy7xbqKAzybJ-Sf19mulUcR7ncAVFx1_U9c4q671XqCv2WFdFkXQdk7J18-7NH_yxLZDg9U5e1p3hF_Fa7osC89llHXoZXoE0MVRa41qso1JJVH8wBSv3g_oD0/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" height="640" width="358" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I developed a system for carting out the sauna rocks: dump them in a bucket with water to wash off dust and insulation, place in milk crate, and then carry the crate outside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--xN049cTrZY/VEf3wSSJS5I/AAAAAAAAJI0/GBwZfF8N80s/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--xN049cTrZY/VEf3wSSJS5I/AAAAAAAAJI0/GBwZfF8N80s/s1600/2014-10-22.jpg" height="640" width="358" /> </a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the rocks piled up outside waiting to get hosed off. You can see in the background that I carried out the same sort of procedure for the fire wood that was under the benches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">God, it was tedious to wash, unload and reload all of the rocks (and wood.) I swept out the space (many times over), hosed down the interior and wiped down the walls and benches multiple times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bAbBFrMYeoc/VFcoVHkWFkI/AAAAAAAAJzY/OhjnkN58SMA/s1600/IMG_20141022_204528005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bAbBFrMYeoc/VFcoVHkWFkI/AAAAAAAAJzY/OhjnkN58SMA/s1600/IMG_20141022_204528005.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was finally rewarded by a very pleasant nighttime sweat. I went for a bike ride before hand to get my circulation moving. It was a
cold clear night in Anchorage.The stars were out. Everything was wonderful.</span><br />
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-83903538124321571722014-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:002014-08-19T07:00:00.381-07:00Anaïs Nin's hammam visit<div class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fi_gVZ5zkKXxmCM5mlEyWoLb2HsrW7jbU-abMWWJftwx2e1Q7pCTwKXYSNYm48ePoGJWbWajFeOFQMf79kocBP5oUt-HkQxFGqhE0NWxhEtaci4sgCI4tIyESlZS97PLAz9P_5FYwC-w/s1600/IMG_20140812_130022232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fi_gVZ5zkKXxmCM5mlEyWoLb2HsrW7jbU-abMWWJftwx2e1Q7pCTwKXYSNYm48ePoGJWbWajFeOFQMf79kocBP5oUt-HkQxFGqhE0NWxhEtaci4sgCI4tIyESlZS97PLAz9P_5FYwC-w/s1600/IMG_20140812_130022232.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here at work we have a community book shelf, a place where residents can share books for others to read. Today I noticed that there was a complete collection of <span dir="auto">Anaïs Nin's diaries. What?! Didn't she write erotica? Maybe that would be inappropriate to have in a public space. Better take a look and see. I randomly opened up Volume V and started reading. It was a boring paragraph mentioning Henry and a book store. Hmm, not prurient enough. Let's try Volume II 1934-1939. Again, randomly opening the book, there was still no NSFW, but I was utterly surprised by the first thing my eyes landed upon. </span><span dir="auto"><span dir="auto">Anaïs</span> describes a visit to a Moroccan hammam, a public bath house, while on a visit to the city of Fez (Fes). Page 77:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">"I met the Arab Women walk to their baths. They went there always in groups, and carrying a change of clothes in a basket over their heads. They walked veiled and laughing, showing only their eyes and the hennaed tips of their hands holding their veils. Their full white skirts and heavily embroidered belts made them heavy and full-looking, like the pillows they like to sit on. It was heavy flesh moving in white robes, nourished on sweets and inertia, on passive watches behind grilled windows. This was one of their few moments of liberty, one of the few times they appeared in the street. They walked in groups with their servants, children, and bundles of fresh clothes, laughing and talking, and dragging their feet in embroidered mules. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">I followed them. When they entered at the mosaic-covered building near the mosque, I entered with them. The first room was very large and square, all of stone, with stone benches, and rugs on the floor. Here the women laid down their bundles and began undressing. This was a long ceremony, for they wore so many skirts, and several blouses, and belts which looked like bandages, so much white muslin, linen, cotton to unroll, unfold, and fold again on the bench. Then there were bracelets to take off, earrings, anklets, and then the long black hair to unwind from th eribbons tressed into the hair. So much white cotton fallen on the floor, a field of white petals, leaves, lace, shed by the full-fleshed women, and as I looked at them I felt they could never be really naked, that all this they wore must cling to them forever, grow with their bodies. I was already undressed and waiting, standing, as I would not sit naked on the stone bench. They were waiting for the children to be undressed by the African maids, waiting for the maids to get undressed. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">An old woman was waiting for us, a completely shriveled old woman with only one eye. Her breast were two long empty gourds hanging almost to the middle of her stomach. She wore a sackcloth around her waist. She gave me a little approving tap on the shoulder and smiled. She pointed to my finger nails and talked but I could not undertand, and I smiled.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">She opened the door to the steam room, another very large square room all of grey stone. But here there were no benches. All the women were sitting on the floor. The old woman filled pails of water from one of the fountains and occasionally poured one over their heads, after they had finished sopaing themselves. The steam filled the room. The women sat on the flor, took their children between their knees and scrubbed them. Then the old woman threw a pail of water over them. This water flowed all around us, and it was dirty. We sat in ribulets of soapy, dirty water, The women did not hurry. They used the soap, then a piece of pumice stone, and then they began to use depilatories with great care and concentration. All of them were enormous. The flesh billowed, curved, folded in tremendous heavy waves. They seemed to be sitting on pillows of flesh of all colors, from the pale Northern Arab skin to the African. I was amazed that they could lift such heavy arms to comb their long hair. I had come to look at them, because the beauty of their absolutely beautiful faces, enourmous, jeweled eyes, straight noble flawless skins, and always a royal bearing. The faces had a quality of statuary rather than painting, because the lines were so pure and clear. I sat in admiration of their faces, and then I noticed that they looked at me. They sat in groups, looking at me and smiling. They mimicked that I should wash my hair and face. I could not explain that I was hurrying through the ritual because I did not like sitting in the darkening waters. They offered me the pumice stone after using it thoroughly all over their ponderous bodies. I tried it but it scratched my face. The Arab women's skin was tougher. The women chatted in circles while washing themselves and their children. I could not bring myself to wash my face with the soap they all used for their feet and armpits. They laughed at what they must have thought was a European woman who did not know the rules of cleanliness.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">They wanted me also to pull out superfluous eyebrows, hair under the arms, and to shave my pubic hair. I finally slipped away to the next room where pails of cooler water were thrown over me. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">I wanted to see the Arab women clothed again, concealed in yards of white cotton. Such beautiful heads had risen out of these mountains of flesh, heads of incredible perfection, dazzling eyes heavily fringed, sensual features. Sometimes moss-green eyes in dark sienna skins, sometimes coal-black eyes in pale moonlit skins, and always the long heavy black hair, the undulating tresses. But these heads rose from formless masses of flesh, heaving like plants in the sea, swelling, swaying, falling, the breast like sea anemones, floating, the stomachs of perpetually pregnant women, the legs like pillows, the backs like cushions, the hips with furrows like a mattress.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">They were all watching me, with friendly nodding of their heads, commenting on my figure. By counting on their fingers they asked was I adolescent? I had no fat on me. I must be a girl. They came around me and we compared skin colors. They seemed amazed by my waist. They could enclose it in their two hands. They wanted to wash my hair. They soaped my face with tenderness. They touched me and talked with volubility. The old woman came with two pails and threw them over me. I was ready to leave, but the Arab women transmitted messages of all kinds with their eyes, smiles, talk. The old woman led me to the third room, which was cooler, and threw cold water over me, and then led me back to the dressing room."</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> So maybe there's less to say about the hammam and more about </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto">Anaïs's </span></span></span>unique perspective on what she was seeing. Oh, the world is so sensual! Nevertheless I figured it was worth sharing. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-33886058187617661772014-08-12T13:21:00.001-07:002014-08-12T13:40:02.859-07:00Aleut banya sauna sweat lodge<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Historic photo found on Ebay. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ekkOB27n__U/Uma7yDPHVLI/AAAAAAAAEp0/tZY6I1Wl0nk/s1600/aleutian%2Bbath%2Bhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ekkOB27n__U/Uma7yDPHVLI/AAAAAAAAEp0/tZY6I1Wl0nk/s1600/aleutian%2Bbath%2Bhouse.jpg" height="500" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YubTHGKyco/Uma7x_m-geI/AAAAAAAAEpw/gYhc6_67oX0/s1600/Aleutian%2BIslands%2Bbath%2Bhouse%2Bassociate%2Bpress%2Bphoto%2Bdescription.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YubTHGKyco/Uma7x_m-geI/AAAAAAAAEpw/gYhc6_67oX0/s1600/Aleutian%2BIslands%2Bbath%2Bhouse%2Bassociate%2Bpress%2Bphoto%2Bdescription.jpg" height="506" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This helps document that not all native Alaskan steams are confined to Y'upik Eskimo culture. As mentioned above, this one is Aleut in Unalaska. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Unalaska,+AK/@53.9058682,-166.575116,4z/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x57abb0a2c1167377:0x6fe44e9b4e08f73e" target="_blank">Unalaska</a> is in an incredibly remote part of the world but locals had active contact with Russians during the Russian colonial era.</span></span> Did Russians introduce the banya to the Aleuts or did the Aleuts share the sweat lodge with the Russians? Probably more the former, but who can say? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What remains of Aleut sweat bathing? Anyone know? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span></span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-26994610668682308422014-05-07T07:00:00.000-07:002014-05-09T15:46:39.195-07:00Perfect Sweat Summit, an international congress of bathing experts and fellow travelers <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/35528316@N04/13244930885" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="P3128192 by Dave McCabe, on Flickr"><img alt="P3128192" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/13244930885_2435d6ed6a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As mentioned <a href="http://www.tinygogo.blogspot.com/2014/03/perfect-sweat-summit.html" target="_blank">previously</a>, an exciting event happened recently in San Francisco at <a href="http://banyasf.com/" target="_blank">Archimedes Banya</a>. This was the <a href="http://perfectsweatsummit.com/">Perfect Sweat Summit</a>, a gathering of sauna/banya/spa/sweat-lodge experts from around the world. Here are some thoughts and impressions on the Summit. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back in 1978 Mikkel Aaland published a unique and important book: <i>Sweat</i>. This was a era when saunas and hot tubs were something of a fad along the same lines of water beds, pet rocks and roller skating. Mr. Aaland's book certainly exploited a trend but it pioneered new ground on something much more meaningful. <i>Sweat</i> wasn't simply a how-to book on saunas or hot tubs written for the benefit of pleasure-seeking baby boomers. It delved deeper and was the first book that really created a synthesis of an idea. This was that sweat bathing (and I think Mikkel gets credit here with popularizing this term) is a wide and, at least historically, surprisingly ubiquitous human tradition. He showed us that sweat bathing traverses the globe and is a integral part of many cultures on almost every continent. Hot tubbing and saunas may have been trending in the U.S. in the 1970s but the movement tapped into deep roots of what it meant to be a human. In many instances these practices had been forgotten as our world modernized with quick-and-easy morning showers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just as Carl Sagan (coincidently working around the same time <i>Sweat</i> was written) integrated up-to-date scientific information from a wide array of sources to show us the "big picture" of how we fit into the universe, Mikkel synthesized diverse knowledge to tell us an important story: sweat bathing is part of how many cultures have traditionally cleaned themselves, communed socially, and reconnected to being alive and human.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tinygogo--as you, my dear reader, know--exists to evangelize these truths. But we are not alone. There are many who want to help rekindled these practices. And so, 36 years after the publication of <i>Sweat</i>, Mikkel Aaland used a similar holistic approach in conceiving the Perfect Sweat Summit. This time, instead of writing a book, Mikkel invited key thinkers/players from different disciplines to create a "think tank." These were folks whose practices may or may not intersect but still orbit around the same topic: sweat bathing. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We gathered at Archimedes Banya in San Francisco. It was an ideal setting (and I will discuss the facilities in a later post.) All of us just managed to squeeze into the cafe/bar area. We met for two days. Each morning after a light breakfast, we'd listen to a full-day's schedule of speakers. Every talk would be followed by questions which tended to turn into colloquium-style discussions. There was a lunch break, more talks, <i>and </i>in the evening we reconvened in the banya itself, getting down to the real stuff--the actual practice that we had been talking so much about.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To me, sitting quietly in the banya was where we really broke bread. There may not have been too much meaningful discourse but I think all of us shared "aha" moments. We were silently reminded that this was really what it was all about. It added strength to our conviction about how awesome sweat bathing can be. And this is important. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The practice is such an intangible commodity. Weight loss? Not so much. It won't give you golden skin or rip your abs. Even for the initiated, it's hard to market an experience. You only know it's happening while you experience it. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/35528316@N04/13244897185" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="P3128195 by Dave McCabe, on Flickr"><img alt="P3128195" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/13244897185_c15693202f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There would be too much to discuss here if I went over each individual speaker. (An annotated <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2014/03/perfect-sweat-summit.html" target="_blank">attendee list is here</a>.) Instead there were some broad categories of discussion. The first and generally best represented, were the high priests of the sauna orthodoxy: the Finns. There was the president of the Finnish Sauna Society, the head of the International Sauna Association, a historian on Finnish sauna culture and the co-director of a movie of Finnish Saunas (<i>Steam of Life.)</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But there were also representatives of other sweating traditions: banya, hamam and sweat lodge. There were experts from the ancillary disciplines of balneology, hydrotherapy and spa therapy. There were scientists and academicians. There were authors. There were reporters, bloggers and enthusiasts. And there were owners and representatives of other West Coast public bathing facilities. (One from Russia too!) </span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the patio of Archimedes Banya with a couple of world sauna rock stars:<br />
Mika Hotakainen, co-director of <i>Steam of Life </i>and Michael Nordskog, author of <i>The Opposite of Cold</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some of the speakers were maybe more illustrious and/or experienced than others but I found that without exception every talk was beautiful and interesting. The warm congenial atmosphere made it easy for everyone to open up and share. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mikkel, as chair and MC, gets credit for this but he had a tough job. He was constantly working to keep the discussion on track given time
constraints, individual passions and full agenda. He handled it admirably,
with kindness and alacrity and certainly a sense of vision as to where to direct discussion. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I do want to mention a couple of speakers. These two were chosen to speak early in the schedule. To me they helped set the tone for what followed by providing an overall aesthetic, historical, and spiritual context to the gathering.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first was <a href="http://www.philcousineau.net/the_art_of_pilgrimage__the_seeker_s_guide_to_making_travel_sacred_18018.htm" target="_blank">Phil Cousineau</a>. Phil is a well-established protégé of Joesph Campbell, best known for his film biography, <i>The Hero's Journey</i>. His discussion centered around some basic Joesph Campbell "101" hero's journey stuff but he tied this in with how humans have historically gathered around the fire. This to me really hit a nerve. It spoke to deep truths as to why many of us are attracted to the heat. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The other was <a href="http://wetmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Leonard Koren</a>. When I first heard about the event I was particularly excited to read that Leonard Koren would be speaking. Mr. Koren is something of a personal hero and inspiration for this blog. He is perhaps best known for <i>Wet</i>, and the famous byline:<i> The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing. </i>But I also appreciate his later books, <i>Undesigning the Bath, </i><i>Wabi Sabi, </i>and<i> How to Take a Japanese Bath. </i>In his talk, we were reminded how bathing is a space for quiet introspection and reflection. The sensual experience of the bath creates a mood of contemplation. Amen! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Behind our lofty enthusiasm there was another purpose for the Summit. This was to help launch a film series on world sweat bathing. It will have the same title as Mikkel's book, <i>Sweat</i>. Many of the speakers where individually interviewed on camera for the series. Maybe some of this footage will be used in the show? Maybe ideas will be harvested for use as building blocks for episodes?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What the series will be and how it will turn out is unclear. My sense is that a production crew will travel the world and explore--in some sort of documentary narrative--how different cultures sweat bathe. I'm pretty confident that after the Perfect Sweat Summit it won't get bogged down on "prefered sauna procedure" or with trendy lifestyle stuff. I'm really looking forward to it since it could rekindle a movement and, dare I say, awaken the consciousness of it's viewers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My only hope is that Mikkel Aaland is a spokes person. In an homage to Carl Sagan, I picture him opening the series on a rocky California coast--perhaps while soaking in an open-air hot tub--expounding poetic on how a good sweat ties us in with deep currents of our human heritage.</span></span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-2757277564060893632014-03-30T00:06:00.000-07:002014-03-30T12:58:23.228-07:00News flash: historic Wilbur Hot Springs lodge burns<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44iIHvToyTLAiKBaLIxopjLjHvpW-XBfzHTPODRC_c-huySkaoQmpoMTLAObl00zANgVN3RayaF1tWgl3b03UkAEpQVCHa5qRVKGd06VV5k4Iht68g0-KJUOpohQnVEN6eQ65JDTTLaPN/s1600/wilbur+lodge+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44iIHvToyTLAiKBaLIxopjLjHvpW-XBfzHTPODRC_c-huySkaoQmpoMTLAObl00zANgVN3RayaF1tWgl3b03UkAEpQVCHa5qRVKGd06VV5k4Iht68g0-KJUOpohQnVEN6eQ65JDTTLaPN/s1600/wilbur+lodge+night.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a> <br />
(photo, wilburhotsprings.com)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's a sad day for soaking enthusiasts, particularly for those who live in Northern California. The main lodge of the wonderful historic, <a href="http://www.wilburhotsprings.com/index.htm">Wilbur Hot Springs</a> (about two-hours north of San Francisco) has burned down.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36081%3Abreaking-historic-wilbur-hot-springs-main-lodge-destroyed-by-fire&catid=1%3Alatest&Itemid=197">Here's a link to the news story.</a> It happened Saturday morning, March 29th, with fire crews being dispatched at around 10:40 am. No one appears to have been hurt. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I discovered Wilbur Hot Springs just recently. It was, thankfully, a minimally developed hot springs resort. The accommodations were simple, more like a bed and breakfast than a modern hotel. There was no restaurant, and blissfully, no TVs. It's main strength was how carefully the soaking area was constructed in relation to the natural surroundings and the old buildings. Wilbur offered world class mineral hot springs: outdoor soaking in hot water with high mineral content in a quiet and peaceful setting.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The springs soaking area does not appear to be affected by the fire but the lodge was a central part of the experience and identity of the facility. Even though it suffered from sometimes disjointed remodels and re-stylings, it remained a grand old historic building (1915). It's original construction must have been a considerable achievement given how isolated the location was at the time. The lodge was big and old and it had a very homey feel that included shared bunk rooms and a large communal kitchen and community dining areas. There was a pleasant congenial atmosphere to the space where guests from around the world felt welcome to sit in the library and dining areas and talk with each other. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was impressed with how the facility was off-grind and powered entirely (I think year round) with photovoltaic solar panels. The communal kitchen had something like four or five very high-efficiency <a href="http://www.sunfrost.com/">Sun Frost </a>refrigerators for guest use.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">While the old lodge can never be replaced, we hope that something similar will re-open so the soaking can go on. </span></span><br />
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-33660107356344641842014-03-10T10:00:00.000-07:002014-03-26T13:48:10.987-07:00Sauna in Cinema, Asi Nisi Masa! The truth of bathing in Federico Fellini's 8½<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-md4w05NH5JA/UxUzjQE9SbI/AAAAAAAAF5A/uiLtas8HLw8/s1600/vlcsnap-3446161.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-md4w05NH5JA/UxUzjQE9SbI/AAAAAAAAF5A/uiLtas8HLw8/s1600/vlcsnap-3446161.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poor Guido Anselmi. He’s having a crisis, a midlife crisis, something akin to a nervous breakdown. He, the main character as played by Marcello Mastroianni, is in the midst of a new film project. He's forced to take an emergency hiatus to attend to his stress. He checks into a hot springs health spa, an old-school European variety. Mineral water and sweat bathing are his therapy and they are a reoccurring theme throughout Federico Fellini’s film: <i>8½</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKAecx68E6c/UxUzdG4aCaI/AAAAAAAAF4M/DLv9zh-U1Bo/s1600/vlcsnap-1638005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKAecx68E6c/UxUzdG4aCaI/AAAAAAAAF4M/DLv9zh-U1Bo/s1600/vlcsnap-1638005.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">One of the best bathing scenes is where the patients slowly walk down a set of stairs into Hades-like vapor baths, woman on the left, men on the right. Does anyone know if this was a real place? Some actual European health spa or just a set?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">On to the movie:</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The opening is a dream sequence where Guido is having a claustrophobic panic attack. He's trapped in a traffic jam, he floats away from it all, soaring through the sky. Abruptly he is pulled back to earth by people who must see him. He crashes into the ocean and wakes from the dream in the dark room of his resort hotel. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Immediately he is assaulted by outside influences. His intellectual friend finds him and begins to pick apart his movie. Likewise, a doctor and nurse enter to fuss over him. The doctor dictates his daily regimen to one of the nurses: “Breathe. Your system is a bit worn out. You may get dressed now…This treatment will do you good. You’ll see. Nurse: 300 ml of holy water, 3 doses to be taken at 15 minute intervals, on an empty stomach. Mud bath every other day. After the mud bath, ten minutes in the mineral water as prescribed.” Will the treatment do him good? Yes and no. It was close but not exactly what he needed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Later Guido makes it out into the sun to take his water. As part of his spa cure he waits in line with others, mostly old people, to drink mineral water from the spring’s fountains. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G0OnC1-JZqU/UxUk0b3m8rI/AAAAAAAAF0Y/kmG7PfcCKf8/s1600/vlcsnap-3427354.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G0OnC1-JZqU/UxUk0b3m8rI/AAAAAAAAF0Y/kmG7PfcCKf8/s1600/vlcsnap-3427354.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here he has a vision of female essence in the form of actress, Claudia Cardinali. She comes walking out of the woods, an embodiment of feminine grace, serenity and beauty. He is distracted by this hallucination momentarily when he notices that he's at the front of the line.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He reaches out to take his glass of water--and there she is again--serving him with a smile. He looks again and it is a different woman. The vision has past.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is his cure. It’s a symbolically loaded scene. All of the people waiting in line, geriatrics and clergy are dead to the world. They underscore the banality of the spa. The process is a farce. Yet his vision of femininity and water, and later bathing, represent his lost deepest truth.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jYE4ZD-r8PA/UxUxJVCxzSI/AAAAAAAAF2o/Se-7_IyIPs4/s1600/vlcsnap-3365756.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jYE4ZD-r8PA/UxUxJVCxzSI/AAAAAAAAF2o/Se-7_IyIPs4/s1600/vlcsnap-3365756.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Notice the placement of hands on Claudia. She runs through the woods toward Guido like this. It’s weird. But, none the less, we see it again here in a fantasy dream sequence where Guido is bathed by all of the woman in his life: former girl friends, wife and mistresses. His hands are in the same position. Could it be that Guido is seeking a union with his lost Jungian anima? This is why he is not whole. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V55mC4TEMOg/UxUzga8O1_I/AAAAAAAAF4o/3jXPWLyjfWU/s1600/vlcsnap-3435561.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V55mC4TEMOg/UxUzga8O1_I/AAAAAAAAF4o/3jXPWLyjfWU/s1600/vlcsnap-3435561.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Clearly Felini is saying something here. There was a previous bathing sequence, a flashback memory of Guido as a young boy. It’s bed time and the children are bathed and tucked in for bed. Tuck, tuck, tuck. He’s safe and cozy, in a state of singularity with life. This is a mental state Guido has lost in his life, the stress of his job, and the incessant intrusion by others has wiped this away.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The memory was triggered when he overheard some old childhood words, "Asi Nisi Masa." I read elsewhere that the first syllable of each word combined creates the word "anima." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Does the movie have a resolution? Does Guido find his peace? Hard to say. In the end, Guido takes a gun from a potential rival for his wife and, during a press conference, climbs under a table and shots himself in the head. The death is a release and he awakens to a world where everyone is dressed in white. The clowns are in charge now. All of the people in his life are as equals, free of judgement and joyful. All join hands in a circle and dance as Nina Rota's wonderful carnival <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWqC6kRCLjI">music plays</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Maybe he just needed a good bath?</span></span><br />
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-10363459244506865132014-03-05T11:29:00.000-08:002014-05-08T12:08:02.759-07:00Perfect Sweat Summit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OfZTupr4ImU/Ux0efN_Ql2I/AAAAAAAAF8o/xG9Pvm94jsg/s1600/IMG_20140209_192930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OfZTupr4ImU/Ux0efN_Ql2I/AAAAAAAAF8o/xG9Pvm94jsg/s1600/IMG_20140209_192930.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is happening! While the rest of you suckers are toiling away at your desks, a select group of inspired thinkers, free spirits and artist-types will attend a special conclave in San Francisco to share stories, science and insight into one of life's most important topics: how to have a good sweat.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">This will be the <a href="http://perfectsweatsummit.com/" target="_blank">Perfect Sweat Summit</a> and it will be held at <a href="http://banyasf.com/" target="_blank">Archimedes Banya</a> in San Francisco March 11th and 12th.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Archimedes Banya is a fantastic facility. (I will write about it in a future post.) The building is an entirely from-the-ground-up bespoke design for the purposes of quality sweat bathing. It includes hot pools, a Finnish sauna, a three-story traditional Russian public-style banya and a steam room. Best of all, there is a fantastic 40 degree-ish cold plunge pool. The upper stories have a cafe/gathering space and there is a nice patio which overlooks San Francisco and the Bay. You couldn't pick a better spot for a gathering of sweat enthusiasts. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here is a list of the attending luminaries:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Organizer/Moderator</b></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mikkel Aaland, author of <i><a href="http://www.cyberbohemia.com/Pages/sweat.htm">Sweat</a></i></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Presenters</b></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Leonard Koren, founder of <a href="http://wetmagazine.com/" target="_blank" title="Wet Magazine link">WET magazine,</a> author of <i>Undesigning the Bath, Wabi-Sabi</i> and <i>How to Take a Japanese Bath</i>, and acknowledged design philosopher</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jarmo Lehtola, CEO, <a href="http://www.sauna.fi/in-english/">Finnish Sauna Society</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Risto Elomaa, president of the <a href="http://www.sauna.fi/in-english/international-sauna-association/">International Sauna Association</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael Nordskog, author of <i><a href="http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-opposite-of-cold" target="_blank" title="Opposite of Cold">The Opposite of Cold</a></i></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jeannette.waegemakersschiff" target="_blank">Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff</a>, PhD, associate professor, faculty of social work, University of Calgary</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Riku Hämäläinen, adjunct professor, Study of Religions Helsinki, Finland</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.mollyreichert.com/" target="_blank">Molly Reichert</a>, adjunct faculty, University of Minnesota School of Architecture</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stephen Colmant, Ph.D., licensed psychologist, author of<i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sweat-Therapy-Guide-Greater-Well-Being-ebook/dp/B004NIFPA0" target="_blank" title="Sweat with Stephen Colmont">Sweat Therapy: A Guide to Greater Well-Being</a></i></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Phil Cousineau, author <i><a href="http://www.philcousineau.net/the_art_of_pilgrimage__the_seeker_s_guide_to_making_travel_sacred_18018.htm" target="_blank">The Art of Pilgrimage and The Hero’s Journey</a></i> and host of the Global Spirit Series</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cynthia Josayma, <a href="http://www.balneoana.org/" target="_blank" title="BANA link">BANA, Balneology Association of North America</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Glenn Auerbach, founder, <a href="http://saunatimes.com/">saunatimes.com</a>, <a href="http://nicemug.com/" target="_blank" title="nICE mug website">nICE mug</a>, and sauna builder</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Timo Myllyntaus, University of Turku, professor of Finnish history</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dr. Sean Mullen, professor of psychology and kinesiology at the University of Illinois</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Matt Wiggins, bohemian capitalist, Hospital and Health Care</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Nell Waters, founder, SOAK, <a href="http://www.whole-body-tonic.com/" target="_blank">Whole Body Tonic</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">John Pederson, builder/designer, <a href="http://612sauna.tumblr.com/" target="_blank" title="JP gettin' nuts in his mobile sauna">612 Mobile Sauna</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Larry Holman, former manager <a href="http://www.banya5.com/" target="_blank" title="Banya5">Seattle Banya5</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Clint Carlson, self-described “sauna freak”</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dr Reinhard R Berge, CEO <a href="http://www.h-e-a-t.com/" target="_blank">H-e-a.t.Inc. </a> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Alexander Generalov, consultant for the <a href="http://www.sanduny.ru/" target="_blank" title="Sanduny Bathhouses in Moscow">Sanduny banya in Moscow</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kathy Nelsen, director, <a href="http://www.kabukisprings.com/" target="_blank" title="Kabuki Springs & Spa">Kabuki Springs & Spa</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Riku Hämäläinen, adjunct professor, Study of Religions Helsinki, Finland</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mika Hotakainen, co-director, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1583323/" target="_blank" title="Steam of Life">Steam of Life</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Surinder Bains, owner <a href="http://www.mirajhammam.com/" target="_blank" title="Miraj Hammam Spa">Miraj Hammam Spa</a> Vancouver, BC</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Byron MacWilliams, author <a href="http://withlightsteam.com/" target="_blank">With Light Steam</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ariel Sutro, speaking on the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/cliff-house-sutro-baths.htm" target="_blank" title="Sutro Baths">San Francisco Sutro Baths</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mary Bemis, founder and editorial director, <a href="http://www.insidersguidetospas.com/" target="_blank" title="Insiders Guide To Spas">Insider’s Guide to Spas</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Crystal Carlson, owner/operator <a href="http://www.insidersguidetospas.com/" target="_blank" title="Insiders Guide To Spas">Ladywell’s Vitality Spa and Sauna</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Barefoot Ted McDonald, sharing on Seattle Banya 5 culture – Founder, <a href="http://www.lunasandals.com/" target="_blank">Luna Sandals</a> </span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Irem Guroglu, sharing on the Turkish hammam – <a href="http://www.banya5.com/" target="_blank" title="Seattle Banya 5">Seattle Banya 5</a> Member</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jamie Underwood, L.M.P. and director of spa services – <a href="http://www.ladywellspa.com/" target="_blank" title="Ladywells' Spa">Ladywell’s Vitality Spa and Sauna</a></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stephen Kiesling, president of the Gold Hill White Water Center, and founding editor of <a href="http://spiritualityhealth.com/" target="_blank" title="Spirituality Health Magazine"><i>Spirituality and Health</i></a> magazine</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://jeanrintoul.com/stacey/">Jean Rintoul</a>, senior biosignal algorithms engineer </span></span></li>
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<b></b>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-17560808011737551862014-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:002014-03-29T08:20:45.720-07:00Doug and Erin's wood-fired hot tub revised, now with sauna!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2oL8I_K0ze8/UnGZ_JpuRfI/AAAAAAAAEu4/kmUp1SQUEtk/s1600/PA277789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2oL8I_K0ze8/UnGZ_JpuRfI/AAAAAAAAEu4/kmUp1SQUEtk/s1600/PA277789.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few years ago I shared a popular post about my friends' do-it-yourself <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2009/11/doug-and-erins-wood-fired-hot-tub.html" target="_blank">wood-fired hot tub</a>. Since that time Doug and Erin had a kid and moved to a more rural setting. They brought their hot tub with them but Doug re-did the DIY, creating a new structure that doubles as a hot tub cover <i>and </i>backyard sauna.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The outdoor sauna/hot tub structure is small, simple and elegantly conceived. Situated on the edge of their lot next to the forest, it's a wonderful setting. Imagine the bliss of having a completely silent soak in the dark while taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the surrounding forest. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2At_3pv2_6g/UnGY-liGMWI/AAAAAAAAEt4/yt-Yd-jRU5c/s1600/PA277781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2At_3pv2_6g/UnGY-liGMWI/AAAAAAAAEt4/yt-Yd-jRU5c/s1600/PA277781.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here you can see how the 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank sits on a pad of gravel. A fair amount of water gets displaced when four people soak. The gravel keeps the surrounding area from getting muddy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There is a separate pad for the Chofu stove. Originally Doug had the stove inside the sauna. His idea was to have the Chofu heater double as a sauna heater. It was a great idea. Unfortunately, in spite of the small sauna, the Chofu was just too efficient at pumping heat into the water and not into the surrounding air. It didn't do a very good job at heating the sauna space. Because of this, Doug added a small wood stove to the sauna space and moved the Chofu outside.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ku8gC0PjnNQ/UnGZUiocnII/AAAAAAAAEuQ/PAix_FCtFic/s1600/PA277784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ku8gC0PjnNQ/UnGZUiocnII/AAAAAAAAEuQ/PAix_FCtFic/s1600/PA277784.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The inside of the sauna has a new replacement wood burning stove. It's a small and inexpensive stove but cranks out plenty of heat for the small space. If he wants a quick sweat without the time and effort required to heat up 300 gallons of water, Doug fires up the sauna. It takes only about 20 minutes to get hot.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4SaN6vVMgsY/UnGZdTA-KuI/AAAAAAAAEuY/vZpPR7rAiXw/s1600/PA277785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4SaN6vVMgsY/UnGZdTA-KuI/AAAAAAAAEuY/vZpPR7rAiXw/s1600/PA277785.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The entrance to the sauna is this nice old salvaged four-panel door. There are two little tea light candle lanterns that serve to light the outside at night. Behind the lanterns are two glass bottle windows like this one:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxIVxt5oI2w/UnGauWOWA-I/AAAAAAAAEvo/JsO1T6589Vs/s1600/PA277795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxIVxt5oI2w/UnGauWOWA-I/AAAAAAAAEvo/JsO1T6589Vs/s1600/PA277795.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The bottle glass windows are a wonderful feature. Doug found nice blue bottles and a bottle cutter for cutting the bottles in half.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UqxXOkVFcE8/UnGa073iDlI/AAAAAAAAEvw/S1iOV-_xJ6o/s1600/PA277796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UqxXOkVFcE8/UnGa073iDlI/AAAAAAAAEvw/S1iOV-_xJ6o/s1600/PA277796.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dV6fMuau9wY/UnGa64kIPxI/AAAAAAAAEv4/oS9bW-9q2jM/s1600/PA277797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dV6fMuau9wY/UnGa64kIPxI/AAAAAAAAEv4/oS9bW-9q2jM/s1600/PA277797.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> This is what they look like on the inside.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_pbCJWqmDIA/UnGaG9qkpWI/AAAAAAAAEvA/MSUUr7CButA/s1600/PA277790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_pbCJWqmDIA/UnGaG9qkpWI/AAAAAAAAEvA/MSUUr7CButA/s1600/PA277790.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another addition is the old clawfoot tub that's used as a dunk tank. It's pictured here with a plywood cover.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6OEdJBrrvM/UnGYu_nhJuI/AAAAAAAAEtg/PsC5Mt18X6E/s1600/PA277780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6OEdJBrrvM/UnGYu_nhJuI/AAAAAAAAEtg/PsC5Mt18X6E/s1600/PA277780.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Theo asks if the water is hot yet.</span></span>
borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-26747994344070108502014-01-14T06:30:00.000-08:002014-08-12T13:41:13.977-07:00Urban Adventure Bathing: the Portland Hilton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nI9xLO0yCfE/Uov8C7k1UjI/AAAAAAAAFL4/swU8F1rG_04/s1600/PB197845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nI9xLO0yCfE/Uov8C7k1UjI/AAAAAAAAFL4/swU8F1rG_04/s640/PB197845.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Did you know that Portland's downtown <a href="http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/oregon/hilton-portland-and-executive-tower-PDXPHHH/index.html" target="_blank">Hilton Hotel</a> has a <a href="http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/oregon/hilton-portland-and-executive-tower-PDXPHHH/attractions/index.html" target="_blank">spa and fitness facility</a> and that it's open to the public? Yes, there's a fitness room, but all Tinygogo cares about is the indoor pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room. Somehow I managed to work downtown for almost seven years before learning about it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For $20 a visitor can drop in for full access to the facilities.This is conservative corporate America, so bring a swim suit. It's required. (I managed to not get kicked out after prancing around in my speedo.) The important thing is that this is a relatively unknown location where you can sneak a sensual escape from the troubled world.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgXHwiL-tXvUC9DWZ_zQvntWXwP1zVGUQIt95R8DyQQ17E8OmWe0H_O1C09c0WKAIGtIl4DrnuPnVlCmuXo7NiI-CmjDBAPHMb6DfC2CXWlUbJopttT7DBMgVkJswl3zwPfoT9jhS32tI/s1600/PB197846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgXHwiL-tXvUC9DWZ_zQvntWXwP1zVGUQIt95R8DyQQ17E8OmWe0H_O1C09c0WKAIGtIl4DrnuPnVlCmuXo7NiI-CmjDBAPHMb6DfC2CXWlUbJopttT7DBMgVkJswl3zwPfoT9jhS32tI/s640/PB197846.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lockable wood lockers (at least in the men's area)</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ou5obUbB8Vo/Uov76_W7kFI/AAAAAAAAFLw/-bYFnjOHTXg/s1600/PB197847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ou5obUbB8Vo/Uov76_W7kFI/AAAAAAAAFLw/-bYFnjOHTXg/s640/PB197847.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are numerous private showers. Be careful you don't give yourself a seizure from the black and white checkered tile. <i>The Dream Police, they're coming for you. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sd3Ukb9m590/Uov8eYL9spI/AAAAAAAAFMQ/gB09AziKw2A/s1600/PB197850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sd3Ukb9m590/Uov8eYL9spI/AAAAAAAAFMQ/gB09AziKw2A/s640/PB197850.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the entrance to the sauna. It's perfectly serviceable, hot, good benches and large. Nothing fancy but no complaints either. It didn't have a bucket for steam but I improvised by filling up a few paper cups of drinking water. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgC2V-RcgAelEmtxKFdZZ-WdG7t9YpnjZ3iQ8efcQBOaDHNKPnU_bP7KM_zguwNOmgtep5MMVvp0WZ-zcII8Zv5UzI8FEah9lc2djw-K7HIXidNBx9S29SA1GVJBrFa3_QZtc6kcIgFbF/s1600/PB197851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgC2V-RcgAelEmtxKFdZZ-WdG7t9YpnjZ3iQ8efcQBOaDHNKPnU_bP7KM_zguwNOmgtep5MMVvp0WZ-zcII8Zv5UzI8FEah9lc2djw-K7HIXidNBx9S29SA1GVJBrFa3_QZtc6kcIgFbF/s640/PB197851.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And this is the entrance to the steam room. I thought it was well-designed and maintained. Too often steam rooms are a token addition, where tile might be missing, or it's luke warm and clammy (and even moldy). There were two levels of tile benches and the ceiling was an upside-down pyramid design, so condensation on the ceiling was channeled to a central spot in the room. It didn't drip on me and it was fun to watch. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The negative with both the sauna and the steam room was that there were no nearby showers for cold rinsing. It felt a little awkward to walk through a carpeted hallway and through the changing room to get to the showers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KR_n8A4-EjE/Uov81w96kpI/AAAAAAAAFMg/YtNhZVOkWYI/s1600/PB197853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KR_n8A4-EjE/Uov81w96kpI/AAAAAAAAFMg/YtNhZVOkWYI/s320/PB197853.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The swimming pool was certainly not Olympic length but you can still do some laps to get the blood moving. It works as a cooling plunge pool too!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXj05eyeOm0PB1BMXXgcwW5-jtE-Aykz_hJ_cG7it48lyrlnvDWZ_EdibJ_3Cbk7t_MMzDrl8Hk3KAAPVe4Ip4Hv_NHQp9u0bH3hV1fQN5dtVIWYmEJejNisl7m54jyaVXQqisEu6HDkr1/s1600/PB197854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXj05eyeOm0PB1BMXXgcwW5-jtE-Aykz_hJ_cG7it48lyrlnvDWZ_EdibJ_3Cbk7t_MMzDrl8Hk3KAAPVe4Ip4Hv_NHQp9u0bH3hV1fQN5dtVIWYmEJejNisl7m54jyaVXQqisEu6HDkr1/s320/PB197854.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ah, the light! The roof above the swimming pool is a nice treat. I floated on my back and stared at the sky.Good bye, stress.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-19adXhAkGHA/Uov9Kx9qI1I/AAAAAAAAFMw/sKtE8cqT7PQ/s1600/PB197856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-19adXhAkGHA/Uov9Kx9qI1I/AAAAAAAAFMw/sKtE8cqT7PQ/s320/PB197856.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hot tub! It's a stainless steel tub, which is a nice step up from nasty acrylic.<i> </i>(The black and white checker board theme returns to haunt me.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Honestly I didn't fully relax on my first visit. As a non-hotel guest and as a ruthless blogger I felt like a bit of an interloper. Also the environment is a little sterile. But, in the spirit of <a href="http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2013/12/urban-adventure-bathing.html" target="_blank"><i>Urban Adventure Bathing</i></a>, I resolve to overcome these obstacles and make this place my own. I am keeping this place in my secret emergency reserve if I ever have to escape for an inappropriately-long lunch hour from a tough day at work. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-72728922053046523042014-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:002014-01-11T20:47:29.257-08:00Tinygogo goes on sabbatical<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgIvky9fmRiwE3_1f7IdLwpleR4_BRBNhho1-_BTjKphm19q4Or6o1O04Fq1q7cgM1ZbkCv4oVrfi4FtW8cTTkjVjv_qWI2hEXcamf_0qHd_39SDiRE_Vzc9U9flxkjjF-mBU7UQgPrf7/s1600/IMG_20111227_100519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgIvky9fmRiwE3_1f7IdLwpleR4_BRBNhho1-_BTjKphm19q4Or6o1O04Fq1q7cgM1ZbkCv4oVrfi4FtW8cTTkjVjv_qWI2hEXcamf_0qHd_39SDiRE_Vzc9U9flxkjjF-mBU7UQgPrf7/s1600/IMG_20111227_100519.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's time for a break in life. I have an taxing job where I'm forced to get face to face with people living on the edge. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For the next month or two I will be in Alaska getting away from it all and soaking up the darkness and peace and quiet. While away I hope to get some good saunas sessions in, work on my own sauna and do some writing. </span></span><br />
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borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-28521200176908522052014-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:002018-02-02T15:56:51.843-08:00An historical sketch, steam baths in Portland, Oregon circa 1956<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One hundred years ago, here in Portland, Oregon, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">what did people do to get clean if they didn't have access to a bathtub? </span></span>It’s easy to lose sight of how Portland was a western frontier town and what this meant in the ordinary lives of someone living downtown. Even though we see (and some of us even use) the same turn-of-the-century buildings, how people lived in them has changed markedly.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the late-1800s as downtown Portland grew, innumerable single room occupancy hotels (SROs) were built to house the droves of itinerant workers: farmers, sailors, longshoremen, miners, loggers, fishermen and cannery workers--who all needed a short-term place to live between seasons or jobs. The SRO hotel was a good fit for these working men. It was something more than a typical hotel room but not a full fledged apartment. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A single room might consist of--depending on when it was built and what someone was willing to pay--a single corner sink, central heat and/or rudimentary electricity. Most came with simple furnishings: a bed, easy chair and table. If there was plumbing, more often than not these buildings had a shared commode down the hall and a separate shared bathtub room. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">With the older buildings, indoor plumbing was iffy. It was either too expensive when the hotel was first constructed or it came along shortly after completion. Plumbing may have been retrofitted after construction, with added supply and waste chases in a building's light well or in the back. Indoor plumbing, after all, wasn’t really established in new construction here in the West until around the 1890s and 1900s. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even if a given SRO building was appointed with a shared bath it's a safe guess that it was either crowded or just plain too gross to use. What if lumberjack Sven was too dainty to wash up in a clawfoot tub coated with multiple other residents’ accumulated dirt and sebaceous grime? So where would a humble, honest and hard-working man go to clean up if he lived in a building that either didn’t have a bath or it was too filthy to consider? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enter the public steam bath. What a public steam bath was exactly remains unclear but it was a business where a working man could go to get really clean, this probably included some age-old righteous sweating. Still what was it? Was it a steam room, sauna, or multiple bath tubs. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even if we don't (yet) know exactly, Portland had a number of bath houses to serve the itinerant working population. We know this because they were listed in the phone books.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I took a brief trip to the downtown Multnomah County Library to look in the phone directories to see what existed. From my first cursory investigation I looked up “steam bath,” “sauna,” and “bath house” in the Yellow Pages. I checked books from a few decades, 1956, 1963, 1973, and 1983. Everything I found was listed under "steam bath." So "steam bath" was the proper vehicular for a bath house sixty years ago and probably earlier.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1956 a number of steam baths from at least the 1920s were still in business. (Nothing listed in the 1983 directory is still open today.) Below I list everything from 1956. I figured by using this year there was a good chance that there would be a link between the original business/structure from the steam bath's heyday and a structure which would still be standing. Later </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hit the pavement and sought out the original locations for the 1956 businesses. </span></span>Surprisingly--with the exception of a "ladies" steam bath that listed an in determinant address--all of the buildings are still standing!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are they are:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finnish Public Steam Baths,</b> 304 NW Flanders, was in the basement of the Royal Palms Hotel. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4iolS-KWCiU/Ur_TNxzxwjI/AAAAAAAAFV4/tUQfB3UD0tE/s1600/PC107882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4iolS-KWCiU/Ur_TNxzxwjI/AAAAAAAAFV4/tUQfB3UD0tE/s640/PC107882.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Royal Palms Hotel still exists as a hotel of sorts. It now serves low-income residents in a mental health program. The structure was built in 1913. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T-PwnPVKSFk/Ur_TwalpAHI/AAAAAAAAFWE/v4VaXDeQsgc/s1600/PC107885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T-PwnPVKSFk/Ur_TwalpAHI/AAAAAAAAFWE/v4VaXDeQsgc/s1600/PC107885.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJo_gf-4wPVJ27Y1m682kQ21YLIv2H4D7yjyGPfflERUJP-HofdCvFe50MgzL3H3siXCs2ORIu6Bqpwi1q-NOw1y1fybF4hJ6GG1i1S3JUj4jr5BaEMSrG0kr1J4e_X1KccUSX89qrT-6/s1600/PC107886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJo_gf-4wPVJ27Y1m682kQ21YLIv2H4D7yjyGPfflERUJP-HofdCvFe50MgzL3H3siXCs2ORIu6Bqpwi1q-NOw1y1fybF4hJ6GG1i1S3JUj4jr5BaEMSrG0kr1J4e_X1KccUSX89qrT-6/s1600/PC107886.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">At some point this brass plaque was installed in the sidewalk on Flanders just outside the old entrance. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><b>McMahon's
Steam Bath</b>, "Since 1906," was possibly the longest-running public
bath house in Portland.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8MET1t0AGw0/Ur_UXmAfRbI/AAAAAAAAFWY/7ZOMkoF_8aE/s1600/PC287950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8MET1t0AGw0/Ur_UXmAfRbI/AAAAAAAAFWY/7ZOMkoF_8aE/s640/PC287950.JPG" width="426" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">It was located at the corner of SW 4rd and
Washington. By the 19<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">70</span>s it was a gay bath house, <a href="http://www.glapn.org/6045walkingtour.html">Olympic Steam Bath</a>. The last year of op<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">eration was 1974.</span>
Later it became a restaurant, the Greek Cusina, famous for it's giant inflatable purple octopus
on the outside of the building and flouting building codes. You can still see some purple paint on the
corner of the building where the octopus was.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">McMahon’s Steam Baths was at 509 SW 4th Avenue so the entrance was probably just to the right of the woman's head (in the foreground). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The structure was built in 1898. It's presently for sale. It is supposed to have a number of building violations. Hopefully it can be rehabilitated. It's surprisingly modern-looking for 1898 and seems to be a fairly sound, but who can say?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sanitary Steam Baths</b> was at 1005 N Failing. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The structure was built in 1924. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MUWul80GRCO2ha7FJWzgVscxaOgkIbVUom4t5W4H8x31RoBZI-GD9mrgjecNlALJYoHTTUdrui4E3whcN38QUBlbPV0iGgQDLbg5vScJ9WOkHhD4nF774JKWL0Hqp4RJpcwt41Ka2QVS/s1600/PC287947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MUWul80GRCO2ha7FJWzgVscxaOgkIbVUom4t5W4H8x31RoBZI-GD9mrgjecNlALJYoHTTUdrui4E3whcN38QUBlbPV0iGgQDLbg5vScJ9WOkHhD4nF774JKWL0Hqp4RJpcwt41Ka2QVS/s640/PC287947.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">While it was not in downtown Portland, it's close and it was in the heart of what was originally Albina, a working-class city which in 1898 was incorporated into Portland (now inner North and Northeast Portland.) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Albina is remembered as an immigrant community. There was a large group of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Germans" target="_blank">Volga Germans</a> who came from the Volga region of Russia. It also had a sizable Polish community. The Volga region of Russia is the heart of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banya_%28sauna%29" target="_blank">banya</a> country. It's a safe bet that Sanitary Steam Baths served immigrants who knew and loved banyas. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Albina is often sited of a classic example of the disruptive effects of the 1950s/60s urban renewal era--a time when planners ruthlessly drew plans on maps and mowed through entire communities, building freeways and clearing out older "blighted" neighborhoods.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JV5jmpYulF4/Usg_iV2BCnI/AAAAAAAAFXQ/jxWHgrv9QpE/s1600/PC287949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JV5jmpYulF4/Usg_iV2BCnI/AAAAAAAAFXQ/jxWHgrv9QpE/s640/PC287949.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In this photo to the left in the background is the sound wall of Interstate 5. You have to wonder if Sanitary Steam Baths was part of the "social glue" of the immigrant community of Albina, a place where men and maybe even families would gather on a weekly basis to chit chat and network in the sacred ritual of bathing. I-5 represented progress and modernization. Implicitly, part of the "progress" message was to underscore how older ethnic traditions were no longer desired. The noise and sight of I-5, with cars racing to and fro, was probably a stark reminder to the locals that their bathing tradition was outmoded. This says nothing of the destruction of so many nearby houses and putting up a physical barrier to half of Sanitary Steam Baths customers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moving back into NW Portland, there was </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Luoma’s
Steam Baths</b> at 825 NW 16th Avenue (built 1904). </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0_4LzxqvGE/UsoFWF0cFOI/AAAAAAAAFXw/1ji8fMuNCJA/s1600/P1047968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0_4LzxqvGE/UsoFWF0cFOI/AAAAAAAAFXw/1ji8fMuNCJA/s1600/P1047968.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The building is still there.
Initially, judging by it's appearance, I thought maybe the structure had
been lifted and a new foundation added sometime more recently. The stairs for example are obviously much newer. I looked
more closely (by sneaking a look at the side of the building) and the foundation seems original. I bet the steam baths were on ground level. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli7EFsqM07wuiPMkpxhyphenhyphenIhjxi22wRDetcugVvaqHRT2Y6H7eKir79i-m9sVrkm0IIrqulchzYO2C0fyjE6fU6MZcF2Z6vDZY9Wk6BLIjmuY5t8QQkhrxGEQm5xezdHPuQ98oPYLoTv_3U/s1600/P1047966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli7EFsqM07wuiPMkpxhyphenhyphenIhjxi22wRDetcugVvaqHRT2Y6H7eKir79i-m9sVrkm0IIrqulchzYO2C0fyjE6fU6MZcF2Z6vDZY9Wk6BLIjmuY5t8QQkhrxGEQm5xezdHPuQ98oPYLoTv_3U/s1600/P1047966.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Luoma is a Finnish surname. Was this another Finnish sauna? Was Louma's in another ethnic working-class enclave? It's not too far from the Royal Palms Hotel, home of Finnish Public Steam Baths (as above). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking at this photo, you can see the brick <a href="http://www.radiocab.net/" target="_blank">Radio Cab</a> building (a fun place to buy gas downtown) in the back ground to the left. To the right is I-405, the business loop through downtown Portland that was constructed along with I-5. Louma Steam Baths is listed in the 1963 phone book but I did not find it in the 1973 book. Was it another victim of Interstate urban renewal? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thompson Mineral Baths</b> (also called Any Hot Springs) was at 1524 NW 23rd (built 1908). </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-epjqJRjndEY/UsoJpEjpYVI/AAAAAAAAFYI/zrP7e3dGOU8/s1600/P1047979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-epjqJRjndEY/UsoJpEjpYVI/AAAAAAAAFYI/zrP7e3dGOU8/s1600/P1047979.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even though this in now a high-rent district, gentrification was a relatively recent development. Prior to the 1990s, trendy Northwest 23rd was a decidedly working-class neighborhood, albeit more family oriented, with fully-appointed apartment buildings and single family homes instead of SROs. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This building has an older retrofitted entrance from the front sidewalk to the basement. This was almost certainly where patrons entered to get a steam/bath. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfhG8z-JSKXL4K30G2mZkRSB4OCF0xDtDT2E6mRrJOCcwdBHU_7pvb_-3g6sCyGpVJ0k0gVwE2j7JcEVADht8YHutfM9GhTQ-IpCfDE_CsWDRYcZaBKvTuwVldUxV-RzWr0o9JHdfEM6F/s1600/P1047978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfhG8z-JSKXL4K30G2mZkRSB4OCF0xDtDT2E6mRrJOCcwdBHU_7pvb_-3g6sCyGpVJ0k0gVwE2j7JcEVADht8YHutfM9GhTQ-IpCfDE_CsWDRYcZaBKvTuwVldUxV-RzWr0o9JHdfEM6F/s1600/P1047978.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I went into the Headtrip Salon, the hair salon in the basement unit. I asked the owner if there had ever been a sauna in the space. She said that she took the property over from an Eastern European woman in the 1990s. I got the sense the space had been vacant for a while. The hearsay was that sometime before the space was reoccupied it had indeed provided spa sauna services. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There were a couple of other entries from the 1956 phone book. One was <b>Solvik Health Center</b> located at 5736 N Greely. It's a ways out in North Portland. As with the other listings the building still stands and it remained listed under "steam bath" in the 1973 phone book so it was around for at least 17 years. (It could have opened much earlier than 1956 and closed later than 1973.) Solvik Health Center wasn't in the 1983 phone book.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The other listing was <b>Alice Robertson </b>"since 1919, ladies only." The address was rather ambiguously listed as the "Morgan Building." Was this in Morgan's Alley just off of Broadway? The fact that it was around for so long and that the location information is not so specific suggests that this was a place for prostitutes to go to unwind and get cleaned up. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Clearly more investigation is called for! Again this is just a snap shot of what there was in 1956. In the interest documenting this matter of vital historical importance more research must be done. I'm hoping that Tinygogo can access the inside of some of these buildings to see if any remnants of Portland's original steam baths remain. </span></span>borgbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567698251419760300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111481871339862173.post-83294994111673099612013-12-21T08:38:00.000-08:002013-12-21T08:38:00.206-08:00The Cremation of Sam McGee<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For winter solstice, today, December 21, 2013, I want to share a story that is very dear to me and speaks to my love of fire and warmth, and solitude and darkness. In this way it also relates saunas.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a child growing up in the Anchorage, Alaska school system, there were two Alaska tails that seemed to be read the most with us kids. At least, there are two that <i>I </i>remember. Both have to do with darkness and the cold. One is <i>To Build a Fire</i> by Jack London. The other is <i>The Cremation of Sam McGee </i>by Robert Service.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love how this is technically a Christmas story. How macabre. Nevertheless here I share <i>The Cremation of Sam McGee. </i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">While it is not directly related to bathing or saunas, for me it speaks to the same primordial desires for warmth and a fascination with fire--how fire can feed the soul in solitude, cold and darkness. It is these two stories which often come to mind when I'm by myself watching the fire burn in the sauna on a quiet winter night. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Cremation of Sam McGee</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By Robert Service</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>There are strange things done in the midnight sun<br />
By the men who moil for gold;<br />
The Arctic trails have their secret tales<br />
That would make your blood run cold;<br />
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,<br />
But the queerest they ever did see<br />
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge<br />
I cremated Sam McGee.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Though he'd often say in his homely way that he'd "sooner live in hell".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He turned to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">then he says with a sort of moan:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet 'tain't being dead — it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"You may tax your brawn and brains,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the days to come, though my lips were dumb,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">in my heart how I cursed that load.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the long, long night, by the lone firelight,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">while the huskies, round in a ring,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Howled out their woes to the homeless snows —</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">O God! how I loathed the thing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The flames just soared, and the furnace roared —</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">such a blaze you seldom see;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">down my cheeks, and I don't know why;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked";...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">then the door I opened wide.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And he wore a smile you could see a mile,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and he said: "Please close that door.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm —</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">it's the first time I've been warm."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>There are strange things done in the midnight sun<br />
By the men who moil for gold;<br />
The Arctic trails have their secret tales<br />
That would make your blood run cold;<br />
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,<br />
But the queerest they ever did see<br />
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge<br />
I cremated Sam McGee.</i></span></span><br />
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