Oroville, Washington
June 23-29, 2012
(FOR INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS COVERED IN EACH & EVERY WORKSHOP, CLICK HERE)
I’m excited to teach a workshop in Washington State and share the beauty of this area with you all. When many people think of Washington, they think coastal and wet, but not all of Washington fits that bill. Even though the coastal climate can work for straw bale, the drier, inland areas are much more suitable. Below you’ll find a short description of the workshop project and location in the host’s own words.
Greetings to you fellow balers! Here I have provided some information, which will give you a feel for the area in which I will be hosting my straw-bale workshop. Wannacut Lake is in the inland part of Washington State, in the sunny Okanogan. Our inland climate is semi-arid, which means warm to hot summer temperatures. I would predict the temperatures to be in the 80’s or 90’s during the latter part of June. It is also during this time of year that the spring show of wildflowers is coming to an end and the climate begins to get dry. There is a profusion of sagebrush at my home site, but, luckily, no cactus!
The area in which I will be building is referred to as the “Many Lakes Recreation Area,” and is a great place for combining a straw-bale workshop and summer vacation. Within a twenty-mile radius of my building site, one will find numerous fishing and swimming lakes. These include Wannacut Lake, Palmer Lake, Spectacle Lake, and Blue Lake, just to name a few. Wannacut Lake is just a 15- minute walk from my home site (on trail and dirt road), and only four miles by car or bike.
The hiking in this area is endless, right from the building site and will treat you to many glimpses of wildlife and panoramic views of the surrounding hills. For more extensive hiking, you can drive about an hour and a half into the hills to the Pasayten Wilderness…beautiful!!!
A half hour drive will bring you to the border crossing into British Columbia, Canada and to the small town of Osoyoos. Here you can enjoy excellent family dining. Drive another hour and you will be in the resort town of Penticton, or Lake Okanagan.
I am a middle school counselor in the small town of Tonasket. I am hoping to retire in a couple of years and then slow down (or pick up the pace!!!), and enjoy my lovely straw-bale, which will sit on twenty acres, surrounded by many other twenty acre plots with common ground to be shared by all the landowners, of which I am the first. No fences and beautiful dark skies at night.
My house will be around 1,200 square feet with a partial open loft. It will be a post and beam structure with a shed roof design. The northeast corner will have straw-bale window seats, and I plan on having niches and maybe a bookshelf built into the straw-bale wall. The foundation will be slab on grade with hydronic radiant heat. The site is not ideal for passive solar, but is oriented to make the most of the southern exposure.
I would love to be your host and have you here at Wannacut Lake to share my dream!
The cost to attend this workshop is $800 which includes all instruction, camping spot, use of bathing facilities, free Straw Bale DVD, and all food during the workshop. A $200 non refundable deposit secures your spot at the workshop.
Ready to register? Click HERE!
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