Starting My Yurt Life On Orcas Island, WA

LDCooper · 07-09-2013, 12:14 PM

Just returned from our Puget Sound vacation, and are already making a list of things to do to get our Arkansas house ready for the market. I think we have found "home"! There are so many beautiful places to live and work, the hardest thing to do will be choosing one! We loved the diversity of Seattle, the water views of Friday Harbor, the lull of the waves of Ocean Shores, the quiet potential of Aberdeen, the remote beauty of Elma, and the cultural and historical appeal of Olympia. The weather was gorgeous (can't remember the last time we slept comfortable with just a window open), the drinking water was inspirational and we found the people warm and receptive. WE ARE IN LOVE!!

OrcasGuy · 07-09-2013, 11:07 PM

LD...great to hear your visit went well. We are having one of the most beautiful spring/summer's on record...and when the weather is nice, there is no place more beautiful than the NW. Even when the winter grayness comes in, there are still so many wonderful places to visit. I was just saying to a colleague at work that there are so many things to do when the weather is nice, you almost have to treat roadtrips like a full time job to see them all. For us though, we love the San Juans, and now with our yurt constructed, we are planning to spend the majority of the time up there.
Best of luck in your search, sounds like you guys covered some ground. South Sound is nice as you will be closer to the beaches in WA and OR, while North Sound puts you closer to the islands, Victoria and Vancouver. Can;t go wrong in any direction really.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDCooper

Just returned from our Puget Sound vacation, and are already making a list of things to do to get our Arkansas house ready for the market. I think we have found "home"! There are so many beautiful places to live and work, the hardest thing to do will be choosing one! We loved the diversity of Seattle, the water views of Friday Harbor, the lull of the waves of Ocean Shores, the quiet potential of Aberdeen, the remote beauty of Elma, and the cultural and historical appeal of Olympia. The weather was gorgeous (can't remember the last time we slept comfortable with just a window open), the drinking water was inspirational and we found the people warm and receptive. WE ARE IN LOVE!!

OrcasGuy · 10-29-2013, 01:24 AM

We've continued to decorate and refine out yurt interior through the summer/fall, so I thought I would post some pics. Additionally, we've had the large alder tree hanging over our yurt taken down because it was cracking an posed a hazard.
As far as improvements:
1) Lighting: We've hung some small solar lights from the ceiling that have individual small panels that power each string. These were purchase from IKEA and have worked out pretty well providing some good ambient light at night time
2) Storage: We purchased some cheaper hammocks to store stuff above the kitchen area and to get stuff off of the walls.
3) Marine toilet - Our neighbors up the road (former yurt-ites as they call themselves) offered us their chemical marine toilet. This has worked out well for longer weekends...but we typically have tried to limit its use to night time and numero uno only. ..as anything else in there is a little difficult to clean out of the holding tank.
4) Propane stove - We are currently using a tailgating style propane stove inside the yurt for cooking. When we cook we open the

dome

AND we roll up the window next to the stove to make sure we don;t have any CO issues.

Still have work to do on the steps and maybe a little platform for some adirondack chairs. Got to save something for next spring/summer

Enjoy the pics