The Mammoth

Yesterday I arrived at my new temporary dwelling: The Woolley Mammoth. I'm not sure where to begin how to describe this place, so I'll start with the location. The house is nestled into the side of a mountain overlooking the Skagit River Valley. The view is incredible! Surrounding the house on the one acre plot are several small gardens housing all sorts of plants and vegetables, and beyond these gardens are shrubs and trees creating a nice barrier of privacy. The yard is full of birds that I am completely unfamiliar with, which is very exciting for a bird-geek like me. Aside from the wild birds there are about 15 egg-laying chickens in a portable coupe at the front of the property (today I repaired the tarp over the coupe).
    The house itself is quite a site. Jeff, the owner, described it as a foreclosed unfinished McMansion, which I suppose technically it is, however it has a little more aesthetic appeal than most of the McMansions I'm used to seeing back home. Its a large three story "home" that has a hacienda type look to it. For one family to live in this house would be a bit ostentatious. But since the Woolley Mammoth is an intentional community home its massive size seems a little more acceptable. Wait, what did you just call it? An intentional what-now? Yes, its an intentional community, aka coop, commune, ecovillage, yada yada yada. Basically its a house with several people living in it that can either pay rent for their room or work around the house in exchange for room and board. They interact and work together more than typical roommates would, meaning that they cook meals and eat together, plan and host events together, and in general have more respect for the sustainability of the house.
Since my goal is to travel as inexpensively as possible, I chose to do the work exchange. That means I work on the house or in the gardens for 6 hrs a day, three days a week. In return I get a furnished room (with amazing views and balcony), free utilities, and all food included as well. It requires a little more patience and consideration to live in an intentional community, but it will be an interesting stop along my adventure. I look forward to seeing what unfolds here. More to follow...

P.S. I am setting up my flickr and vimeo accounts now so I will be able to share a lot more photos and videos!

view from my balcony