The owners of this beautiful home have graciously provided us with the information contained on this segment of our Web Site.

We set out in the summer of 1997 to find a place for a Family Lodge. We traversed both Canada and America only to find the place right here in Arizona, not far from our home.

During the construction of the Lodge there were many that came to visit and the most frequent request was for an open house at it's completion. Though there were still a few things to finish, we chose Christmas as the best time to celebrate its completion. We hope that as you walk (scroll) through the Lodge that you will not only be inspired by the structure but that you will be inspired by its purpose...celebrating our family legacy, religious legacy and this area's rich history. This building will be the repository of as much history as we can find on these three subjects. The inscriptions in the front Great Hall speaks of the need to remember the deeds of those who came before us. Our ancestors left us each a legacy and we believe we should strive to be noble for our posterity. May you leave feeling inspired to and leave your legacy for your family.

"The people who do not revere the deeds of their ancestors,
will never do anything to be remembered by their descendants"

This project began with a desire to build a place for our children and grandchildren to gather for holidays and vacation in the hopes that we could bring contrast between our traditions and time-tested family values with the noise of the world.

"Just as their hands worked the earth, build beautiful homes and pushed handcarts across America, our ancestors' hands can reach across time to support and guide our children on whom the future hopes rest."

There is something in us all from the moment we are born that drives us to do something with our lives that will never be forgotten. Whether your actions are remembered by many or few, the desire burns to leave a legacy lasting impression. We, too have felt this longing, and have spent many hours contemplating how to do this. After 23 years of marriage, we are beginning to experience the harvest of our lives. The family is the most important institution known to man. And so this lodge was built to help our children continue to look back and learn from the greatest teachers we can give them; their family.

"Wherefore, when we build, let us think that we build forever. Let not be for present delight, nor for present use alone; let it be such a work as our descendants will thank us for. And let us think as we lay stone, that a time will come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them. And men will say as they look upon the labour and wrought substances of them, "See this, our fathers did for us."

We contracted Pioneer Log Homes of British Columbia to build our Family Lodge because of their old-world log craftsmanship.  There are two types of log construction...handcrafted log and chink style. The lodge was built with handcrafted log and uses a lateral full scribe and a Norwegian shrink notch system. This precision obviates the need for chinking between the logs (just try to get a blade of a knife in most of the joints). The log structure itself was built in Canada and transported to Arizona in 20 semi-trucks.

The craftsmen are from Canada and Europe. Our Lodge took only two cranes, 8 men and three days to re-assemble...a sight to see! The logs are a western red cedar; an average 20" in diameter but most have butts in excess of 30". The trees that dwarf the men that work on them, have come from the Canadian interior and some from the coastal areas... but all have been plucked from British Columbia's forests. Inland western red cedar is the most bug, rot, and shrink resistant of all woods. With the life expectancy of our log structure is at least 500 years.

We made every effort to have materials that would compliment the logs and last just as long. The roof is all copper from Arizona mines. All logs are hand-peeled with a drawknife and the joints are finished with axes and slicks to highlight handcrafted quality. All the cobble work you see is stone from the adjacent creek. The flagstone rock is Canadian glacial quartz that measures a 9 in hardness on a scale of 1 to 10. The stone masons agreed that it is the hardest stone they have ever cut. They went through two blades a day. With most rock you go through 2 blades a month.

Next: Part 2