Eagle's Aerie: The redwood Sleeping Deck was built in 1985 at Harbin, Like an eagle's aerie, for humans, with wondro

Harbin ethnography:


... Each of these decks is like a little glade in the forest for sunbathing, in general, though, they are free from the detritus of the forest floor, and elevated, with views.

The redwood Sleeping Deck was built in 1985. It's kind of like an eagle's aerie, for humans, with wondrous views. People can sleep on pads and sleeping bags there, or just hang out in the sun. There's a long, spacious wooden bench along its hill-side, (abutting the village path), on which people can sleep, although I haven't often seen this. I've slept, or camped out, on the redwood deck a lot over the years I've been coming to Harbin. It's almost a perfect camping place, because it's close to the pools and the community kitchen, and its high, dry, and has beautiful views and clean air. This deck has a waist high railing, and along the eastern side of the deck, people are sheltered from the early morning sun; in the corner of the deck on the eastern side and near the hill, is a lovely, small conifer (a white pine or something), which needles create a nice canopy under which to sleep. Its colorfulness at times, with sleeping gear strewn all around, sometimes reminds me of Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 (of which I've only seen photos; for example – http://).The sleeping deck is elevated and located right at the beginning of the village path, on which you can walk to a kind of sleepy village area, possibly a mile away, where some residents live in little houses; this village somehow feels unfinished, and is directly across a creek from the Harbin warehouse. The dirt path from the pool area, which is mostly cement and decking material, and walkable - without getting your bare feet dirty - and also, therefore, the pool-side cafe, which is at the eastern end of the pool area (Fig. ), and the redwood sleeping deck, may lessen the number of people coming from the pool area to the sleeping deck, by just a little. While Harbin does continue to build and add things - slowly and in a kind of organic hippy way - their not having paved this roughly 25 meter stretch of earthen path, is another example of the choices it makes about place, and the people who visit Harbin. Retaining the natural, developing Harbin very slowly, and self-restraining development, have helped keep Harbin beautiful, as an expression of integrity of vision of place.

The guest buildings themselves, and Stonefront Lodge, were standing when Ishvara bought the property in 1972. ...










(http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2011/04/eagles-aerie-redwood-sleeping-deck-was.html - April 5, 2011)