I’m still catching up on my posting from last summer and fall. Here is another vignette from our vacation to British Columbia.

The Island Lake Resort is nestled in the Cedar Valley Old Growth Reserve, an area of old growth forest. One hike we took led us through these “gentle giants” that towered above us with interwoven branches.

While staying at the resort, we met resident artist Melanie MacVoy, who paints amazing acrylic renditions of these same cedars. We just had to take one home with us, so Interweb made the long journey to Michigan where it proudly hangs to remind us of our all time “best” vacation.

In the mountains of Western Pennsylvania, just seven miles from Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob stands as an example of his organic architecture principles. Completed in 1956, the deluxe Usonian home is situated just below the crest of the hill and appears almost part of the mountain itself. Just a few steps beyond the back terrace stretches a breathtaking panorama of the Youghiogheny River Gorge and surrounding farmlands.

Pam and I visited Kentuck Knob on August 18, 2006 as part of “The Wright Experience”, a special full-day private tour of a lifetime provided by the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

Fallingwater, designed in 1935 for the Edgar J. Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh, is without doubt the best known of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural works. Built over a waterfall on Bear Run, a rushing mountain stream, the home is built from cantilevered concrete “trays” anchored to masonry walls. It is open to the public and is the only Wright home still having the original setting, furnishings and art work still in place.

Pam and I visited Fallingwater on August 18, 2006 as part of “The Wright Experience”, a special full-day private tour of a lifetime provided by the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.