Only The Canyon Will Tell

He was skeptical of the plan at first, but his family has lived in this canyon for hundreds of years so I knew that he was the right person for this job.  Ahiga is his name, Navajo for “He fights,” another good reason to have him by my side on this expedition.  A quiet man with an intense nature, he didn’t offer much conversation, but that’s not why I hired him.

The descent into the canyon was rocky.  It’s not for the faint of heart—riding on the back of a mule down a trail barely wide enough for the mule itself—but I was assured that this was the safest way.  We circled for hours around this canyon wall, and that canyon wall, each one looking exactly like the last.  By the time we reached the canyon floor, the temperature had dropped significantly and the mysteries of this stoic valley began to reveal themselves.  Modernist abstract paintings emerged from the colorful sedimentary stripes of the canyon walls.  An audience of saguaros stood at the rim silhouetted against an orange sun watching our every move.  The wind howled like a pack of coyotes.

We kept our pace for several more hours until I begged Ahida to stop so I could refill my canteen from a trickle of water weeping from the rock walls.  Looking to the sky I found the saguaros that had been guarding the rim of the canyon all day had begun to retreat into the crimson and violet sky.  Night was falling fast and I couldn't wait to crawl into bed.  "Just over that ridge and we'll be there," Ahida announced.  His echoed words disappeared into the canyon—a secret waiting to be discovered.  

1.  Sunrise over Fountain Hills, Arizona

2.  The Painted Desert, Arizona

1.  Coronado House near Tuscon, Arizona.  Architecture by Voorsanger

1.  Ralph Lauren

2.  Almidi Hurricane, Casamidy

1.  Atelier AM

2.  Papago Figural Basket, c. 1910, Four Wind Gallery

1.  Ralph Lauren

2.  Robinwood Chaise, Sutherland by Starck

1.  Kara Mann

1.  The Blanket Weaver-Navaho, 1904, by Edward Curtis

2.  Shipibo Beer Pot, Douglas Dawson Gallery

1.  Amangiri Resort, Canyon Point, Utah

2.  Aspen Firewood Bucket, Tuell + Reynolds

1.  Petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, Utah

2.  Sunset over Tuscon, Arizona


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Ski Lodge Mod

While most of the country is enjoying an unusually warm winter, we at Bubble & Squeak are yearning for the dreadful blizzard-like conditions that keep us draped in fur and curled up next to a roaring fire waiting for the spring thaw.  After all, just before winter’s solstice, we spent the weekend chopping and stacking our fire wood in preparation for that old man’s frigid grip (Yes, we own an axe!  And yes, we chopped our own wood!).  So, while we’ve been praying for the snow to fly, our good friend Patrick J. Hamilton has answered our plea by sharing with us his über mod cabin deep within the alpines.  In true Bubble & Squeak fashion, Patrick has also written an amazing story to accompany his vision.  So grab a glass of whisky, take a seat on your bear skin rug, and let Patrick's dream warm your soul.  

1.  Partick J. Hamilton

2.  An Austrian Alpine Cabin

1957. Or 1978. Or 2011.

Somewhere in the woods

Outside, snow. Smooth, even, pale blue where it hides from the full moon, the pines and birches painting stripes and bars across the powder. Only a pair of ski trails cuts through the shadows. Inside, the slow crackle of fire whispers a deep response to the laughing clink of ice in low glasses of amber. Around us, wood grain and slow curves. The firelight dances across the room, jumping through the quiet darkness from stainless steel to satiny varnish across slabs of wood to his eyes. He runs his hand through the deep fur below us. “Skål,” he says, toasting nothing. And everything. Our glasses touch.

In the night air, a scatter of embers rises with the fire’s smoke, crisscrossing with shooting stars and the first flakes of a storm that will tuck us in tonight and cover the trails that lead here. Tonight, tomorrow, just us. There will be time to break into headquarters later in the week, between storms and blizzards, when the snow will once again erase all our secrets.

1.  Blue Monday, Antarctica, 2007, by David Burdeny

2.  A Glass and Steel Cabin in Winter Park, Colorado

3.  Ultima Thule Bowl Designed in 1968 by Tapio Wirkkala for iittala

 1.  Contemporary Cabin in Aspen by Atelier AM

2.  Volcano Coffee Table, Chista

1.  Marble Candleholders, Design Within Reach

2.  Line Wine Bar, Design Within Reach

3.  YAMAZAKI Whisky, 18 Year Aged Single Malt Whisky

1.  Nicky Dobree

2.  Neal Coffee Table with White Marble Top

1.  Le Lodge Park Hotel, Megève, France

2.  Egg Chair designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, Design Within Reach

1.  Intarsia Shawl Sweater, RLX by Ralph Lauren

2.  Vintage Skis

1.  Aeris Stainless Steel Fireplace

2.  Nicky Dobree

3.  Birch Logs

1.  Long Horn Lamp, Shades of Light

2.  Nicky Dobree

3.  Mongolian Lamb Pillow Covers, West Elm

In between chopping wood and cups of hot cocoa, we hope that you find time to check out and subscribe to Patrick's blog, Ask Patrick.  Patrick is also a frequent style contributor on Apartment Therapy where his skillfully curated house tours are becoming something of a phenomenon.  In addition to being an interiors blogger, writer, and interviewer, Patrick is an accomplished designer in his own right. He is the winner of the ApartmentTherapy.com first annual "Smallest Coolest Apartment Contest," and winner of the Bloomingdale's "Big Window Challenge". Patrick's interiors have also appeared everywhere from the cover of Florida Home & Garden to the pages of Ladies Home Journal.    

  
Patrick, a very special thank you from Jim and Erik!  When we finally wake from our whisky slumber, we hope the snows have not melted, so that we may spend more time in your winter dream.  Thank you for the memories!

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