July ‘73
I have decided to build a yurt up on Redwood
Creek, northwest of Ukiah, on a piece of land that we
bought with the money Sharon’s father gave us as a
wedding present. Hennessey and I spend several days at
Pier 16, on the Embarcadero, salvaging cheap lumber
before the wrecking crews move in. Sharon is in L.A.
working with her friend Susan Vogel on a piece of
sculpture and hanging out with the art crowd in Venice.
It’s a chance for me to take a turn at childcare and allow
Sharon her freedom. Hennessey watches me pull pine
planks and redwood tongue-and groove from the pier
walls. Then, at Cindy Norton’s shop in the Reno Hotel’s
former garage, on Harriet Street, using the plans I’ve
sent for, I carefully table-saw everything into pre-formed
pieces for assembly at the site. When the yurt is built just
above Redwood Creek beneath two towering old growth
redwoods it becomes a favorite camp site for the whole
family, with Geoffrey and Hennessey building dams to
improve the swimming hole and Tanya and Michelle
hitchhiking up on weekends. I brag proudly to my peers
that the total cost of the yurt was only $165—fifteen
dollars for the plans and $150 for the materials.