A buddy of mine introduced me to Trip Base which is a different kind of search.  Trip Base allows you to select your origin, the number of travelers and the dates to travel but then you use five slider controls to adjust the levels of Nightlife, Dining, Shopping, Nature and Attractions for which you’d like to travel.

The interface is clean and the results are the same.  It doesn’t overload you with possibilities, but the results can be viewed as a list or a map.  Once you’ve obtained your results you can adjust the attributes on the side search and automatically get updated results.

The results are very helpful once you drill down as well.  They have a photo of each location followed by tabs with additional information including an overview, hotels, flights, deals, photo gallery, map, things to do and any articles written on that location.  It’s an interesting site and travel search tool and I’d recommend checking it out.

Having just written a post about the Yurt and Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah I thought it would be interesting to put together a post on tents, tent house suites and yurts.   Now the first thing you might think about when you hear tent is propping up the old Coleman canvas tent in the dirt somewhere hoping that bugs and critters can’t get inside.

I’m here to tell you, these tent house suites I’ve been to are nothing like the rugged, “roughing it” tents but rather all the amenities of a 4 star hotel.  I’ve stayed at very nice hotels, including the Grand America this past year and if I had my druthers I’d pick the tent house suite in at the Secret Cover Resort in Canada every time.  I know, it’s probably not a fair comparison as one is in the middle of the city and the other is in the middle of nowhere.  My point is that I’d trade the elevator rides and marbled floors for a wooden walkway and my canvas tent.

These canvas tents and yurts have a full range from grungy to spectacular, don’t get me wrong.  However some of the tent house suites have heated slate floors, wooden doors and your own cozy fireplace.  Jetted tubs like I’ve never felt before and even an iHome for my iPhone to charge.  How’s that for roughing it?  I just found another great tub at Mary Janes Farm in northern Idaho that I’m dying to try as well.  Out in the middle of no where with a flower and vine privacy panel and a large porcelain, old fashioned tub waiting for me to soak in up to my ears now that’s what I call relaxing.

Privacy is at the highest degree in your tent house suite.  These places go to great lengths to make sure you get privacy and at times you can feel like you’re the only ones at the hotel or on the face of the planet.

Another benefit of these tents is that they are water proof.  It rained most of one night an into the day and we never felt a drop of water come from outside.  Instead we sat nice and warm in our tent house suite, enjoyed the breathtaking view out our windows and read the day away.

Speaking of views, many times in a city hotel you have descent views, but many times your looking past parking lots or through skyscrapers to see anything of interest.

Tent houses on the other hand usually have magnificent views of the mountains and forests to your back and oceans and lakes to your front.  The Wilderness Outpost on the Bidwell River is a great example of this.

If this is your kind of thing let me know of your favorite one.

I just found an update for this post.  I stumbled upon the Colorado  Yurt Company today, which is a company that makes all these fabulous yurts, tent houses and tipis. Check out the complete details on their site via my post at http://www.halfnutdevelopment.com/nutlog/2010/04/15/explore-the-colorado-yurt-company/.

Yet another update is found today, check out the Mushroom Dome Cabin.

I may have found a rival for the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort much closer to me.  It’s located in the heart of Western Montana, just a short drive from Missoula and Butte.  It’s near the historic minig town of Philipsburg and it’s called the Ranch at Rock Creek. Checkout my post on it.

Okay, I think I just found either my second home (dreaming) or a perfect retirement spot.  It’s called the Whittakers in British Columbia.  My wife and I fell in love with the area around the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia last year when we stayed at the Rockwater Secret Cover Resort.

Thumbing through the pages of the Whittakers is breath-taking and makes me yearn to be there curled up on the front porch with a blanket and a good book overlooking the ocean and the islands that dot the area.  The homes are just as incredible if you take a look at their photo gallery.

Having lived in Utah and Idaho for most of my life I thought I’d retire in Island Park, Idaho or Heber, Utah, but looking through the Whittakers site has captured my attention and given me a new goal in life!

Enjoy!

Please see http://halfnutdevelopment.com/nutlog/rockwater-secretcove-resort-trip/ for details about our recent trip to the Rockwater resort.  You may also visit my Picasa web ablum for more pictures of the trip.

Today I found The Wilderness Outpost at Bedwell River. The lodgings are in Tofino, B.C. and yet another stop on our trail through the great white north of Canada.

Just like Rockwater Secret Cover Resort the main lodgings are tents, but the tents are as immaculate on the inside as the outsides are common. What appears to be a common canvas tent on the outside is a lavishily adorned room on the inside.

What overshadows the beauty within the tent is the area around the tent. One look out the tent flap and you have a front-row to all the beauty that nature affords. The glass-like lake surrounded by wondrous mountains and the evergreen sentinels of trees make you feel as if your on the edge of civilization in some undiscovered territory. Red flannel shirts are optional.

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-19 errors.
-Failed accessibility test

Overall I would give the site an C- for form and a C function.