Rainforest Retreat

This weekend is the first of two writers' retreats, both called Rainforest Retreat, that Patrick Swenson is running in March on remote and beautiful Lake Quinalt. The retreat is held at a lodge in the world's only temperate rain forest. It has not stopped raining since Jack and I arrived on Thursday. This actually makes good sense because there is nothing to do except stay inside and write, talk to the other writers about writing (when they're not writing), and watch it rain. Here is Lake Quinalt from our cabin in the 15 minutes when it only threatened to rain:
People work in their cabins or in the large central building, which the rest of the year is a restaurant and bar. There is a daily word-count log, which Jay Lake appears to be winning. Brenda Cooper hard at work:
There are also presentations. I did one today on world-building; Jim Van Pelt did one yesterday on narrative time; tomorrow lawyers Alex Tillson and Elizabeth Stephan will talk about legal issues for writers, a session I'm eager to attend. Louise Marley leads twice daily yoga classes, which so far I have not been able to attend since during the morning class I was writing and in the evening one playing chess. Here are Brenda Cooper, me, Jack, and John Pitts talking about "Breaking Into Print:"
Lodge decor is rustic. A statue of a bear carved with chainsaws greets restaurant patrons:
People come here from as far away as Florida. There is a whole contingent from Calgary. It's fun, after writing all morning or afternoon or evening or all three (you know who you are) to have a casual dinner with other writers, or shmooze in the bar, without having to make prior arrangements and then drive all over creation to meet up. Now if only it would stop raining...