FEATURES
Cabin Fever
By Jackie Dishner
You know what it’s like. You’re stuck in the office or at home for so long that
you must find a way out. You feign an appointment, decide to go out to lunch
with friends, or find a better reason to dodge work, life and routine. You realize
what you really need is to get away. A cabin and an overnight stay will do the
trick. Something in the mountains, something close by, something…anywhere.
Looking for that quiet getaway not too far from home, the place where you can
explore a bit of the outdoors, a lake where you can toss the line out for trout
or canoe with your partner by moonlit night, or the dude ranch where you’ll be
sure to hit the trails? Here’s a short list. It’s just a handful of the rustic
— and not-so-rustic — overnights you might enjoy in Arizona:
A cabin for all sizes
Opened by an Arizona pioneer and the state’s “original hostess,” Molly Butler,
the lodge in Greer named after her celebrates 100 years in business in 2010.
The current owners have many plans ahead. Included among them: restoring a sense
of history to the place, renovating the “long house,” and naming the cabin suites
inside after the famous people who slept there (John Wayne, Herbert Hoover, Teddy
Roosevelt and Zane Grey), opening in December.
Meanwhile, if you visit Arizona’s White Mountains, about four hours northeast
of Phoenix, the Molly Butler Lodge still offers more than 50 cabin retreats.
Some are private luxury cabins on the banks of the Little Colorado River that
sleep up to 18.
Or, you can choose a less expensive, basic log cabin that sleeps
five. All provide the same mountain air and access to the same amenities just
a few steps away — a few dining establishments and shops, bike rentals, fly fishing
excursions, hiking trails, horseback riding, history, and a cool summertime climate
or cozy Christmas.
On weekends, the lodge offers a finer-dining dinner menu, an outdoor patio with
live music, wine tastings, and access to outdoor adventure guides. There’s also
a game room with shuffle board, billiards table, and Nintendo Wii. Or, you can
order home-style cooking at the nearby Rendezvous Diner, located in a building
once homesteaded by another pioneer family, the Wiltbanks, who now run a trail
guide company up the road.
What to do nearby: Hike or saddle up for a ride along White Mountain trails;
fly fish on the banks of the Little Colorado River; visit Sipe White Mountain
Wildlife Area; spend the day at Sunrise Ski Area or play the slots at Hon-Dah
Resort-Casino in Pinetop; and tour the village of Historic Greer.
Molly Butler Lodge – Greer’s Cabin Keepers, 109 Main St., Greer; 928-735-7617;
mollybutlerlodge.com. Rates: $95-595/night.
The all-inclusive dude ranch
If you live for luxury, you’ll enjoy Hidden Meadow Ranch. They call it a dude
ranch, but it’s more like a land-locked cruise, where the nearest “island” (Greer)
is across the highway (SR 260). Your two-story log cabin, surrounded by a mere
11 others just like it, on 150 acres of horse property, historic ranch and Ponderosa
pine forest is your stateroom. Everything you’ll need to satisfy your weekend
retreat is no further away than a phone call to the Welcome Cabin.
In the morning, check your doorknob for a notice with the day’s scheduled activities,
but if you want to take a riding lesson or prefer a picnic lunch by the lake,
just call. Interested in an archery lesson or orienteering? They’ll arrange it
for you.
Check-in’s a kick here. A cowboy on horseback leads you, galloping in front
of your car,
over a gravel road to show you the way to your spacious hideaway.
The cowboy (or girl) takes your bags and leads you inside the hand-carved door
for the grand tour.
The kitchenette (complete with your choice of drinks inside
the fridge, if you order ahead of time) is fully stocked with dishes, a microwave,
and snacks (granola, apples, and chocolate malt balls). The living area, furnished
in leather and comfy cushions, includes a fireplace ready for lighting. Soft
music on satellite radio sets the scene. TV? You’ll have to visit the on-site
library to see the big screen there. If you wind up in cabins 10-12, a back porch
with rocking chairs faces the horse corral. The upstairs loft, furnished with
a queen bed, sitting area, and desk, includes Internet hookup, or you can go
wireless. Your bedroom — a king-sized lodge-pole bed with feather and wool blankets,
plush robes and slippers ready for wear— connects to the cabin bathroom. It’s
filled with a tub that looks like a horse trough, slate-lined countertops, Aveda
products, and exposed wood.
It’s worth the six-mile forest road drive off SR 260 to get there, and the price
of your stay includes all activities — horseback riding in the summer, sleigh
rides in the winter, fishing in the nearby ponds, leather crafts, and more. Gourmet
breakfast, lunch and dinner? Included. Only alcohol and gratuities are extra,
paid at check-out. With an on-site gift shop, you’ll even find clothing you may
have left at home: hiking boots, mittens or a scarf for the winter, socks, and
flip flops.
Open year-round, the best times to visit are May and September. Or come during
the holidays when each cabin gets decorated with its own live tree.
Hidden Meadow Ranch, 620 County Road 1325, Greer; 928-333-1000; hiddenmeadow.com.
Two packages available during high summer season: $475/night, double occupancy,
no activities included; $625/night, double occupancy, all activities included.
Three meals a day provided for both.
Buffalo, bikes and bunkhouses
Located about 30 minutes southeast of downtown Flagstaff and two and a half hours
north of Phoenix, sits a large lake in the tall pines. Beside it is a series
of rustic buildings on a 300-acre retreat known as Mormon Lake Lodge. It’s here
where you can bunk in an overnight cabin and dine at a steakhouse and saloon
— part of the lodge’s 1880s Western-style village surrounding the cabins and
a camp site with buffalo nearby (in a fence, of course).
Originally built in 1924, during the heydays of ranching and logging in Northern
Arizona, the main lodge building captures the essence of the Old West. Zane Grey
memorabilia (photos of him and his Arizona cabin in Payson, movie posters and
book covers), branding iron motifs, horseshoes, and wagon wheels line the walls.
Community-style tables cover the wooden floors. You watch what you’re eating
by kerosene lantern over red and white-checkered tablecloths. And your sarsaparilla?
It’s served in a canning jar.
Kitchenette-style log cabins, clean and comfortable enough, are decorated Western-style
as well, with clapboard walls, exposed wood, and lodge-pole furniture. Only the
fireplace is modernized; it’s gas. You can catch the news on cable TV, but don’t
plan on Internet or phone service. You won’t get bored, however, as you’ll be
too busy checking out that lake by canoe, riding the 20-miles of trails by horse
or bike or wagon, and playing yard games and other planned activities during
the summer.
Bring food because you’ll have access to a barbecue grill. Or, eat
your home-style cooking at the steakhouse. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
On weekends, it’s a dance hall with live music and billiards in the bar. Visit
during the winter, and it’s cross country skiing or snowmobiling.
What to do nearby: Hike the Coconino National Forest; tour Lowell Observatory
or the Arboretum at Flagstaff; take the chairlift or go skiing at Arizona Snowbowl;
and don’t miss the chance to drive across Historic Route 66 in downtown Flagstaff.
Mormon Lake Lodge, Main Street, Mormon Lake; 928-354-2227; mormonlakelodge.com.
Rates: $50-185/night, activities extra.
A canyon at your doorstep
Guests who stay in the cabins at the Briar Patch Inn come to see Sedona, but
once here, they realize ther's a little piece of paradise in their own back yard — Oak
Creek Canyon. The grounds were designed so guests can enjoy both the view and
the sound of the bubbling pool of water on-site.
This ideal hideaway offers a quiet respite from the busy tourist areas. While
here, take
in the sights and sounds of the canyon via a shaded pathway, or step
down flagstone stairs to a private seating area.
They serve a breakfast buffet (quiche, granola, oats, fresh fruit, juice and
coffee) in the mornings, In the summer, you’ll be serenaded by violins. Every
afternoon, visit the office lobby for snacks (apples, brownies, cookies) and
a refreshing glass of iced tea. In the winter, it’s hot apple cider. The scent
of cloves and cinnamon sticks draw guests into the warm fire-lit lounge where
they can borrow a book from the wooden shelves, connect to the Internet, or browse
in the gift shop. The owner is a big fan of Native American jewelry, so expect
to see a lot of turquoise and silver.
With 19 cabins on the property (with kitchens or kitchenettes), the originals
are located on the north end. Built by a German man in the 1940s to house Hollywood
film crews, they’re the ones with the Dutch doors. One of the least expensive
cabins, called Ivy House, attached to the main office, sleeps two. It was once
the living room at the lodge and is decorated Native American-style with Navajo
rugs and baskets.
The grounds make the perfect place for birders and nature lovers, as they are filled
with tree-lined pathways, acres of gardens, statuary, bird feeders, and benches.
The pasture where the resident sheep, Wooly, Lily and Billy, graze, is also popular.
And don’t forget to arrange for a body treatment at the open-air massage gazebo.
It overlooks Oak Creek.
No phones or TV in your cabins, so come here for the chance to disconnect. But
don’t wait to book a cabin. The two most popular times of year to visit — April
and October — are often booked a year in advance.
What to do nearby: Guests who stay here come to visit Sedona for shopping, hiking,
sightseeing, spiritual rejuvenation, and world-class meals.
Briar Patch Inn, 3190 N. SR 89A, Sedona; 928-282-2342; briarpatchinn.com; e-mail
stay@briarpatchinn.com. Rates: $205-395/night, double occupancy.
All chill, no frill
What if you’re just looking for a quick escape, nothing too fancy, nothing too
expensive? Try the cabins at Creekside Preserve. You can rent a basic cabin along
Big Bug Creek in Mayer for as low as $99 per night and spend a quiet weekend
exploring an area that was once filled with mines — gold, silver, copper, and
more. One rumor has it that a local recently collected $1,800 worth of gold in
the creekbed.
Clean and comfortable, with screened-in porches that front the creek and collect
a nice breeze, the cabins (wooden or stucco) at the lodge are becoming a regular
birder’s stop. If you don’t mind the kitsch (it could be the only place in Arizona
where you’ll find a red, heart-shaped Jacuzzi tub in your cabin, a restaurant/bar
in the basement, and Coyote Poop in the gift shop), it can be a fun place to
bring the whole family, including the horse. They offer on-site boarding and
trail rides.
What to do nearby: visit Prescott; gold pan or hike along the creek; bring your
ATV and ride the backcountry; explore old mining towns; tour historic Mayer.
Creekside Preserve, 11255 S. SR 69, Mayer; 928-632-0777; creeksidepreserve.com.
Rates: Visit the Web site for online specials.
Frequently on the road, by car or bike, Phoenix-based
Jackie Dishner writes regularly about Arizona
travel. Her first book, Backroads & Byways
of Arizona, published by Countryman Press, hits
the shelves this fall. Reach her at jackiedishner@msn.com.
