Our cabin in Arnold
Welcome to our cabin! We hope you enjoy staying there as
much as we do. There's usually not as much snow as you see in
these pictures, but it's lots of fun if there is. Rent some
snowshoes over at the sporting goods store across Highway 4 from Big
Trees Market--and hit the trails. Our favorite snowshoeing trail
is Big Meadows Campground, about 15-20 miles up Highway 4.
Food: Feel free to use any food you find in the
refrigerator or cupboards. (You can leave us something else if
you want!) Dig around and find pans, dishes, etc.—use anything
that seems useful. There is coffee in the freezer, and
a waffle iron and electric frypan in the pantry. You can buy
groceries at the Big Trees Market—they have a pretty good deli for
sandwiches there too. Big Trees Market is right next to where you
turned off of Highway 4.
Sheets and towels:. When you leave, please make sure that
any sheets or towels that you use are washed, dried, and put back on
the bed or in the bathroom. There are sheets and covers on every
bed, but if you tend to get extra cold or like something special in
pillows, you might want to bring some extras along.
Washer and Dryer: There is a washer and dryer in the
closet of the downstairs bedroom. Detergent is on the shelf above
the washer. If you want to leave fairly early on the last day, you
might want to consider bringing your own towels or sheets so you don’t
have to wait for them to go through the washer and dryer.
Keys: There are 3 keys to the cabin. The front door
is a sliding glass door that has a key, but when we leave for several
days, we lock it from the inside (special lock on bottom of the
door). When you first get there, go in through either the pantry
door (to left of front door) or the back door. You’ll definitely
need a flashlight to find the locks if you get there after dark.
Those two doors have both a regular doorknob lock and a deadbolt lock.
What’s there: There is a television, a VCR, a microwave,
an electric range and oven, a
dishwasher, a record player(!) with records from our college days…, a
few games, a treadle sewing machine, lots and lots of books, and more
fishing doo-dads than you have ever seen in one place before…
There is a kingsized bed, 2 queens, 2 twins, a twin hide-a-bed, and a
crib—and two bathrooms.
Eating out: If you want to go out for breakfast or lunch,
try the Blue Coyote--on your left, just entering "downtown". (It
has changed hands recently, so may not be as good as it used to be.)
If
you want a really nice lunch or dinner, go to Tallahans, next
door to
the Blue
Coyote. If you
want great beer and pizza (and lots of other stuff) go to the Snowshoe
Brewery
(on your left before you get to the golf course—just past Big Trees
Market). The Snowshoe is very
kid-friendly. You can order pizza over the phone at the Snowshoe
and then bring it home and bake it. It is great—we do it almost
every time we go. There is an order menu around somewhere in the
cabin—probably next to the phone. You can also go back to Murphys
(down the road about 15 minutes), where there are lots of good
restaurants and cute shops to browse around in.
Where to go: A great place to visit is Calaveras Big Trees
Park. It’s just 3 miles on up Highway 4 from Arnold. Just
inside the park, there is a nice walk with lots of interesting things
to
see. (We have even walked the trail with snowshoes in deep
snow.) Be sure to pick up the information booklet at the start of
the trail. There is another hike (a longer one) further on into
the park that is really special, but takes a few hours. There is
a map showing the trails in the park in the cabin, or pick one up as
you enter the park. There are lots of lakes, etc. further on up
the road. We especially like Alpine Lake (about a half hour up
Highway 4). We like to canoe there and then have lunch on the
patio at the lodge. There is a small lake almost right in Arnold
called White Pines Lake; to get there, turn left at the hardware store
and go about a mile. Bear Valley
ski area is about 25 miles up Highway 4 towards Ebbets Pass.
There are lots of caves to explore in the area. For instance, you
can explore Mercer Caverns near Murphys
Fireplace: The fireplace really works well. There is
lots of firewood, so go ahead and use it. Pull the damper arm
towards
you to open. There is fire-starter stuff there, but sometimes
it’s hard to get it going (bring some old newspapers or use small tree
branches, etc. you find on the ground outside). Once it starts
though, it really warms up the house. Close the damper when you
leave on the last day, but make sure the fire is out first!
Heat: We have propane heat--the thermostat in the living
room. We have found that the master bedroom sometimes gets cold
when we have a good fire going (because the thermostat thinks the house
is hot…) Upstairs there are electric baseboards which put out a
lot of heat. We try to keep an eye on the propane level, but in
the unlikely event that you run out, call—are you ready for this—Ebbets
Pass Gas… There are electric blankets or electric mattress
pads (our favorite) on the king sized bed and the two queen sized beds.
Garbage: We don’t have garbage pickup since we aren’t
there all the time. There are white plastic bags in the
pantry. Either take your garbage home with you, or do what we do
and drop it off at the public dump in Avery (the last town you went
through before you got up to Arnold). Going down the hill, you
would turn left at the sign that says to the Avery Hotel—there’s a sign
for the dump too, but it’s harder to spot. The dump is usually
open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Leaving: Please try to leave the cabin clean (since I’m
the only cleaning lady). There are rags, cleaning solution, etc.
on the shelves over the washing machine, and a vacuum in the closet
both upstairs and downstairs. Make sure things like the coffee
pot,
baseboard heaters, etc. are turned off!! Turn the heat way
down. Lock the inside lock on the sliding glass door—and go out
through the pantry door (or the back door).
Let us know
if you need directions on how to get to Arnold or any other
information.
Have fun!! ;-)
Jon and Caroline