When his kids finally grew up to the point where “forts” and secret places no longer held their charm, it was finally Steve Demarest’s turn to play. Huge boulders cover his property in the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth, Washington. Mixed in with those great rocks was a cave that Demarest had the vision of turning into a place of resort just for him.
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The project started with excavating the cave. Demarest took out layer upon layer of dirt and rock. He had to cut out boulders that were then pulled out. Some boulders were large enough that they had to remain in place. While cutting out rock, Demarest added in a hot tub area, which he finished off by hand laying individual rocks.
The entrance of the cave hides the “man cave,” which is accessed through a door and down a staircase. In the cave, there’s a kitchen area and places to hang out. The rock that Demarest used has found other uses, including building a rock cabin that has a sleeping loft for two. The outhouse uses water diverted from a creek to actually flush. There is electricity, but it is limited.
Projects continue to happen. A few years ago, Demarest and his son built another tub that uses a snorkel stove to heat the water. Trails abound, which also took time for each to be finished. “The rocks are my architect, really,” says Demarest. “They tell me what to do.” Demarest feels that nature has already made everything perfectly, he just needed to personalize it. It took a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking to get things to where they are today. “I enjoy working with the rock, that’s fun,” says Demarest. “What else am I going to do? I’m a worker bee. I’m not a golfer, I don’t sit at the beach. This is what I do.”
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