A Retrospective: A Methow Memoir

This essay by Ray Johnston appears in the 2021 Methow Homes Magazine

Thirty-two years ago a friend brought us to the Methow Valley. John grew up in Pashastan and fished and hunted the Methow since childhood like his father before him. He had purchased a piece of land on the north side of Mill Hill just north of Twisp. I was a west side kid with roots in the mists of Grays Harbor and my wife, Mary, was from California. Our young daughter was with us and Mary was pregnant with our son. John brought his wife, (from Brooklyn) and their son David. We stayed at the Virginia Inn. 

It was a long drive, with lunch in the Skagit Valley and dinner at the Inn. It was hot and we all spent the early evening in the pool.  John, a banker, sported an office workers tan around the pool, but later, with his Wranglers on and a pair of old cowboy boots, he looked at home.

We went the next morning to visit this amazing meadow flanked by a pocket of forest up valley of the peak of Mill Hill. The Cascade Sawtooths and the Pasaten Cathedrals graced the horizon. Mary and I and our daughter Mona thought we had found a new heaven.

That night we went out on the town. John and I went to the Antlers, while Mary and Bonnie went to the more genteel place, the Twisp River Pub. The old pub has since burned down, and the “new “ pub succumbed to fire too. The Antlers is hopefully working towards a new incarnation at the up valley end of Glover Street.

the first johnston-designed cabin in the methow valley, made to look like it’s always been there / ja photo from 1992

We went on to design and build a cabin on the property for John. The instructions were that it should seem like it had always been there. And, we could only use two sizes of windows. Those who visited wondered how old it was– we had fulfilled our brief.

Over time, John shifted his attention to a place outside of Wisdom, Montana and asked us to make use of the “3 bar C”  so it didn’t go to waste or become a habitat for mice. We did so and quickly fell in love with the Methow. We filled the tiny gaps that the mice entered by, fought off the bees, nailed tin can lids over the flicker holes, pulled knap weed and sat on the very rustic veranda watching he sun set over Gardner Mountain.

Looking up valley we could see a few lights. Now and then a plane landed or a hot air balloon graced the distant skyline.

For John, the Methow was a piece of his childhood – one with fond memories. It was also a good investment. Purchased at the height of the Ski Wars, John thought it would combine his love of the land with a good financial strategy. Even though the ski resort never happened, John’s wishes were fulfilled. I will always remember John’s advice to only purchase land you love in a place that you love. That he did.

We got to know the valley. Learned that Hanks was a great market, winters were quiet thanks to no downhill ski resort,  and that rattlesnake season could last from late April to late October.

the johnstons’ twisp cabin / photo by will austin

We were lucky enough to find a project or two to help with and expanded our range in the Methow. We designed houses from Mazama to French Creek and soon realized that we needed to be here and to have our own place. We knew the Methow from a perch not far from Balky Hill and paid little heed to the activities of Mazama or the distant Columbia River. We came to stay and to spend time on the land and under the stars. We finally found a site that matched our experience. It was a fraction of the size of John’s big spread, but fit our budget. Like the acreage on Mill Hill, it had some pines, a meadow, a couple of aspens, and a big view. 

We slowly made it our home. Twenty years after buying the place and 32 years after our first visit, we were able to move full time to the Methow. Over those years we became immersed in this place and its culture. Our clients took us up the Chewuch to the 9th hairpin on Uphill Road, to Finley Canyon, Lost River, the reaches of the Twisp River, Studhorse Mountain, the hills of Davis Lake and the Chachaqua Meadow, not to mention the private pieces of land accessed through the Thirlough Ranch. 

We built our modest box of a cabin, grew gardens, planted fruit trees, and raised our children with the Methow as a part of our family home. Our first dog is buried here and our second roams the hills flushing grouse and rousing deer – even at the ripe old age of 16.

We worked with and became friends with the craftsmen and women of the valley. In 2014 we watched our hillside burn from the valley floor and also watched as the DC10’s drop retardant a quarter mile from our place, saving our house and possessions. We continue to celebrate our luck through volunteer work at TwispWorks and the Methow Conservancy.

The lights in the valley have multiplied since those first days so long ago, but the place remains uniquely itself. The forces that sought a ski resort subsided and many who came with that goal were seduced by the place and went on to contribute to its sustaining character.

the johnstons’ ever-changing view of the valley / ja photo

The Methow is a place where generations of land owners work hand in hand with more recent transplants to preserve farm land, to maintain the quality of the river, the lakes, the valley and its amazing environment and to transform its communities to survive in a changing world.

There is a lot of conflict and disunity in our culture these days, but most of the time in the Methow, neighbors are more important than politics, and the community bands together when faced with wildfire, floods, or a pandemic. 

Today, Covid-19 refugees have increased the valley population in a noticeable way. The Mazama Country Store reports that summer mid-week now feels like summer weekends and summer weekends now feel like holidays. Some who fled the city will  become permanent residents, and as a few seasons pass, what now seems novel, or surprising, or annoying, will become commonplace as we adjust and settle into yet another iteration of the valley. But whatever happens, I am proud to call Twisp and the Methow my home!