Yet another cool loo

At least for the Ladies'. Wildlife. Certainly appropriate for the Lynx Lake Store/Cafe location in the forest. Though I was happy to see one of my favorite critters celebrated, I couldn't help noticing that stiff, outsized tail. The little chipmunk is one of our smaller ground squirrels; you'll find them everywhere, even in the wood pile on my back porch.

Much better executed -- the mountain lion (cougar/catamount/puma). Not a guy you care to meet up with. Definitely not in the woodpile on my back porch, though lions periodically put in an appearance within the city limits.

Foxes? Yes, they certainly make a home in our mountains and forests, but they are very seldom seen outside our little local zoo.

On the other hand, several years have passed since the bald eagle pair began nesting right across the lake from the cafe. If you have binoculars, you can see their home each spring as you sip coffee. With more luck, you'll also see them fish the lake.

Another cool loo

There's something rather Roman and decadent about the toilet facility as art venue. Regardless, that's what's happening around town! Herewith, my latest relief experience, this time in the Ladies' at the Highlands Center for Natural History. (Note that I have corrected the name of the establishment; I am about to rush back to my previous post to make amends.)

The walls feature a series of tiles of nature subjects, painted by kids. Very likely at one of the many children's programs sponsored by the center.

Critters galore, with a few flowers scattered here and there.

Mom and baby javelina was a major production, requiring four tiles. BTW, I understand that the men also enjoy the same sort of tile work in their loo.

Cool Loos at School

Nothing like a polished granite mosaic to make a public washroom special. Not the sort of thing you'd normally associate with a school or a college. However, it's one of the payoffs for the recycling emphasis when Prescott College's Crossroads Center was built.

A friend of the college discovered that the local shop supplying granite counter tops to home builders and remodellers in the Prescott area was tossing units that didn't come up to specs. For instance, a single ding was enough to disqualify a surface. These beautiful pieces of polished stone were landing in the landfill!


So said friend collected the rejects for a year -- and they were used to make mosaic walls in the washrooms at the center. Logically enough, the theme appears to be geological.

The old bottles used in the section below carry their own story -- they were unearthed when ground was broken for the center. Turns out that the old Sacred Heart Hospital, which had occupied the site until it burned down, was razed and used as land fill. The medicine bottles are among the debris the builders found.