The Domes at the Catskills & Other Stories: Day 1

Yesterday proved to be an interesting day. 

We're staying at the Domes at Catskills for a couple of nights. It's a kind of high-end glamping place. They set you up in these geodesic, safari-style domes. It feels very much like the kind of place Lord and Lady Greystoke might've lived during their African adventure, right before they were slaughtered and their son taken to be raised by apes in the jungle.

Sally overlooking the view from our dome.

Indoor dining area

Fireplace & sitting area.

Sally up on the deck

Check-in wasn't until three, so we drove up and stopped briefly at the Upward Brewing Company. Quite a rustic, outdoorsy place. They have an awesome deck just outside the brewery building plus extended picnic area running for acres down below it. They also have a small hiking trail that leads up from the brewery maybe 400 feet to the top of what they call Beer Mountain.

A lot of folks hike Beer Mountain first and then go to the brewery. That was our plan, too.

This was where it started getting weird. We get to the top of Beer Mountain, and there's a couple up there. Obvious druggies. I mean, the whole vibe was, like, very weed-intensive, but these two took it to the next level. The guy had long, mangy hair and a ratty beard. He looked like the replacement bassist for some mid-level rock band. I'm gonna say he was in his mid-thirties. Dude looked like he'd been in the scene a good long time. The girl, though, couldn't have been more than nineteen. Gorgeous, but she had tattoos all over her arms, hands, neck, and even creeping up onto her face. She looked like a professional groupie, complete with the vest, no shirt, and shitloads of giant safety pins. Honestly, despite the fact that we met them at the top of a hike, she looked like she should've been headed to a show.

It didn't look like a good scene. As I write this, I'm still actively concerned for that girl. She did not look like she was making good choices.

At the top of Beer Mountain.

But they couldn't have been nicer. Took a pic of us at the top of the hill and let us pet their dog, who turned out to be a pure-breed albino bull terrier with a birth defect -- only one of his balls dropped -- hence this couple got him cheap.

Imagine albino Spuds MacKenzie. That was this dog.

We really enjoyed Upward despite getting a little turned around on their hiking trail. I mean, we only went about 1.25 miles up and back, so I'm not sure how lost we were ever gonna get, but the trail itself was virtually unmarked. I'm not 100% sure we went up the right way, and we definitely wound up coming down a little fire road that I don't think was the intended path back, either. But whatever. It was a decent way to start our trip, albeit weird.

I changed shirts after our hike.

I gotta say, though, that I feel like these Upward guys missed a trick. They could put in a little ski lift and run that place year-round. Sell two-hour lift tickets and carve maybe a green and a blue trail out of that little climb. Maybe it's not worth the time, effort, and money, but I think it might be. That would definitely be an Upstate brewery experience, and I'm quite sure they get enough snow.

From there, we drove into the nearby town of Livingston Manor. Another interesting place. Filled with family-type tourists, locals who looked like they maybe should've worked for the Mexican Cartel, and Hasidic Jews. Pretty sure that last group has some kind of summer camp/compound nearby. We passed a monster temple on our way into the Domes as well as what can only be described as a private, high-security gated compound occupying maybe two hundred acres off in the wilderness just up from the Domes.

We checked into our dome, got settled, took some of the pics at the top of this post, and realized belatedly that we probably should've bought something to cook here rather than going back out for dinner. I mean, I personally wanted to go back out because *I* cook a lot at home, and so I wanted a break from cooking and/or grilling. But it's cute here, and they're certainly set up for grilling, so we're gonna do that tonight.

So we had a glass of wine and then went back out for dinner -- again to the tiny village of Livingston Manor. We'd seen this place called Kaatskeller when we were in town the first time, and I really wanted to go, but it was a little too early at that point. We got back there maybe around six-thirty last night.

Very cute place. It's set up kind of like a beergarten that specializes in brick oven pizza. I had mine with boar pepperoni. Sally had hers with arugula and prosciuto, topped with balsamic vinegrette. They had truly outstanding beer at that place, too. They apparently brew both their IPA and the pilsner on site, and it's even better than Upward's if we're being honest.

Sally with the fern tree at Kaatskeller

Kaatskeller's fire pit

We got back to the dome, and I started the fire I'd laid out before we left. We have this amazing fire pit area assigned to the dome. We basically sat out there all night last night.

Our dome and fire pit as seen early last night.

The fire pit area just before it got dark.

All good, right?

So then we start exploring the woods right around our dome, and friends, they have a statue of Satan hidden deep in the woods maybe seventy-five meters from our dome.

"Satan?"

Needless to say, Sally freaked at finding this thing so close to our site. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be Pan, the Greek god of fertility, viniculture, and the deep woods, because that would be on theme out here. But still...

Friends, I'm writing to tell you that we survived. Despite this statue's presence and the obvious slasher-flick set-up, we're still alive. I'm quite happy about that. 

We got up this morning, and it was at this point that we realized we don't have a coffee machine. The machine only makes espresso. 

Friends, I was in the cavalry, and while I can admit that this was upscale from the infantry or artillery, it wasn't so far upscale that we only drank espresso out there. I could'a used some plain old black coffee this morning. That's all I'm saying...

But today is a new day. Yesterday was crazy, but awesomely crazy for the most part. We'll see what today's adventures bring.