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A tipi, the first home I owned, fall trees, snow-capped mountain, blue sky. A couple friends & I had been living in a wall tent on the bank of the Salmon River at this old guy's ranch. He had let us camp there until we could find a better place, and became like a second dad. I was there most of 10 years. The wall tent came apart at the seams after a couple years, so we decided to replace it with a better idea, tipis. Not to play pretendian, just to have affordable shelter more suitable for the environment. Shoshone people had been living there for centuries prior to settlers coming into the country. In the river cut bank you could see layers of fire rings. A good fishing hole there once was full of Salmon, the hole froze over in winter to make an ice bridge, and a good ford was just below in the summer. Lots of game crossed there, & lithics were often found after a good rain. We acknowledged & honored that history when we set up the tipis we got from Blackfoot Canvas. Mine was 16', pretty trad. & portable. Don's was 24', had a wood floor, sleeping loft above a closet, a killer stereo, lights, & electric blanket (sometimes -40 in winter) When we were camped in the mountains working 8 day hitches for USFS, we used sweat lodges to relax & get clean after a hard day's work. Even at -10 you could stand naked around a fire after a good sweat. Again we tried to honor the local tradition as best we knew, but sweats have been used all over the world in all kinds of ways.