Real Mongolian Gers

Today I had the great pleasure of seeing some authentic gers imported from Mongolia. Last week at a Burning Man work party, I was talking to a guy about my yurt project and he told me there were a bunch of imported yurts on Sauvie Island. I already had plans with some friends to go to the island today to pick blueberries, so afterwards Suzi and I drove further up the island to find the gers. By the way, ger (rhymes with 'hair') is just another name for yurt -- although I think ger is what the Mongolians call them. Anyway, when we pulled up to the camp ground where they are located, I was excited to see a big cluster of them. I could also see two gers in the process of being erected, so we could examine the roof ring and roof poles up close. You can see part of the wall lattice to the right of the ring in this photo:


These gers are being permanently set up on concrete slabs. They are part of a private camp ground where you can rent a yurt or a tent site. Next to the ring were all the roof poles:

I had called the camp ground a few days ago to ask if it was okay to stop by just to check out the yurts, and they didn't mind. Luckily for us, the yurts were not secured and we could go inside them. The built-in sky light is dramatic:


The two supports below the roof ring are not structurally necessary, and my yurt will not have them. Although they can be beautifully carved and decorated I want uninterrupted open space inside my yurt. While we were inside checking it out, Suzi commented that it was much cooler than she expected. It was a pretty hot day today. I had read that letting up the cover of a yurt a little bit on the sides provides excellent ventilation because the cooler air comes in from the bottom and the hot air rises and leaves the yurt through the open top. This yurt didn't have the cover raised, but the door was open when we got there and that must be enough. There was another ger with the roof ring covered and the door closed, and it was much warmer inside it. I was thrilled to know the yurt can get good ventilation on the playa where the heat can get much hotter!


I took a ton of photos, including many close ups of details I was interested in copying. I learned how the walls are attached to the door frame and how the cover is tied as well. The doors are bright and beautifully painted. My yurt will be bright red instead of orange, but I hope to do some detail painting as well. In the above photo you can see the light from the roof ring shining onto the floor of the yurt. After living in a yurt for a while, you can tell the time of day just by where the light strikes the walls and floor!


In all we counted 11 gers, including the two that were not completely set up yet. After a good spell of blueberry picking and some prancing about to take these pictures, the sun was just too much for me and I started to feel some heat stroke coming on. Even with sun block on my bald head, I think a hat is a must for me to protect my brains from cooking. I let Suzi drive us back to the city. She gave me some headache pill and after some fluids and a nap, I was able to function again by the late afternoon. As I slept, my dreams danced with views like this last one.