HI everyone, I was in the Methow, Washington state’s beautiful Eastern Cascade mountain area last week and walked into Sun Mountain Lodge, which does a lot of promotion on line. Luckily we were staying in a cabin in Mazama and not actually staying at the lodge. There was a big stuffed buffalo by the reception desk and if that was not enough, there were at least 20 or 30 heads of various dead animals on display. It was like the who’s who of wildlife mismanagement. We left realizing we are animal welfare advocates and feeling alone. Then I asked my friends what they thought before writing this letter to the manager:

Hi there, I was so excited to make the long drive from Bellingham to Sun Mountain Lodge which I had heard about before and wanted to check out for myself. You do such a nice job with on-line presentation. I really liked the lay out of the place and was inspired by the yoga retreat going on there. But I had to leave very soon after arriving because of the taxidermic display there and I am writing to urge you to catch up to our century and replace it with more compassionate art.

Walking up the main corridor was a who’s who of wildlife mismanagement, over-hunting and in some cases displaying endangered animals and I am just wondering what kind of people you are hoping to attract using this decor. The younger, hip generation is not into taxidermy any more, at least not the higher end economic clientele your prices must be trying to cater to. We are used to having nothing to eat for vegans and so that part was okay. But the blatant show of animals in the lobby and hallways really says a lot about who you are and we had to leave only a minute after stopping by and cross staying there off our list, which is really too bad.