the driftwood shack enthusiast

Known in Lost Creek as the "Solstice" style of architecture, this first example of a driftwood shack demonstrates how careful construction can create both a wind block as well as a back rest for beach dwellers. By building a fire in the lee of the shack, the inhabitants can relax, drink beer and watch a sunset without sand or smoke getting in their eyes. Scientists are still unsure if the skill of driftwood shack construction is an acquired trait, or an inherited one. There is evidence that this skill is passed on in gene # dv-0956237-r, although recent genetic tests have shown that this gene may simply predispose humans to build shacks, rather than impart them with the skill to do so.

Observation of young humans with their parents along the north coast of Oregon reveals that the ability to stack logs on the sand may be a learned trait.


Here we see an example of log-towel construction, a style unique to coastal areas that have been deprived of heavy storms and heavy drift log accumulation. Again, blocking the north wind is key in this style of construction, but, unlike drift shacks found in Oregon, this Bolinas California shack has the primary intention of blocking the sun so that the pasty white Northern California inhabitants do not get sunburned. You can see that several of the inhabitants have decided to brave the sun despite government warnings of ultra-violet radiation.

One of the foremost architectural features of driftwood shacks in the North Pacific is their purposeful use of found logs to block wind. Summer shacks are constructed to block the prevailing north winds, created as high pressure systems move into the coastal waters of the west coast of North America. In this example, the residents have made themselves comfortable in a modest dwelling using a basic log-stacking technique to construct their shelter.

Please note the use of sticks and dried kelp as decorative features along the north wall. Even modest shelters will show signs of the inhabitants' taste and style. Also take note of the purple chenille throw, carefully placed on the sand to prevent ass-crack sand accumulation by naked residents of this particular structure. Scientists are perplexed by chenille and its use in the coastal setting.