******
"It's a bit of a walk to the house." She saw Clay eye her as he came around to her side of the Jeep and she scrambled down and pulled her jacket down over her jeans and grabbed her cane. "The house is a quarter-mile down a sloping walkway, as I mentioned before."
"I'll be fine, Clay." She smiled up at him. "We can just take our time." What a gorgeous drive it had been.
They entered the visitor's center, and while Clay purchased their tour tickets, another employee, noticing Mattie's cane, mentioned to her that there were a hundred stairs in the house, and nowhere to sit once they got down to the house itself. Mattie assured them that she could handle it, and she headed off to find the restroom to freshen up before their long trek to meet the tour group. When she returned, they headed out toward the walkway.
"This is so secluded, Clay. I love it." Mattie gazed around her at the bare trees and evergreens on either side of the boardwalk as they walked slowly hand in hand into the woods of the highlands. "Can you imagine vacationing here? It's all so serene." She was anxious for her first glimpse of Fallingwater. She could feel the temperature change as they walked deeper into the woods. It had to be at least ten degrees cooler than at the visitor's center in her estimation. "I hear the waterfall now."
"Not too much farther to the Overlook." Clay smiled down at her. "Let me know if you need to hold my arm."
"I'm fine."
"This is exciting, Mattie," he laughed and squeezed her hand. "I feel like I'm seeing it for the first time again."
Mattie peered down as the path curved and they reached the overlook. "Oh, there it is, Clay." She spied the impressive structure down below them. "Oh my goodness, it's gorgeous."
The photos and slides she'd seen and used in her lessons had certainly not done it justice, as the huge three-story structure seemed to literally rise up and float above Bear Run Creek, although from this angle, she couldn't see the waterfall.
"We can go to the Bird's Eye View on the other side, if you like, after we tour the house. You can get the full effect with the waterfall from that angle." Clay pointed in the direction of the second overlook.
As they turned from their slight detour and headed back down the main path to the house, she saw the rock outcroppings, the horizontal earth patterns that had inspired Frank Lloyd Wright, where the hardest stone layers had been exposed over time by the rain and flowing water. She looked around her at the forest surrounding them, with the bare oaks, and maples, and the evergreen hemlock trees.
"We're here." Mattie smiled up at Clay, feeling slightly out of breath. She eyed the structure, made primarily of chamois-colored reinforced concrete, native sandstone, and glass. The cantilevered balconies, bordered by walls of layered sandstone, appeared to soar from the center point, and were anchored in the solid rock. "There's our tour guide."
They walked up to the pleasant young woman, and saw three other couples beside her, and they all nodded to each other.
"If everyone is ready, we can begin our tour." She turned and led the group to the entrance. "When the Kaufmann family first inspected Wright's plans for their family retreat near the waterfall, they were surprised to see that Wright had designed the house, not with a view of their beloved waterfall at Bear Run Creek, but over the waterfall. He told them that he had designed the house '...not to look at your waterfall, but to live with it'."
The group entered the main floor, with the heavily waxed flagstone floor, and Mattie saw the massive, horizontal lines prominent in the spacious, buff-colored living area, as well as the use of Wright's favorite accent paint, a rust-color called Cherokee Red on the metal moldings of the huge windows. Four balconies jutted out from the main floor, much like branches from a tree trunk, as well as an open staircase that led directly down to the stream. They all walked out onto the main balcony and looked down below them at the waterfall.
"In the fall, the waterfall is at its lowest point. In the spring, the waterfall is in full-force, obviously from the melting snows that swell the creek." The tour guide smiled and led them back into the living area.
"Don't you love his use of built-in furniture?" Clay whispered down to her as they walked around the living area. "It's so practical." She nodded in agreement. She especially loved the earth tones, and the view of the forest from every window.
"Look how low the ceilings are though, Clay." Mattie looked up at the ceiling with the huge, rectangular built-in light fixture. "I read that Wright had designed the ceiling to be low to enhance the horizontal feel of the interior, but that Kaufmann was a tall man, and felt cramped when he was here."
"I remember reading that, too." Clay whispered. "It was part of Wright's overbearing personality to insist on that aspect even though the idea didn't sit well with the owner."
"And, here is the hearth, or inglenook...what Frank Lloyd Wright considered the heart of the home." The guide stopped and stood beside the massive sandstone fireplace, with the horizontal layering that characterized the rest of the dwelling. They walked over and peered into the kitchen, which was really a narrow galley kitchen. It was so narrow that a rope barred the entrance, and visitors could only peek into the small space.
"You know, Clay, it's interesting that in 'thirty-seven, the kitchen and bathrooms weren't considered important in the overall design, and seem almost an after-thought on Wright's part," she whispered to him.
"I agree, and now, three decades later, the kitchen is considered the room that the family gathers in, even more than the living area."
The group meandered up the very narrow, almost claustrophobic stone stairway to the bedrooms, and they entered a couple of the rooms, which reminded them immediately of cabins on a cruise ship, with the build-in wardrobes, and they peered into the very tiny bathrooms.
After the hour long tour, they wandered around the grounds, viewing the house from all angles, much as they would have gazed at a sculpture in a museum, then headed toward the Bird's Eye View station. When they got to the station, they leaned on the railing, and looked at Fallingwater, seeing the home as it is pictured in most books. They marveled at the balconies soaring out over the waterfall, and the sereneness of it all. It was perfect.
"I'm so glad we came, Clay. It was worth the drive." Mattie leaned on the railing as they gazed at the iconic home, loathe to leave.
"How are you doing with so much walking?"
"It's hurting a little, but it's nothing to be concerned about." Mattie smiled up at him. "It's mainly due to the prosthetic." She exhaled. "Clay, this has been wonderful. I can't wait to tell my classes about this trip. When we get back to the visitor's center, I want to see if they have a set of slides for my lectures."
"All right. You know, Mattie, this trip has made me anxious to start on the design for that house on the mountainside I was telling you about."
"I can imagine." Mattie enthused. "Fallingwater is very inspiring."
"I have an idea. Would you mind if I called Cal from the payphone at the campground and have him mail the client's specifications for the house, and my tools to your address, and I can work on my ideas at your home?" He peered down at her as they reluctantly left their beautiful view of Fallingwater and Mattie turned and took one last look as they walked slowly towards the boardwalk. "There's just not enough room in the trailer." He paused. "Would you mind if I looked around for a drafting table as well?"
"No, of course not. That sounds wonderful." Mattie lifted her brows. "I might be looking over your shoulder a lot, though."
"That's fine with me." He leaned down and kissed her, and they walked hand in hand back up the boardwalk toward the visitor's center.
When they reached the center, Mattie purchased a set of slides, and they decided to grab a drink and sandwich in the small cafe in the visitor's center before heading back to Ariel Lake and their campsite.