Squatters Creek

Squatters Creek is the foundation of the Hermitage. Once part of a seasonal natural flow, it is now used to regulate water levels between the Highline and Idaho Canal Systems. It tumbles down a bedrock of lava and runs at times even when the canal systems don't. It has created a microenvironment for birds, small animals, and children who need wild places to dream and stretch their creative muscles. It is wooded, but aside from a few willows and cottonwoods, most of the trees are very old Russian Olives. There is an understory that birds have carried in, but the noxious and nuisance weeds are also thriving. We call it Squatters Creek because until now it has been occupied by those who did not own the land but found seclusion there just the same: teenagers sitting around a fire and talk, neighborhood children building a clubhouse, wanderers who needed somewhere untamed to clear their thoughts. We intend for Squatters Creek to be a place for the transient in of all of us to find shelter.