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Greetings To All!

How nice to see so many familiar faces this past year! I can’t tell all of you how happy I am to be back at Brigadoon. About 90 percent of our guests last year were repeat customers, and most of those have been coming for YEARS. Thank God. Apologies for the length and chattiness of this edition of the newsletter, but I’ve been away for a while and have a lot of catching up to do.


THE ULTIMATE BRIGADOON TRIP

With the assistance of President and Mrs. Carter and Jay Beck from Emory, we have put together a Brigadoon Fly Fishing trip as an auction item that most anglers will only dream about.  This package includes a day of fishing for ten at Brigadoon Lodge with President and Mrs. Carter, guided by everyone’s favorite billionaire, Ted Turner. The trip also includes a private cocktail reception and seated dinner prepared by Atlanta chef Vagn Nielsen from Proof of the Pudding. This trip of a lifetime is tax deductible!

The auction will be held on February 2, 2008 in Cancun, Mexico.   From the web site, bidders can find out how to bid on any item.   There will not be any LIVE bidding due to the international nature of this event and the remote location of the venue. Sealed bids can be submitted listing the highest amount one is prepared to bid. During the auction, we bid a "proxy" for those bids along with live bids at the event just as though that person was going to be there.  

NEWS

Most agreed that 2006 was our best in years. The river and fish are in spectacular shape. Everyone caught fish and caught a lot of them. Brigadoon hosted more corporate events than in any previous year, and we enjoy these groups so much that I am attempting to expand the facility to house more guests.

The prayers of grateful clientele have been answered: we now offer food service. All are delighted — gross understatement! — with the arrival of Bob and Don, our new gourmet chefs. You do NOT have to help cook or unload the dishwasher anymore unless Bob and Don are off.  And you never thought you’d be served pomegranate sorbet BETWEEN courses at Brigadoon, did you? It’s pricey, but worth it.

I’ll take a moment here to thank the “Irregulars” who constantly help me cook, clean, move furniture, clean up the river, build dams, pull brush, take out the garbage, haul and carry… Whatever chore  needs doing, y’all are there pitching in.  Jim Brunjak, Tim Morrison, Tom and Ann Johnson…this is a long list! This “Mom and Pup” operation couldn’t make it without all the help from the guests. We’ve had a lot of fun and I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. A special thanks to Jim Brunjak! We DID need that poker table. So many of you brought gift bottles of wine I may need to apply for a liquor license. Keep up the good work!

Oh. Biggest Fish: Our largest fish in 2006 was a beautiful stream-bred brown measuring 31 inches and weighing 16 pounds. Caught on — what else? — a woolly bugger

.BIG NEWS!

Last fall a friend from Charleston, John Wilson, with the Evening Post Company, contacted me about a new magazine he was putting together cleverly named Garden & Gun. It is a southern literary and conservation magazine partly devoted to sporting destinations in the southeastern United States. The magazine will be part lifestyle, part hunting and fishing guide (they are working closely with the Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and Tall Timbers), and will include non-fiction essays by the South's premier writers — among them George Black, Clyde Edgerton, Pat Conroy, Frank O'Neill, and Jill McCorkle, to name a few.

I was informed that a group of fishing luminaries would gather at Brigadoon to put together an article on fly fishing. George Black, author of Casting a Spell: The Bamboo Fly Rod and the American Pursuit of Perfection and The Trout Pool Paradox: The American Lives of Three Rivers (and three books on international issues) would be writing the article; Andy Anderson, award-winning photographer, would shoot the photography, and Bill Oyster, one of the best bamboo rod builders around, would be featured fishing with one of his remarkable rods. Brigadoon's own legendary guide, Henry Williamson, would be the guide for this august group.

All arrived on a VERY rainy Friday night (the word deluge comes to mind). I could tell they were a little skeptical when I told them the red rushing river would clear within a few hours of the rain ceasing. Fortunately it did stop, and the group had a fabulous two days on the river. It will come as no surprise to Brigadoon regulars that the author George Black caught the largest trout of his life – about 28 inches — and his rod survived. It was one of many trophy trout caught over the weekend. To read about their extraordinary trip please be sure to buy a copy of this beautiful new magazine, due out in April. Brigadoon is honored to be included in the premier issue!

THE WATER

For the third consecutive year the river remains in perfect condition. Water levels stay high. Hmmm. Global warming?  We had PLENTY of rain and cool nights all summer. The water temperature never exceeded 70 degrees.  We suffered no losses due to hot water. It is fortunate that we abut National Forest River to the north. The uncut Forest Service section of river cools the water down significantly before it reaches Brigadoon. The cliffs and feeder springs on the Brigadoon stretch also keep it cool.

The leaf color was stunning this fall. An early frost in October followed by two warm weeks forced the maples, sour woods, and 'sugar' trees into the most dramatic color I've seen since coming to the Blue Ridge. Windy with warm days and cool nights, it was perfect in every autumnal respect.

CORPORATE EVENTS

Brigadoon hosted more corporate events last year than ever in our history. Many thanks to Georgia Pacific, Home Depot, Scotts, Pennington, Coca-Cola, Delta, Citigroup, Boral, The Southern Company, Smith Barney, KPMG, Easlan Capital, CBeyond, Southern Wall Products, RUUCO,  and so many others who held their meetings at Brigadoon in 2006.

Most corporate groups want to use the 'old' lodge for meals and entertaining, so I am building a small owners’ wing adjacent to Brigadoon.  It is supposed to be habitable by Spring 2007. Ha. Fall 2007 and we’ll be lucky. When finished, Brigadoon will have fourteen private bedrooms (3 rooms share a bath and kitchenette) among the three cabins — Brigadoon, Cragganmore, and Oban. All are within easy walking distance of each other on lovely winding trails.

CATERING

As mentioned, all thoroughly enjoyed the new chef and catering service this past year. Our corporate groups enjoyed cocktails in front of a roaring fire, then a delicious multi-course seated dinner in the Great Room. Cocktails, wine, and meal prices vary according to menu. In addition to the wonderful dinners served in the old lodge, many took advantage of the “heat and serve” meals. The chefs leave meals cooked and covered in the cabins and the guests simply heat them up when they are ready to dine.

Many couples celebrated special days at Brigadoon. Bob and Don’s talents are not limited to food. They can have champagne, chocolate strawberries, fruit and cheese platters, candles, flowers and gifts, and whatever else you want, waiting in your cabin. Complete cabin stocking is also available. Ditto liquor and wine.

RATES

No changes to our rod fee (so far). Remember, during the busy months of spring and fall we only book half days for those incoming or outgoing groups who have booked trips including a full day. Guides remain recommended but optional.

SPRING 2007
It's booking fast. Call to reserve your date!

THE WEBSITE

PalmettoSoft, a firm in Charleston, SC, is rebuilding our entire website. A long overdue project. We need “testimonials” and photos with who, what, which hole, etc. Please just send these directly to Brad@palmettosoft.com and he will post them.

I look forward to seeing y’all this spring. Bring wine.

Becka and the Beagles

For More Information Contact:
Rebekah Stewart – Rebekah@brigadoonlodge.com
(706) 754 - 1558