Special for The Republic
Oct. 13, 2008 11:10 AM
FLAGSTAFF - This city is a great place to visit, whether you're enjoying cooler temperatures in the summer, changing leaves in the fall or skiing in the winter.
But I've always had a quandary: finding a good place to stay.
I've tried chain hotels, but they were too noisy - even the ones far from the train tracks. So I proposed to my husband that we look for a bed-and-breakfast.
Based on past experiences, he conjured the image of a fussy Victorian house with finger towels, doilies, flowers and ruffles. What self-respecting man wants to tell his friends he booked the "Daffodil Room" for the weekend?
But A Shooting Star Inn is not your typical B&B. It's all knotty pine and wrought iron, and innkeeper Tom Taylor has a university-research-grade telescope on the property. You can stay in the Cassini, Einstein or Galileo room, and the decor has a moon-and-stars theme. The inn runs on solar power supplemented by a generator as neede. Water is trucked in.
It's perfectly comfortable, but with a rustic edge. Guests tend to be more interested in the outdoors and less concerned that there are no jetted tubs.
"One person called and started to ask about thread count on my sheets," Taylor said, "and I kind of cut them off and said, 'You're not calling the right place.' This isn't about 800 thread count. This is about nature, astronomy; just enjoying a different slice of country life."
So what you won't get are designer bath products and drawer sachets. What you will get: stargazing classes (we saw the moons of Jupiter), musical serenades (Taylor plays guitar and sings for guests), fabulous food (amazing refried beans, perfect sunny-side-up eggs and impossibly moist grilled chicken) and incredible views.
The inn faces south, looking at the stunning Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet. Some of the state's best mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing (downhill and cross country) are within a few miles. Animal-watching is big, too, as elk and other visitors roam the grassy fields around the property.
All this would be enough enticement, but the experience is also about Taylor. He made us feel like we were old friends rather than paying guests. Wine flows freely; laughter comes easily. Don't be surprised if neighbors drop by to socialize.
Taylor's passion for astronomy drove him to dream up the concept for the inn. He majored in the subject at the University of Arizona until his parents, fearing he would be relegated to a life of flipping burgers, urged him to reconsider. He worked in counseling for 10 years before leaving to open the inn in August 2005.
The 4,200-square-foot home also contains a music studio in a loft above the great room; Taylor has played guitar at numerous venues around Flagstaff. And there's a photo studio: Taylor is a professional wedding and commercial photographer, and his landscapes and astro photos, taken through his telescope, line the walls. Even though he's almost entirely self-taught, he's snagged two "Best Photographer" awards from the Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff's newspaper.
Taylor mainly shoots artistic works with telephoto or fish-eye lenses, he said, rather than the standard 50-millimeter lens. My husband asked why.
"That's how the world looks all the time," Taylor said. "I want to get a different perspective."
But I've always had a quandary: finding a good place to stay.
I've tried chain hotels, but they were too noisy - even the ones far from the train tracks. So I proposed to my husband that we look for a bed-and-breakfast.
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Based on past experiences, he conjured the image of a fussy Victorian house with finger towels, doilies, flowers and ruffles. What self-respecting man wants to tell his friends he booked the "Daffodil Room" for the weekend?
But A Shooting Star Inn is not your typical B&B. It's all knotty pine and wrought iron, and innkeeper Tom Taylor has a university-research-grade telescope on the property. You can stay in the Cassini, Einstein or Galileo room, and the decor has a moon-and-stars theme. The inn runs on solar power supplemented by a generator as neede. Water is trucked in.
It's perfectly comfortable, but with a rustic edge. Guests tend to be more interested in the outdoors and less concerned that there are no jetted tubs.
"One person called and started to ask about thread count on my sheets," Taylor said, "and I kind of cut them off and said, 'You're not calling the right place.' This isn't about 800 thread count. This is about nature, astronomy; just enjoying a different slice of country life."
So what you won't get are designer bath products and drawer sachets. What you will get: stargazing classes (we saw the moons of Jupiter), musical serenades (Taylor plays guitar and sings for guests), fabulous food (amazing refried beans, perfect sunny-side-up eggs and impossibly moist grilled chicken) and incredible views.
The inn faces south, looking at the stunning Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet. Some of the state's best mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing (downhill and cross country) are within a few miles. Animal-watching is big, too, as elk and other visitors roam the grassy fields around the property.
All this would be enough enticement, but the experience is also about Taylor. He made us feel like we were old friends rather than paying guests. Wine flows freely; laughter comes easily. Don't be surprised if neighbors drop by to socialize.
Taylor's passion for astronomy drove him to dream up the concept for the inn. He majored in the subject at the University of Arizona until his parents, fearing he would be relegated to a life of flipping burgers, urged him to reconsider. He worked in counseling for 10 years before leaving to open the inn in August 2005.
The 4,200-square-foot home also contains a music studio in a loft above the great room; Taylor has played guitar at numerous venues around Flagstaff. And there's a photo studio: Taylor is a professional wedding and commercial photographer, and his landscapes and astro photos, taken through his telescope, line the walls. Even though he's almost entirely self-taught, he's snagged two "Best Photographer" awards from the Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff's newspaper.
Taylor mainly shoots artistic works with telephoto or fish-eye lenses, he said, rather than the standard 50-millimeter lens. My husband asked why.
"That's how the world looks all the time," Taylor said. "I want to get a different perspective."
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