There’s something magical about waking up at Lupin Lodge. The morning light filters through the redwoods, birdsong replaces the noise of the city, and the mountains seem to invite you to slow down and stay awhile.

Camping at Lupin is more than simply pitching a tent or checking into a yurt. It’s a chance to reconnect with nature, spot the local wildlife, wander the mountain trails, take a dip in the pool, soak in the hot tub, relax in the sauna, or simply sit beneath the trees and watch the day unfold.

And then there are the people. Lupin is a community as much as it is a place. You might arrive knowing no one and leave with new friends, stories around the campfire, and memories that last long after you pack up your tent.

Whether you’re looking for adventure, relaxation, connection, or a little escape from everyday life, Lupin offers plenty of ways to make your own kind of getaway.

2-FOR-1 TENT CAMPING SPECIAL

Bring a friend and enjoy 2-for-1 tent camping,

plus 2-for-1 pancake breakfast on select Sundays! November 8 • December 6

(This special available is for through November 8)

Pack your tent, grab your favorite camping buddy, and come discover the beauty, wildlife, community, and playful spirit of Lupin Lodge.

Your next adventure starts in the mountains.

 408-353-9200
 LupinLodge.com
20600 Aldercroft Heights Rd., Los Gatos, CA 95033

An interview with Sal Carilli by Lori Kay Stout shortly before his hundredth birthday.

LKS: Tell me a little bit about yourself, including your goal of being the oldest living World War II veteran.

Sal: I was born on June 16, 1926 in Long Island, New York. I have one brother and two sisters and my youngest sister is still alive. She’s 97.

I’m a veteran of two wars. I was in World War II in the Navy on a PT boat but not JFK’s PT boat. I went to the Philippines and the Aleutian Islands. When World War II ended, I was in the Philippines. We received orders to go to another island to help. While we were at the island, the islanders had a big celebration. The people were so happy to see us. It felt good for our American crew to be appreciated and honored. It was quite the celebration.

I was also a Korean war veteran and I’ve been to New Guinea, Borneo, Okinawa and Guam. I was on an ATTU boat during the Korean War. An ATTU is a sea going tugboat. I also saw Bob Hope both in World War II in the Korean War.

I still want to be the oldest living WWII vet.

LKS: Where did you go to school?

Sal: I went to USC. I had two G.I. bills. I received my BA in something like education. I went to graduate school at NYU. I had over 120 units, way more than I needed. If I had finished my thesis, I would’ve had a masters degree. I taught at Ravenswood School District for 26 years. 18 years were in the Atherton side and the last eight years were in the East Palo Alto side. I taught math (algebra), science, and drafting during that time.

I lived with my wife and five kids in Portola Valley. My oldest son Mark was 18 years old. It was not long after his HS graduation, he died in a motorcycle accident. There was road work being done. My son Brian worked for 40 years at Harvard and Stanford. My daughter Tara died in Santa Cruz and my youngest daughter Carry lives in Arizona. I’ve been married twice. One of my wives is still alive and she’s only 90 years old.

When I was 52 years old, I bought the property adjacent to Lupin and called it Myrtle Canyon Ranch. When I was 55 years old, I retired from teaching. I was a Lupin member since about 1975. Glyn took over Lupin in 1977 but I didn’t know him until several years later. I remember going to the Ethan’s home and interviewing with Ethel to be considered for membership. Back then, Ethel lived in what is now the Lupin office and had a desk in the living room. I purchased the property after I became a Lupin member. I got to know Glyn much better while working together during the 1985 Lexington fire and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

LKS: What are some of your favorite Lupin memories?

Sal: Glyn was my dear friend, we both were history buffs. I used to love doing tractor work at Lupin and on my property. We were great neighbors. One of my favorite projects was the pipeline installation for spring water to Lupin. I remember there was a hot air balloon parked on the lawn in front of the restaurant. I also remember times when the restaurant lawn was packed with people.

LKS: What are your hobbies and interests?

Sal: I like golf. I’m a big history buff. I like to skate, but I had to stop when I was 84 because I fell and damaged my hip. I played baseball and softball until I was 86. I vividly remember my last game. I won the best hitter award, but we lost the game. I went to a tournament in San Diego with my team. I hit a triple but when I got to first base, I had to sit down on the base. They sent in a runner for me as my leg was hurting probably because of the hip problem so that was the last game I played.

LKS notes that Sal had a two-hole golf course, space for horses and about 1999 acres. Also once a winery with the Lupin property.

LKS: What’s your secret of making it to 100 years old?

Sal: I did not smoke, drink or do drugs and am always staying active.

LKS: What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the last hundred years?

Sal: The KKK was abandoned in about 1955. It should’ve been done away with after the Civil War.

LKS: Do you have any regrets?

Sal: I wish I never sold my property to Mid Peninsula Open Space. It was never open to the public so people have not been able to enjoy the property. They never lived up to the agreement we had over the spring water for Lupin. I trusted them and regret not getting it in writing.

LKS: Is there anything else you want to add?

Sal: Myrtle Canyon Ranch was named after the flower Vinka Major. It is all over the property and a native plant.

Also, a woman is the best gift a man can have.

Lupin is now off the real estate market. We’re looking forward to this season, the next, and those beyond!

The Lupin Entertainment Committee is planning a summer season of Fun Events featuring Pool Parties and gearing up for Lupin’s 92^nd Birthday Party and we’re proud to be hosting the 2026 TNS Western Naturist Gathering in August.

Lupin’s Members

Members are the core that sustains Lupin Lodge. Lupin needs your generosity, your time and your expertise, to keep our grounds and our events special. In the past, members have organized annual spring and fall beautification days and contributed to trail maintenance and fire-abatement. Members planned our dances and events.

Consider hosting an event, leading a workshop, or planning a barbeque. Join the entertainment committee or do a shift or two at the restaurant. Birdwatchers, crafters, artists, musicians–all can help enrich Lupin for all members and shape Lupin into the future.

Come to our Lupin Community Meeting!
Share your thoughts on skills you could contribute to the community and what you’d like to see at Lupin. We’re here to help you get your ideas off the ground!

Lupin Lodge Community Meeting

Saturday July 25th 11AM:
Lupin Community Emergency Preparedness & Town Hall

You are also invited to email booking@lupinlodge.com to share what you want to contribute to the community.

And be sure to save the date for our 92nd birthday party on August 1st!

Thank you for being part of Lupin,

Naturally Yours,

Lori Kay Stout

Sometimes repetition results in mistakes & forgetfulness

As an actor who had to repeat the same lines to the same people over and over again sometimes over a period of years, the challenge was always how to make everything one says and does fresh and open to discovering nuances and creativity each time. It’s about being in the moment, living in the moment, trusting that the past has been incorporated into this moment and the present is clean and open just waiting to be tasted, embraced, and open to creativity.

Being fully present in the moment means what we see, hear, feel, taste, touch, and do is for the first time. It is experiencing life and every part of it anew. It happens by practicing being present every moment. When we live in the moment life is more exhilarating. Our baggage is laid aside making our journey easier and less burdensome. When we are in the moment at work and are used to doing the same things over and over again, we see with fresh eyes and are more careful and more cheerful. I am also aware that I pay more attention to what I am doing thus avoiding errors or spotting them quicker when they occur due to my human fallibility.

I once worked as a receptionist in a detail shop where they used very sophisticated and dangerous equipment and asked the owner if people got hurt often. His reply was, “Not if they pay attention” (in the moment).

When we engage in repetitive action there is a tendency for our minds to wander. Being in the moment requires mental discipline. It is a kind of meditation, just come back to the stillness, let your wandering mind return to the present, and focus on the task, on another, on life. It very often is accompanied by a smile both inwardly and outwardly.

Rochelle
(Hospitality Director of Lupin Lodge)

by Lupin Rochelle
The dictionary defines patience as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. I will add imperfection.

Oh, how many times do I get upset with myself for not doing what I expect myself to do when I expect myself to do it? I consider myself impatient with myself for not living up to my own standards. And though I may be impatient with others I do not get angry with them but am totally forgiving and accepting them as humans and therefore imperfect. My task is to treat myself with as much love and understanding as I treat others. We make mistakes, and we learn from them, they are our teachers. With patience, forgiveness can happen. We can realize that what we regard as right and just as something we want will come into reality if we have patience. Once I heard that patience is a virtue.  Then it behooves me to practice it if I wish to be a virtuous being. When anger starts to boil, turn down the flame, be patient pay attention to what needs to happen, and graciously do it. Now  (more confessions) I get, totally, impatient with technology not behaving as I want it to behave, and right away.  Every once in a while, I stop and remember to be patient and, really, look at all the possibilities there are to correct the error I encounter, and lo and behold I fix it.  Now I just need to remember that is a possibility and apply it more and more. I just need to practice more patience.

 
by Lupin Rochelle
 
Our calendar says 2023 has retired and 2024 has begun. With all our goodwill we want to be better in this new year as we have wanted in all the new year’s past.
 
So, we make resolutions, it’s a ritual! Of course, some are hard to keep for a full year, a month a week, or “what were they again?” But it always holds the promise of more and better if we choose. And then there is, what do we have to get rid of to be better? That could be daunting! Or it could just be the same old, some old, which is impossible because we are a year older and that counts for another year of stories if I am going to make a resolution I resolve to not make any resolutions in 2024 but just celebrate all that I have experienced and learned in 2023. So, let’s make it a HAPPY New Year. We can work on that!

I have this formula for bringing forth love it is likened to a three-legged stool, each leg representing a true connection, 1, to self, 2 to other, and 3 to the all, divine, God etc. and the seat being Love.
 
The most interesting thing about this formula is that a true connection with just one of those three includes the other two. Because a true connection is a connection without judgment either negative or positive but free-flowing unhindered by subjectivity.
 
Since embarking consciously on this path of LOVE over fifty years ago I have created tools, and modalities to keep me centered to better understand what Love is, and how to act with it, and finally to become it.
 
It is a task worth working on. Since I have found that the attributes of love are peace, creativity, joy, non-resistance, and connectedness.
 
I was diagnosed with colon cancer some fifteen years ago and I prayed that I wanted to die in joy, not fear. In my mind I heard; “then live in joy”.
 
When I truly connect with someone, something, and or the divine I enter a state of joy.
 
Think of the joy we experience truly connecting to the beauty of nature, to a newborn child, to ourselves when we accomplish something meaningful.
 
It is really easy and when practiced it becomes even easier. We just need to stop, look and listen, receive fully, be aware of when we are not doing that, and return to doing it.
 
Try to make a true connection every day and see what happens!
 
Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

I became so aware of how important it is to be able to adapt during these last power outages.  There we were in the dark, headlamps affixed to our foreheads, a battery-operated lantern providing enough light to keep walk-in areas illuminated and battery packs keeping our phones charged.  All this we learned from previous outages and now were able to create a little more comfortable environment as a result.

It wasn’t enough that we had no power but it was cold, very cold, and our house heat was all provided by electrical heaters. So, we lit our propane stove just enough, opened the door and it warmed us beyond freezing. We were careful to use pantry food or to get things from the fridge as little as possible. We applauded the return of electricity.  It certainly made our 21^st-century mentality function more easily. But we realized that we could adapt to emergencies and come out unscathed.

I have listened to interviews with people living in war-torn environments and marveled at their adaptability for survival. Our power outages seemed a mere trifle to what they were experiencing. Yet, as long as they were alive and able to function, they found ways to do what was necessary.

I believe the opposite of adaptability is resistance and *resistance is, really,  hard on our bodies and psyches. When we embrace our circumstances, we can become creative and creativity leads to new inventions that make our life easier and more creative.

*Errol Strider wrote, “Resistance is what we add to pain to make it hurt more and last longer”
 
Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

It’s February, the month devoted to LOVE. . .everywhere you go you’ll see hearts, candy, flowers, buy something for a loved one etc. In our language, we have only one word for all the kinds of love there are.
The Greeks had three, Filial, Eros, and Agape. Filial love for family, friends, things, and actions. Eros for the romantic and Agape for divine Love. When my children were little and I would proclaim that I loved something, they would reply, “do you want to marry it?” The emotions behind all our love are no less real and sometimes potent. Love propels us to be more caring, harmonious, joyful, creative, and happy no matter which kind of love we are experiencing. Love is awesome, can’t always be rational, but can always be felt. For me as hospitality director of Lupin, love is hospitable, open to truly seeing, hearing, and appreciating those I come into daily contact with. For this I am truly grateful.

Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

A new year is upon us: Time to reflect. Clean house of outdated ideas and images that hold us back from being the incredible beings we are capable of, and choose to find ways to affirm who we truly are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

We, members and visitors of Lupin, are lucky to have an ambiance and so many events and people here to aid in that awareness adventure.

I have a formula that my husband created that has inspired me on my journey and that I lovingly present to you for this New Year, it is called PREP.

• P for being present
• R for being receptive
• E for being enthusiastic
• P for being personal

If we are present we can be aware of what is in front of us, around us, and within us.

When we allow ourselves to receive all that we are present to without judgments, it is easier to act accordingly.

When we act with enthusiasm (which comes from the Greek word, entheos, meaning from God or spirit), our actions are filled with love and are easily met.

And when we are personal, we are being true to our real selves and gifting that to all and anyone willing to receive us.

So let us PREP for the New Year and may it be a truly NEW year.

Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge