Another painting I am working on this week is this 12"x24" Oil painting and I got a lot of work done on it today. It is a scene from north of town on Brent Creek. Just off Horse Creek it is full of Aspen, Pine and mountain parks. A lot of wildlife utilize the area and is close to town for hikes when one only has a short time to do so.

I put the final touches to my oil painting, Wild Phlox. It is 11"x15"

My wife, Vicki and pardner Chris Phelps each have their Birthdays on June 21 and for the second year in a row we had a cake at the reception for them. Chocolate and Strawberry. Good and sweet.
After a hectic weekend and running the gallery the first part of the week Vicki and I took off wednesday and went to Jackson, the Tetons, and late afternoon up to Yellowstone where we hiked around the Snake River at the south entrance and then on up to Crawfish Creek and Moose Falls where we hiked about a 1/2 mile upstream. It is one of my favorite streams in the country and so overlooked by anyone. Most folks don't even know about the falls and it is amusing to watch a steady stream of people drive by the parking lot oblivious to what they are passing. I just never see any tracks along the stream from folks walking up there. It is pretty rough with a lot of downfall but I guess that keeps it off limits for a lot of folks. We stopped at Flagg Ranch at the south entrance to use the facilities and I overheard a couple pouring over a Yellowstone map. The fellows wife was informing him "We are here and here is where we want to be by 7:00." What a way to spend a trip. If they only knew what they were missing by having to be "there"
By evening we stopped at Colter Bay on the way back home for supper and I had one of the best Buffalo Burgers I have had in some time. That really surprised me.
After Supper we are on the road again and climbing toward Togwottee Pass when at nearly dark we find a large Grizzly Boar strolling through the Sagebrush and timber about 150 feet off the road. I try to get a few pictures but they don't turn out. Just too dark. We watch him for a good 10-15 minutes and finally loose sight of him in the darkness and timber. What an animal. On up and over the pass we have to really watch it as there are a lot of elk on the hiway. We brake numerous times for them. Quite an eventful day.

Ken Stitley and his wife with Chris Phelps on the left and Jane Skaar who is a wonderful watercolorist and a member of Women Artist of the West

Here are some of the folks who seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Last saturday night we had our yearly Open House at Silver Sage Gallery and it was well attended with pretty good sales. It is quite a feed we put on. Here my wife, Vicki is putting out the goodies assisted by Gary and Rita Felton from Torrington, Wyoming who spent a few days in Dubois and were a great help to us. Thank you Gary and Rita.