Back Porch showing one of the Cabins
This is the main ranch house. We sit at the big windows and have wonderful views every direction, out of the weather and wind if we want to stay in. Or go out to paint plein air in the front yard, or further afield into the back counry.
A couple of the Cabins. Besides the main ranch house there are about 7 cabins, each with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, electricity and a wonderful covered deck/porch on each one, plus a wash house and a central bathroom building. There are also corrals, a big barn and generator building. On the property there are several interesting old homestead cabins too.
Last night I got most of my "stuff" for the Mixed Media Round Hill Painting Retreat packed into the SUV. This morning I got Joe's breakfast and left early to meet the others at Kay's north of Pinedale to caravan to the Round Hill Ranch. I'm never sure if I'm on the right road or not, so it was good to follow Kay. We met at Kay's about 8:30 a.m. It is somewhat more than 100 miles from our place over there. I'm sure looking forward to the two days I can spend. I plan to come back after dinner Saturday, and Beverly, Clayton and Debbie will arrive Saturday evening for a week.
I got to Kay's a little early and soon Lois and Melita arrived. Ruth was coming from Big Piney so it was just the five of us this time. We often have up to a dozen come to the retreat but this time was a last minute opportunity and we took it. Lois got in to ride over with me, and we had a nice visit. The RHR is back into the Wyoming Range, and it feels very remote and secluded. There's a lot of big country back there. I think we had nearly 50 miles of dirt road to get in to the place. The scenery is wonderful all along the way. We got there at maybe 10:30 and unloaded the vehicles. Hank and Tom had come up to get the generator going and see that everything was open and going to work for us, then they took off back to Pinedale.
We got settled in our cabins and all the art equipment set up in the big dining room. We all agreed that we were happy just to stay in and work there for most of the weekend, and not to go out in the vehicles or do much plein air. By that time it was lunch time so we had a sandwich and then set to work. Everyone was glad to be there together and we all got serious about creating a lot of paintings. Kay had us start off with a 30 minute painting exercise by opening a magazine and we had to paint whatever was on that page. I did a small white sailboat on calm water, lots of aqua. We do have a good time together with lots of laughter.
Dinner that night was prepared by Kay who did a stir fry shrimp meal with a noodles Alfredo and big salad with fresh greens from Melita's garden. My thing to bring was fruit and I also made the avocado and butter bean salad with tomatoes and artichoke hearts. After dinner we painted a little longer, then the other four played Farkle and I continued to paint until bedtime. We went to our cabins and all slept well.
Round Hill Ranch is owned by Melita's neighbors, who very generously offer to let us come up and paint. A son-in-law and grandson were there, but we only saw them a few times. It is a privately owned fishing and hunting lodge for their friends and family. They also have a string of horses that are pastured there. We see lots of wildlife every day too. We are so very grateful for this wonderful opportunity to go to a beautiful place and work without interruptions.
Wonderful Ambiance
