Final River Trip, and ...?
5/29/21
A few days after my final river trip.
It was great overall, we had some nasty wind a couple of days, but
otherwise it was an epic trip. We saw tons of bighorn sheep, they are
stressed and hanging out by the river banks, the desert is super dry.
All the artists painted daily and I think they enjoyed the challenge. I
did some of my best plein air river paintings I think, and even sold a
couple, sweet. However in my delirium after the trip and packing the
camper to travel the next day, I forgot to photograph those paintings,
oops :)
Mostly though I was grateful to have one last river trip with Clair. At
78 he is amazing but said this was his last commercial trip, which he
did at my request. Thank you Clair. He'll do a private rowing trip now
and then but this was his last big boat trip and I was happy to share
that with him. He's been running the river for over 60 years.
I think that makes 12 trips total for me. It's been great, and now I'm
ready for some new experiences and new discoveries.
On this last river trip I ate too much, and some alcohol may have been
consumed along the way. I felt a bit tired after the trip. I did do a
lot of loading and unloading, I even went to the warehouse before and
after the trip to help rig and de-rig the boat. I took 4 of us much of
the day each time. It's amazing how they fit all the food, ice, water,
tents, chairs, sleeping bags, extra motor, gas, kitchen, safety
equipment etc. Enough for 18 people for 8 days!
Unpacking and cleaning the boat may have been even more work than
loading it, or maybe we were just a little recked from the trip. Our
helpers Jim and Ben worked their butts off taking care of us all week,
they were great.
After the river trip I returned to Flagstaff to recoup and get in one
last mountain bike ride with my buddy Clint. I likely won't see him
again until mid September, after I return to do the Grand Canyon plein
air event one more time.
In the middle of my first night back in the woods, a pack of coyotes
must've made a kill about a hundred yards from my camper. They started
yipping and doing their best hyena impersonations for about an hour. It
was impressive, I would guess there were about 15 or more by the racket
they made. Finally they settled down and let me get some sleep. In the
morning I walked over to the area where they had been, I saw a few
drops of blood, but nothing else, no fur or feathers or bones...nothing.
The next day I went for a long ride off trail randomly through the
woods on my bike. Deep in the foothills of the San Francisco Peaks, I
flushed a single pronghorn. He seemed very out of place there, strange.
"Turn and face the strange, ch ch changes..."
Sorry couldn't resist the chance to slip in a David Bowie reference ;-)
Next up I'm headed to Salida CO to see some of my artist friends, then
on to Ouray to see some new friends. After that who knows...northern
Utah, Wyoming, Idaho...I have no set plans for the next three months,
which is kind of exciting.
All my life I've been hyper focused on very specific goals, even on
painting trips it was pretty structured and scheduled. The new me is
experimenting with being a yes to more spontaneity, being in more of a
random discovery mode if you will. Less focused on the future and more
present in the moment. So far I'm liking it, though it is lonely at
times. Often I don't even have cell service, yep that means no internet
either, gasp!
I'm making peace with that too.
Between the river trip and spending all of April in remote Utah, I have
boatloads of new painting ideas, so stay tuned,
(I'll try to remember to get photos of the paintings this time ;-)
Thanks for following along
Cody
Clair n Cody 2021
Clair n Cody 2021
Image 4183647
Image 4183658
Image 4183666
Image 4183669
Image 4183662
Image 4183665
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Have a look at my website. Click on any painting and you will see which
gallery has it. Prints are available as always through my website.
I am currently accepting Commissions from the road, turnaround times
are usually less than a month!
www.codydelong.com
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