We met up with Dan & Elaine May last night for dinner at Cucina Tuscana, one of Salt Lake’s top Italian restaurants. This isn’t just our opinion; even they felt that nothing came close to it in Scottsdale. They both had been to this restaurant before on a previous trip up here.

The May’s were in town just for one night on their way up to Jackson and wanted to get together and treat us to dinner. Dan told me I was in charge of the wine and I was then handed the wine list. Usually we are always trying new wines when we get together. But the last time somebody handed me a wine list and told me to order, I went for the $150 bottle of wine. It can be quite dangerous if I know somebody else is treating! The wine book had prices ranging all the way up to several hundred for a bottle. “Not that page”, he said over my shoulder.

We were looking for, as he put it “more bang for your buck”. I called for the wine concierge and told him we were interested in something less fruity, more or less along the lines of a parched desert dry. He pointed out a Chardonnay from Tuscany, over my price limit, but I shared the information with Dan. “Sure no problem, let get that one!” I smiled; it was going to be a fun evening.

The first appetizer was a Roasted Duck with plums, followed by hand made ravioli in some kind of a heavenly sauce. They followed up with the next bottle of Cabernet from the region. An hour later we were starting on a combination of main courses with salmon and artichokes. A new bottle of red wine was brought out.

In the end I went for the cheese cake and espresso for dessert.

Two and a half hours later we all walked out in a bubbly mood. Dan and Elaine had to get back for their drive tomorrow and we had to get back to the crit session at Nick’s

I worked on the "evening" painting today.

Richard Boyer

Worked on number two today, one of those that we got rained out on !

I always make it a habit of having the camera ready, so I can shot boats that happen to stray into view. And that is exactly what I did in this case. I clicked about 30 pictures of these two boats going down the canal and under the bridge. Nicely enough, the sun happened to be out at this particular photo opportunity. So I used them in the painting.

I should add a word of warning about leaving your camera out; remember mine was stolen in Amsterdam from some scumbag. So now I have started hooking my open backpack to the easel leg with the camera just inside it. It takes a little longer to get it out, but I really don’t want to loose another $2000 object !

It was a little slow gong on the painting this morning. The studio was pitch black from thunder storms rolling over the house. Nothing like working on your painting when the light level drops to that of evening. It seems to have cleared out for the afternoon.

After the dinner tonight I'll bring the two Amsterdam works, two figure pieces and that larger evening painting to the crit.

Richard Boyer

Wednesday

Back to work today

I started to pull out the Amsterdam studies and work on those. Number one was this one here.

I just blued up the sky and water a little and added some highlights here and there. Realistically I don’t want to do too much to these, just the ones where we got rained out on, they could use some more work.

The crit was supposed to be at my place tomorrow, but I was surprised by a call from Dan May, who ran the May Gallery. He and his wife Elaine are driving up to Jackson for the weekend and will be spending the night here in Salt Lake. So Dan called and wanted to know if they could take Karin and I out to dinner at Cucina Tuscana. That happens to be one of our favorite restaurants and I just couldn’t turn them down!

Nick will pick up the slack and I’ll join them later on in the evening for the crit.

Richard Boyer

Sunday, Aug. 15

Sunday,

We have been putting in about eighteen miles everyday and my arms are feeling it.

Yesterday seemed like a repeat of the day before so I didn’t bother with writing anything, besides you get so tired at the end of the day that the ground pad begins to look mighty inviting!

It was the take-out day today and we arrived at Mineral Bottoms about three in the afternoon. After five days on the river it was good to get out and back to the final camp site at Green River again for a real shower. We had been washing off as best could be in the river, but still when you consider the amount of sandy sediment flowing along, washing yourself totally clean is not an option. It felt good to also get out of the sun and high temperatures.

We made it back to Green River for dinner at Ray’s and an early night.

It will be good to get back home tomorrow and start painting again.

Richard Boyer

Friday

We entered Labyrinth Canyon today, leaving the mud hills of yesterday. South out of the town of Green River is the most geologically boring area one could imagine. Mile after mile of mud hills called the Mancos shale, a bentonitic clay and limestone layer put down during a stagnant marine environment. Another words a petrified swamp. The river then moved into the Morrison formation, another layer made up of muddy looking deteriorating shale and siltstone.

So most were understandably overjoyed when we came into the red sandstone cliffs of canyon.

Dinner tonight was a lasagna Dutch oven

Richard Boyer

Thurday, Aug. 12

We got an early start. Martin went around at 6:00 am waking everyone up with revelly and by 7:30 everybody was on the river. With all the smaller scouts we had to split them up into canoes amongst more experienced rowers. I have a feeling they would have been going around in circled without somebody older with them. We were shooting for twenty miles this day, but ended up doing eighteen and a half.

I started out in a canoe with a scout and later took over Dave’s job on the raft. With the temperatures up in the high nineties most of my crew were floating in the water by the side.

At 6:00 we finally arrived at a good camp site and ended the day. The Dutch over dinner tonight was sweet and sour chicken with rice.

Richard Boyer

Wednesday, August 11

Green River State Park

We were short one vehicle for the drive down with the scouts. Our second car was still being rebuilt after the timing belt went; so graciously Yellow Dave, as we call him offered his car. He got the name because he sometimes wears a yellow coat. Dave is one of the scout parents, but had some thing else planned during our trip. Maybe he felt guilty for not going when he volunteered the use of his Exterra, but nevertheless we are grateful for the use of it.

The Exterra is one of those high centered vehicles towering twice the height of the Volvo, which I am accustomed to. I’m use to zipping around corners in a low profile car without slowing down much. That’s not the case with a top heavy jeep like vehicle; it’s more the feeling of tipping over around the curves. I forgot to ask Dave if he wanted the car back in one piece!

We made it down to Green River State Park, where they have a camp ground next to the river. Here we unloaded everything, put the raft together and loaded up the canoes with all our water supply. The shuttle had to be done next, all the vehicles needed to be driven down to Mineral Bottom, our end location. Our take-out spot was at the end of a long dirt road at the top of Canyonlands National Park

Kyle, Dave Strayer’s son and I were stuck with all nine scouts, so we decided to float them a little in the river. But first there was a required safety lecture that had to be administered. They all rolled their eyes and said “Do we have to?

Twenty minutes later we were walking up stream to float back to our camping spot.

Richard Boyer