Thoughts on The Rockin' R at Zions Ponderosa Ranch

I had a chance to do some reflecting today on how rich our lives have been because of those who have gone before us. My nephew just called this morning and asked if he could take his family up to our cabin at Zion this weekend. There's nothing I love more than to see the cabin get used as often as possible. Our own children have so many memories of the place, that it's fun to see the Rockin' R make memories for still another generation.

My wife's parents, Ben and Jane Rogers acquired the 5-acre property back in the early 60's from an old buddy, R.W. Lewis who was developing the Zion Ponderosa Ranch at Zion. Ben picked out a choice spot in a stand of big Ponderosa Pines overlooking a nice canyon. My wife, Nellie and I were still teenagers dating at the time and living in southern California. Together we travelled with her parents to Utah and helped to build the first little one-room cabin on the property.

40 years later, with 5 married children and 15 grandchildren of our own, we can look back on many pleasant and peaceful times spent there. Because of that little chunk of land my family and I have come to know and love the canyons of Zion National Park. We have walked its trails and explored its natural beauty in all seasons. It has become a part of who we are and has shaped our feelings for the land around us. Still today, having travelled all over the world I can return to our cabin at Zion, kick back in my sky chair, and be at peace with the universe.


Maybe its just that I'm getting older, but I'm starting to reflect more and more on the blessings that we have enjoyed throughout our lives, due to the generosity of others. I hope that many years from now when I am long gone, that the Rockin' R cabin on the Zion Ponderosa Ranch will still be a doorway to the wonders of Zion National Park for my great grandchildren.

Hiking the East Rim Trail in Zion

On Saturday I took my son Jim Lee and two of my gransons, Kayson and Christian, on a short hike out to the East Rim trail. Since our Rockin' R Ranch cabin is located adjacent to Zion National Park's east boundary we can easily access the East Rim trail, the Cable Mountain Trail, and the Observation Point trail. (Okay, I admit it, our cabin is in a wonderful spot.) From the top, you can easily see where a little sand wash starts to drop forming the beginning of Echo Canyon. In just about 100 yards the canyon drops from a gentle meadow to a deep gorge hundreds, then thousands of feet deep. This is a photo of Jim, Kayson, and Christian standing near the edge of Echo Canyon.

ROLAND LEE PAINTINGS OF ZION NATIONAL PARK AT THE ST. GEORGE ART MUSEUM

I have hiked many of the trails in Zion National Park and have done many, many watercolor paintings of Zion Canyon. you can take a look at some of the paintings I completed this past month of the Sentinel, the Altar of Sacrifice, and other images of Zion National Park. I am getting ready for a special one-man-show at the St. George Art Museum in March 2007 which will feature sketchbook drawings and finished original watercolor paintings of Zion National Park and Zion Canyon.

Zion Ponderosa Ranch

A few sketchbook drawings done on location around our "Rockin' R" cabin on the Zions Ponderosa Ranch near Zion National Park. I have done numerous pencil drawings of the big Ponderosa Pine Trees that we love so much.
Click here to see more sketchbook drawings of Zion National Park

Some R and R at the Rockin' R

This morning we're heading up to Zion's Ponderosa Ranch to spend the weekend at our Rockin' R Zion cabin. Located on the east side of Zion National Park just on the park boundary, our Zion cabin has been our haven of peace for over 30 years. We are situated on a ridge above Lemon Springs in a stand of ancient Ponderosa Pines. It is a beautiful place to relax, and I plan on spending time sitting in my sky chair, picking my Taylor guitar, and doing a little drawing in my sketchbook. I'll let you know how it turns out -- oh, and I'm not taking the computer either.

Utah Watercolor Society Award of Merit

I was fortunate to have two watercolor paintings juried into the Utah Watercolor Society Annual Juried show. The two transparent watercolor paintings were both of the southern Utah landscape. One painting of Ivins Reservoir near Kayenta Utah received an Award of Merit at the show which was held at the Iron Horse Gallery in Park City Utah. The second was a painting of Gunlock Reservoir overflow during the recent flooding in southern Utah.
Click to see watercolor paintings

Fly Fishing Painting

My last post of the Lake Powell painting reminded me of how much I enjoy fishing in Utah's lakes. My new favorite lake is Sand Hollow Reservoir near St. George, Utah where we go bass fishing. I am also a novice at Fly Fishing and had a chance to fly fish in New Zealand last summer. Here's a little fly fishing painting I did recently. It's only 5 inches x 6 inches.

Lake Powell Painting

A week on Lake Powell resulted in this watercolor painting of Moki Canyon near Bullfrog. The reflection of the Sandstone cliffs on the still water of the side canyons is incredible, especially during the quiet morning hours.

Valley Forge Sketchbook

I completed several on-location pencil drawings at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. I always carry a hardbound sketchbook when I travel and refer back to it later in the studio when working on larger studio watercolor paintings. I used this sketchbook drawing for the watercolor painting of Washingtons Headquarters shown in my last post.

Top 100 National Arts for the Parks Painting of Valley Forge

Last summer we visited some of the historical sites which were significant in our country's birth. I was impressed when we visited Valley Forge Pennsylvania to learn that this house was donated by Isaac Potts for George Washington to use as his headquarters during the war. I envisioned it in the snow and painted it that way back in the studio. This painting was accepted into the Top 100 Mini Arts for the Parks competition this year and will be displayed in Jackson Wyoming from September 2006 through 2007.

TOP 200 ARTS FOR THE PARKS 2006
Painting of Kolob Canyons in Zion National Park
This painting (below) of the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park was selected from over 2000 paintings for the 2006 National Arts for the Parks competition.

European Watercolor Paintings

This past week I dug into my sketchbooks and decided to do some paintings from our trip to Germany and Switzerland. Even though it's been a couple of years since we were there my memory is still vivid of all the places we visited.