Lael and Darrel

What a setting, what talented artists

Apr 06, 2022

My previous post was about Blacktail Mountain. I stayed with cousin Lael and her husband Darrel. Their house, setting and the work they create is so special thought I would write a post about it and share some pictures of their work. Nothing about skiing. If that isn’t your thing stand by for the next post about Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho.

Lael and Darrell have lived in Bigfork forever. Lael started the first T shirt shop in Whitefish and ran it successfully for decades. Darrell was a hot skiing ski bum in Sun Valley who eventually turned to carpentry, building many beautiful homes in Sun Valley and then in the Glacier/Whitefish area. Today they live in a beautiful 20 acer parcel at the end of the road that backs up to public land. It is a setting many of us dream of.

The T Shirt shop was sold many years ago and Darrell stopped building homes (except his own) many years ago as well. Today they are both artists, Darrel doing metal sculptures and Lael painting as well as other art forms I’m not capable of describing. For a time they both actively sold their works but now it is essentially for pleasure. Enjoy the slide show.

Here is my favorite. Darrell built 3 ponds and diverted water from a stream that flows through the ponds. Zoom in to the middle to see the beaver standing guard.