When Larry first came up with the hot idea that we'd make our own sign, I figured it was a result of fever, or overexertion. Neither of us had ever attempted anything like this before. But he is not a man to concede defeat! Larry was actually inspired by the wagon wheel we found on our property. It's authentic - the wagon trail went right through nearby Soco Gap - and although the middle was nearly disintegrated, the iron outer rim was in pretty good shape. Larry sanded through the rust and carefully restored and painted it. Then he finished wood to match the siding on the inn, and fitted it into the rim.

He traced out the font that we'd chosen for our logo lettering onto one-by-four lumber, and had it cut out with a scroll saw. He painted each letter white, and then painted the edges black, for "shadow," and sealed each one.

I was pretty impressed! Except that, at this point, he created a large rendering of our wolf logo on graph paper, and handed me a big piece of birch.... and he said, "Make the wolf." Hoo-boy! Well, ok, I'm game. I traced, and traced, and traced (hey, I can trace, right?) and finally had the wolf logo transferred onto the birch plank. But what in the world was I going to do next?!?

A flash of inspiration yielded the answer. "Hey, Gary!" I called to our teenage son. "Remember that woodburning set Santa brought when you were about 10 years old? Do you still have it?"

Weeks later, the wolf was finished. Larry took a jigsaw to that birch plank and cut out the wolf, sealed it, and then mounted it on spacers to give it depth, attached all the letters, and bolted chain to the back of the rim. It was time to hang the sign.

Mind you, this thing is not light!! Fortunately, we have a son-by-osmosis to help out. The photo shows our Gary, Larry, and (thank-goodness-for) Billy, preparing to hoist this puppy up onto the tree.

Here they go! Larry's sister Tammy steadies the ladder... I am making myself invaluable, taking pictures ;)

Voila' !