July 3, 2008
I could smell the smoke from the Crown King fire last night. It's burning south of Prescott. Air was hazy. We've got three big fires going at the moment.

Worked last night on clouds for my sketches:



Lots of good sky reference and big clouds this time of year:



We need a good photographer to cover Kansas and Oregon for our new feature Westward Home. A photographer in each territory would be best. Contact me here, or Meghan Saar.

Long Live The Palace
"This is the week to bring up the Palace isn't it? My memories of the Palace
are a little hazy, I think it has something to do with the altitude. Spent
many July 4th weekends on Whiskey Row, heard about a rodeo, never saw it.
Did go to the "street dance" though.

"If you check out Junior Bonner, the lady with the beehive hairdo and
rhinestone glasses, tending bar with Dub Taylor is Yvonne (Kirkman?). (Looks
like she stepped right out of a Honkytonk Sue strip.) She was a regular
Palace bartender in the 60's and 70's I believe.

"I met Yvonne at the Birdcage on the Fourth of July, 1986. The Marty Mitchell
Band was on stage and I was at the bar drinking with my friend Bill and
about 20 members of the Dirty Dozen. Yvonne appeared in the doorway with a
pretty young blond. I saw them and immediately looked to Bill and said, " I
got the young one."

"'The young one', turned out to be Yvonne's granddaughter Cindy, who I
married five months later.

"Yvonne would be about 93 if she's still around. She was full of great
Prescott stories, including filming that scene for Junior Bonner. I haven't
stayed in touch with the ex family, I sure do miss Yvonne, what a hoot!"

—Lance Ross

"If you are surrounded by ocean you are an Island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent."
—Wayne, age 7