10th Anniversary Newsletter
More than seven dog years have elapsed since our last newsletter. And we’re scratching our heads like frantic hounds trying to figure out where the time has gone! We certainly never intended for such a gap between newsletters & hope you will enjoy hearing from us now.
If you’re still with us on your screen, you’ve made us happy as a hound. We promise to make this a short read.
We are Dennis, Sprocket, big beagles Sweet Willy & Toby, and Frances.
10th Birthday
Speaking of dog years, this year is Sweet Willy’s 10th birthday. That’s ten human years our big pet has been entertaining overnight visitors to Idaho’s most unique lodging. It has been our extreme pleasure to share him with all of you who have found your way here. Were it not for Sweet Willy, we likely would not have met or enjoyed visiting with you & your travel companions!
We’ve coined a new word – pictour! Travel our brief ‘pictour’ of what’s new & what’s maybe not so new, along with some of our Dog Bark Park favorites.
We caught this sunset last June. Until living in the West, we never believed skies could really be the sunset colors painted by Charlie Russell.
A big dog needs a big red fire hydrant! This one serves double duty as a restroom for summer travelers.
Made of steel, Dennis designed this 12-ft sculpture to memorialize the importance of anadromous fish in the waters around which we live. Visitors to our studio can see Dennis’
w
ood scale model that was the inspiration for the sculpture.
By the time Dennis completed the fire hydrant he was hooked on making pop art big things using stucco. A giant percolator was the next big thing project, which soon will house a tiny coffee pot museum.
Reminiscent of the wooden alphabet blocks of 
yesteryear, these four-ft square blocks weigh hundreds of pounds each & are unlikely to be rearranged to spell other words!
To answer the oft-asked question of who made the giant d-o-g blocks, we supplied evidence that a block master lives on the premises by making his house! 
Sometimes Mr. Blockmaster is seen with works in progress on his lap or scattered about near his feet.
We’re also often asked where our creative ideas come from. And often we are not able to exactly say. Although math, science, logic & such are often processes in the making of art, creativity is not a straight-flowing front-of-mind process. The origins of Diaphanous, however, are very clear. The roof of this pedestrian entryway to Dog Bark Park was a design Dennis discovered half a lifetime ago when working out a roofing problem for a construction job. From time to time over the ensuing decades he would revisit the design until finally the opportunity to build it at Dog Bark Park came in 
late 2010.
Inspiration for last fall’s project came from Dennis’ 1977 Ford F150 pickup.Winter arrived before the wheels, tires & other detailing were done, yet we did get proper signage installed!
This newsletter highlights only some of the big things in our outdoor art garden. Ideas are always circulating for more. Stay tuned to learn what’s next, or stop by to see for yourself.
National and international publicity continues. Recent highlights have included the Travel Channel, MTV, ABC News, and CBS Early Show. Media articles this last year have appeared in Norway, Italy, Germany, Poland, Brazil, England, Hong Kong, Turkey, Canada, Japan, Austria, Spain, France, Australia, The Netherlands, and probably others we don’t recall at the moment!
Frances will be completing her six-year term for the Idaho Division of Tourism Travel Council advisory board this year. Traveling throughout Idaho for meetings has been wonderfully beneficial for Dennis & me to better serve our guests with personal recommendations for places and things to do in Idaho. By the way, Idaho’s best & official on-line source for travel info is www.visitidaho.org.
Sprocket, the furriest golden retriever we’ve owned, is now full-grown and serves admirably as Dog Bark Park ambassador. He enjoys everyone and everything, including long walks, play, & sleep at day’s end!
We’ll be celebrating Sweet Willy’s 10th birthday with surprises and specials throughout the year. We hope you’ll join the party by looking for announcements as they appear on our website, blog, Face Book, Twitter & Linked In connections.
We appreciate your interest in Dog Bark Park. Be in touch; we always appreciate your feedback and ideas. Keep on barkin’!!!
Dennis J Sullivan & Frances Conklin 2421 Business Hwy 95 at the Dog, Cottonwood , ID 83522
Dog Bark Park Inn – Bed and Breakfast and World’s Biggest BeagleWhere being in the dog-house is a GOOD thing!Visit our website: http://173.236.34.130/~dogbarkp
Email: [email protected]
For Reservations 208-962-3647
