Steamboat Pilot & Today

Wayne Kakela with "White Flight," a metal sculpture he built for the Creative Community Project in summer 2008. The project, sponsored by Home ReSource, involved participants making works of art out of materials found at the salvage center. Kakela was one of the first artists to express interest in building a Creative Community piece. Courtesy photo

Wayne Kakela (top right) celebrates the completion of Ragnar's with friends near the mountain restaurant's opening in 1984. The group skied down the mountain on the skis they're holding in the photo. Courtesy photo

In 1965, Wayne and Linda Kakela opened the first ski lodge in Steamboat Springs, partnering with the resort to offer a one-day lift ticket, sleeping bag space, breakfast and dinner for $9.50. In this photo, friends and lodge residents pose at The Barn in the late 1960s. Courtesy photo

A page from one of Wayne and Linda Kakela's photo albums. In the photo, Wayne Kakela participates in the Muzzle-loading Biathalon at the 1976 Winter Carnival. The event combines two of Kakela's hobbies: black powder firearms and cross-country skiing. Courtesy photo

Wayne Kakela hosted a bonfire every fall for years on his Strawberry Park land. Here, he sits next to a bonfire he constructed with members of the Colorado Art Ranch, a residency program that brought painters, sculptors, filmmakers and others to live and work in Steamboat Springs in summer 2008. Courtesy photo

Wayne Kakela laughs at his Strawberry Park ranch in June of 2008. File photo

Wayne Kakela sits on a bench in June of 2008 at his Strawberry Park ranch. File photo

Wayne Kakela talks in a workshop at his Strawberry Park ranch in June of 2008. File photo

Tools line the wall in a workshop at Wayne Kakela's ranch. File photo