Encircled in the splendor of the Pacific Northwest most of his life, Keith Wheeler grew up with a deeply rooted love of the outdoors. Along with his wife Kathy, they relocated their family to the small town of Lynden, Washington for Keith’s career. Together, they raised their four children to appreciate life, to be adventurous individuals, and not to be afraid of trying new things.

As a young boy, Keith’s family would often visit many of the National Parks throughout the United States.  Visiting Yellowstone National Park in the early 1960’s, he recalls being mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the landscape. At how the Yellowstone River meandered across the endless valleys. The waterfalls it mythically produced that literally would take a persons breath away. By the abundant herds of elk that roam freely within the park or the enormous size and strength of the park bison. However, Keith treasures his memories of the large and impressive bears he observed during those early visits to the park.

Keith has always enjoyed working with his hands and the idea of trying woodcarving as a hobby seemed particularly interesting to him. It didn’t surprise his parents, when he mentioned one day a desire to carve a life size moose head. In December of 2000, Keith’s parents gifted him a large pair of moose antler sheds. Holding those magnificent antler sheds, he could truly envision that moose head carving. His thoughts once again took him back to the wildlife he had observed in Yellowstone National Park. The thrill of spotting the obscure moose in the park’s marshlands excited him.

The overall size and weight of his carving was a consideration. Keith visited a local sawmill where he was immediately drawn to a pile of rejected native Western Red Cedar boards. Each board a different length and size with some imperfections. Greatly valued by the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in carving their lightweight dugout canoes, cedar seemed the ideal choice of wood to use. Keith decided to laminate the pieces of wood together and with the help of his friend at Fairhaven Woodworks, he created a solid block of wood. The carving that eventually emerged, highlighting the cedars natural colors was his rendition of the traditional hunting trophy and led to the inception of Foggycreek Carvings.

Keith’s unique carvings of moose, deer and elk each utilized shed antlers. They gained him recognition after entering some carvings in local wood carving shows. In July of 2007, Keith and Foggycreek Carvings were featured in “Log Home Living” magazine. In the years that followed, Keith received multiple awards for his carvings and was commissioned to carve many different animals. Each of his beloved carvings were hand crafted and are the artists own vision of the animals.

Upon closing Foggycreek Carvings studio in 2024, Keith was honored when the donation of one of his moose head carvings was accessioned by Yellowstone National Park. Delivering the carving to its permanent home at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge in Yellowstone brought his experience with the park full circle. It fulfilled a dream that his work might continue to inspire people to protect and celebrate the majestic wildlife, and splendor around the world.