It's Branding Time!

 May is the traditional month for branding, but we got started earlier this year to avoid the heat that's likely to come. (And by "we" I mean my ranching family, I had nothing to do with it.)

Brandings are fun, because the cowboys and cowgirls like to do it the traditional way, roping the calves. This takes more time and people, but uses traditional cowboy skills. For this branding, cowboys were roping one calf at a time, and bringing them back to a harness type device that kept the calf in place.


The horses are well trained to move just when told and also to stay still while the calf is being processed.


A happy new recruit doing the beginner's job--loading ear tags.

Once the calf is in position, it receives its vaccinations, an ear tag that has pesticide on it to keep the fleas away, ears cut (instead of actual branding with a hot iron), a rubber band around delicate parts if it's a male to keep it from becoming a bull, and a mark on the forehead to indicate that it's done.

Brandings are fun to watch, as there is so much going on all at once, and so much skill on display. It's also fun to get a glimpse back into what life used to be like before all these modern day accoutrements.

Brandings are also an opportunity for family and friends to get together.

Young people learn skills from the more experienced.

And there are beautiful horses!

Have you ever tried roping? Desert Boy got a lasso for a birthday and we've practiced around the yard. We all need a lot more practice! Thinking of lassoing on a moving horse makes me admire the talent these folks have even more.

This calf made me laugh. Her expression makes it look like she's just out for a little ride.

Fortunately the weather was fantastic for this branding.

We couldn't stay too long due to other obligations. But in a later post we'll return to another branding, where the kids got to help out!

Bristlecone Hike and Cave Tour

 So what do you do with family when they come? Be silly, of course!

We decided to go hiking to the bristlecones, and stopped at Teresa Lake for a snack and photo break. It's such a nice place for a photo. And Desert Girl likes to practice her photo-taking skills.

 We even got a decent family photo. Well, at least we're all facing the camera!

We continued on with bribes of lunch when we arrived.

After a picnic lunch, it was time to explore the interpretive trail and let the one-year olds stretch their legs.

We still had some energy so headed up to the glacier overlook.

It was beautiful. But what really got our attention was a patch of snow a little ways off the trail.

Desert Girl and her aunt had a lot of fun playing in it.

So much fun that the hike back was a little tiring.

But after naps, everyone was ready for a trip to Lehman Cave.

It is such a beautiful cave.

I tried for some artistic photos.

Then after the cave trip we just had to try fitting through the concrete block. Back when the park gave spelunking tours of Little Muddy Cave (before they figured out it had bad air in summer), prospective spelunkers had to fit through the concrete box prior to the tour to make sure they wouldn't get stuck in the cave. We challenged the kids to go through at the same time. They thought that was fun. It was also rather easy.

So then came the challenge of Desert Boy and an aunt. Now that was a little more challenging! But they managed it.

For more about these attractions, visit the Great Basin National Park website.

Snake Valley Festival with Family

 We so much enjoyed having family here during the Snake Valley Festival! They went to so many events and even helped set up and move items. We enjoyed the community breakfast to start off the second day. (The first day was the ice cream social with music and the beer tasting and silent auction.)

The book sale was a hit with the schoolteacher!

Desert Boy put some money in the bag for his sister's road art project. It didn't end up winning (the amazing Mt. Wheeler bicycle wheel art won), but she helped raise some money for the Great Basin Water Network.

We had fewer parade entries this year. I'm not sure if it was because more kids than mine wanted to watch the parade than be in it. Desert Boy wanted more candy. But this wasn't an election year, and there was no candy! He has already said he wants to be in next year's parade. Fortunately we had a band, they fit in the back of a pickup.

And a few fire trucks.

And some horses! We love the horses and horse riders!

Later Desert Girl hooked up with some friends and convinced a papa to read a book she had bought at the book sale.

Then it was time for some games on the Baker Hall lawn.

And activities.

Desert Girl had a winning strategy for the kids' silent auction raffle. She bought tickets to put in bags for different items. She put most of her tickets in the bags that didn't have any other tickets and won a whole bunch of stuff. She didn't really care too much what it was, she just felt lucky. She enjoyed showing her friend Isaac the goodies.

Later we had a great water fight (didn't manage any photos of that but the kids and I were happily soaked from head to foot). Then we took a break to change and get ready for the evening. Desert Girl rehearsed for the talent show--a rendition of What does the fox say?

The BBQ dinner was delicious.

And then it was talent show time. Desert Girl needed a little coaching (I was teased for my impersonation of a pageant show mom), but Desert Boy had no qualms about being a weight-lifting joke teller.

Desert Boy and his friend Ava won the Junior Snake Valley competition.

We watched some amazing talents, such as eating a stick of butter, recycling water, tying maraschino cherry stems with a tongue, stepping through paper, and other things you would never even imagine. I did tree pose for a minute, with kids providing some wind to blow me over.

The crowd was duly entertained.

At the end of the night we had a Mr. Teen Snake Valley, Mr. and Ms. Snake Valley, Mr. and Ms. Junior Snake Valley, and Mr. and Ms. Senior Snake Valley. I'm sure they will all represent the valley well.

The next morning we got up for the Snake Valley Slither, a 5k race. Desert Boy ran it in his sandals, not very fast.

Spectators looked for shade, as it was hot even at 7 am.

Nevertheless, everyone who started finished, some even with big smiles!

Desert Boy rallied to run at the end.

Then we had a quick kids' race.

The little girls were adorable, and Desert Girl was so happy to get a medal. She had carefully picked out her running costume.

Even our little one-year old ran!

It was a great event, even though it was tiring, and we look forward to it again next year, the third weekend of June.

For more photos of the Snake Valley Festival, check out the Facebook page.