Traffic Jam on a Seventy-Mile Stretch of Road without Services

 When you're driving on a seventy-mile stretch of road with no services, no stoplights, no stop signs, and only one house, you don't expect to slam on the brakes. But that's exactly what I had to do when I saw that the road was blocked by traffic. It wasn't exactly the traffic you see most places. This was a huge flock of sheep.

Open-range laws are in effect here, where the sheep have the right-of-way. The open range goes back in history. Until barbed wire was invented in the 1870s, it was much easier to fence places where you wanted to keep livestock out, rather than to keep them in. Gradually practices changed, but there are still a few places in the American West where you can find open range.

 I didn't mind stopping and watching the sheep pass by. I think sheep are kind of cute!

 It was a steady stream of sheep crossing the road.

 Occasionally a brown sheep passed by. The sheep owner usually puts in one brown sheep for every 25 or 50 white sheep so they can be counted more easily. Also, an occasional sheep has on a sheep bell, ringing loudly as the sheep moves so that the sheepherder can follow the sheep by sound.

 One sheepherder, along with a couple dogs, can easily move a couple thousand sheep. Many of the sheepherders these days come from Peru and Mexico. About a hundred years ago, many of them came from Basque country in northern Spain, which accounts for the large number of Basque restaurants in places like Elko, Nevada.

After all the sheep had crossed the road, a large sheep dog followed casually. The sheep dogs help protect the sheep and are often a little scary, but this one was friendlier than usual. Still, I wouldn't want to get out of the vehicle.

Well, our little traffic jam only lasted about five minutes. I could easily live with that. Our quick stop also reinforced that you shouldn't go anywhere without your camera!

Herding Sheep

As I was driving down the highway, I noticed something out of the ordinary--hundreds of white objects moving on the hillside. As I got closer, I saw it was a herd of sheep. This is sheep country out here, and every winter sheepherders bring thousands of sheep. The sheep are good at using the snow for moisture (unlike cattle, which need water). Thus  the sheep can survive in remote places in the desert, far from water as long as there is some snow. 

This big white dog is a sheep dog (sometimes referred to as a livestock guardian dog). The most common types of sheep dog in this area are the Pyrenees or Akbash. They are strong and loyal, and they always stay with the sheep, protecting them from predators like coyotes. They also protect them from strange humans, so it's never a good idea to get out of your car near a big sheep dog--you're liable to get bitten because you're seen as a threat.

Here's the sheepherder on his horse at the back of the herd. With him are several border collies. They are extremely helpful moving the sheep, with their herding instinct kicking in. The border collies stay with the sheepherder, returning to his camp at night. They are loyal to him, doing what he says.

If you look closely at the sheep, you'll notice they aren't all white. A brown sheep is put in for every 25 or 50 sheep (depending on the herd). The brown sheep allow for the sheepherder to quickly count the herd by counting them and then multiplying by 25 or 50.

The sheep are moved every couple of days so they don't overgraze any one area. Often the sheep are ready to move on, making it a bit easier to move them. 

They graze on the way, their thick winter coats protecting them from the elements. They will be sheared in April by sheep shearers that come all the way from New Zealand and Australia. (I will try to have a post about that when they come.)

Being a sheepherder is a lonely, but relatively peaceful life. It definitely involves lots of fresh air and sunshine. Most of the sheepherding is done far from roads, requiring the old-style skills of managing a horse and dogs. I admire the sheepherders--I don't think I could do that job for even one day.

Raising a 4-H Lamb

 Desert Boy decided to raise a lamb for 4-H again this year. At the conclusion of the fair last year, he was decidedly against it, but he changed his mind. The second year was definitely easier, as we knew some of what to expect. Sheep are social animals, so we bought two so they could keep each other company. One of our big changes from last year was a different feed. Last year we started them on the feed the buyer recommended, but then we couldn't find it again within a three-hour drive, and the sheep didn't like the substitute feed and didn't eat for awhile. This year we just started them off with IFA Show Lamb feed, and they liked it fine (except for the cottonseed part, that was always the last part they ate). We were able to get IFA Show Lamb feed at both the Delta and Ely IFA stores, which made it very convenient.

The lambs grew quickly. We've learned it's best not to give them names, so we just called them 141 and 144, the numbers on their ear tags.

We let them do a lot of browsing in the yard. They loved that.

The kids walked them every day to try and get them tamer. They walked well on a halter, but did not mind well when the kids held onto their heads.

I did a quick first shear, which was a lot harder than I thought, than my husband did a second shear. That helped them keep cooler in the summer.


They always look quite a bit different without their big coats on!

Here the kids are washing the sheep. What do you wash a sheep with? Why, Woolite, of course!

We had a sheep showmanship clinic in our yard with some of the other 4-H participants. It was great to get all the sheep together.

Gwendy had them go around in a circle.

And then line up for "judging." All the sheep looked good.

We still had the final shear to go. It turned out to be rainy, so we had to go into the shop. Desert Boy sheared most of his sheep.

It's hard work, so it was nice to have a bunch of helping hands.

Then we headed to the fair. Desert Girl didn't really enjoy the showmanship clinic there. She's still too young to show her sheep for 4-H as a market animal, but she could show the alternate in Cloverbud Showmanship and as an open class animal.

Melanie's an expert and had her sheep in tip-top shape.

Then it was time for the competition. First came the market class competition. Desert Boy's sheep weighed in at 140 pounds, the maximum allowed for the competition. Last year his was 101 pounds, so we did a much better job this year at feeding!

It took a while to get the sheep judged.

But Desert Boy and Larissa both got blue ribbons! (In the carcass competition, Desert Boy got fifth and Larissa got grand champion, showing that their lambs were excellent for eating.)

Next came showmanship, and unfortunately Desert Boy's sheep didn't cooperate. Neither did Desert Girl's. She was in tears. We took a break, went and ate, got a quick swim in at the nearby hotel pool, then returned.

She was in time for showing her lamb in open class and got Reserve Grand Champion. That made all the tears go away and a big smile come out!

The next morning was the sale. Desert Boy had a great smile on to show his sheep.

Until it threw him to the ground. Sheep look friendly, but this one weighed about double his weight and was a bit feisty.

It was a little extra excitement for the spectators.

Thanks so much to Gary Perea and the Border Inn for buying Desert Boy's sheep. And thanks to Sahara Motors, Simplot, and Suburban Propane for the add-ons. The money Desert Boy raised will go into his college account.

Later in the day, Desert Boy loaded his sheep onto the trailer to go to the butcher. He wasn't really sad this year because the lamb hadn't been particularly nice to him.

Desert Girl's lamb came home with us for a couple more weeks and hung out with the dog as much as she could. Then it was time for her to go to the butcher.

4-H has been a great way for the kids (and me) to learn more about raising market animals. Some of it's easy, but there are definitely tricks to getting the best market animal out of the group. If you ever want to buy some great animals, I highly recommend going to a 4-H auction. Those animals are so well taken care of, and the money goes to individuals instead of big faceless corporations.

2018 Sheepherders' Gathering

 Every January, the Border Inn on US Highway 50, straddling the border of Nevada and Utah, hosts the Sheepherders' Gathering. Sheepherders, sheep owners, and sheep aficionados gather from hundreds of miles to celebrate, you've guessed it, sheep. There's lots of good food, dancing, talks, catching up with old friends and making new ones.

One of my favorite parts is the open mike night, when folks take turns sharing their sheep stories. Hank Vogler was the entertaining emcee. Denys Koyle started off the evening by announcing that although she has now retired from the Border Inn and will be living in Salt Lake, she is keeping the third weekend of January open and will be back for the Sheepherders' Gathering as long as she can get out of bed. Go, Denys! And thank you for getting this event started!

There was a good crowd and a couple video cameras taping it all.

Hank brought up the unusually warm weather we've been having this winter. "It's cold everywhere else [in the country], but warm here. Since they legalized marijuana in Nevada, there's been a real high over the state."

Mary Kaye, the first performer up, was ready with a bit of humor too.

Mary had a little lamb

but now the lamb is dead

and so she brings it up to school

between two pieces o'bread.

Then she sang "Are Your Dreams Big Enough?" If you haven't heard Mary Kaye's music, you should. She's got a beautiful, earthy voice and is a great storyteller. Check out her website for more.

Next up was John, who told about when he was 12 he was sent off for days on the mountain with a herd of sheep. When he wanted to let his mom know that it was time to pick him up (the next night, since he was far out there), he lit a cedar tree on fire.

Joe told us, "My dad had a bat habit of making me walk a lot." Eventually Joe saved enough money to buy his own horse. His mom asked his dad, "You're not going to put him on that horse, are you?" His dad said, "He's just a kid, we've got lots of them."

Then Joe shared some poems. He has a way with words and goes up to Elko for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

Melanie has been performing at the Sheepherder's Gathering since she was a babe and is a natural on stage. She played two great ukulele songs.

Dave's been in the sheep business a very long time, and it was great to see him.

Desert Boy even got up on stage and told about his 4-H lamb kicking him in the eye. And how the other lamb followed him to school one day. He was so nervous about talking, but did a great job.

Next up was Clive Romney. We had seen him at the Fillmore Capitol Arts Festival, and the kids remembered his song. He told a story about the old days, when a dress wasn't thrown away when it was worn out, it was made into kids' shirts. And when they were worn out, they were made into a rug. Frugality could be the difference between life and death. He had the audience sing along with the chorus:

Use it up, Wear it out

Make it do or do without

Frugality is how we all survive

Dan got up and apparently wanted a change from sheep. So he told us his Alaska fishing story...

Next was Marlene telling of some Snake Valley sheep history. Her dad took her mom out on the desert to the sheep camp for their honeymoon, where he related that he was leasing the sheep, he didn't own them--much to his bride's surprise.

Lois recalled a very wintery winter, when her dad pulled up to a sheep camp in Burbank. He wondered why the sheepherder had such red lips. Then he came to realize that it was very windy, and the sheepherder had no chapstick, but he did find the wife's lipstick.

Kris and Kaye shared stories from the winter of 1948-49, a legendary winter. Their father, Newell Johnson, had 3,500 sheep on the desert. On January 15 he took his new pickup with one ton of cottonseed pellets for sheep plus supplies out towards them. But the highway was impassable for three days. When he finally got to he sheep, the feed was all covered up, and the sheep were starving. He did his best to get feed to them, but roads sometimes closed for a week at a time. He was the first sheepman from Delta to fly hay out to his sheep. By March 15, enough snow melted so that the sheep could forage on their own. (A movie was made about the flights to save the livestock, called Operation Haylift, and set near Ely, Nevada.)

Mary Kaye took the stage again. She related a story about a song based on an account from What Next, Doctor Peck?, a book I read many years ago while researching my Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area. I had fond memories of that book, and it was great to hear that it had also touched someone else.

We went back on Saturday for more of Mary Kaye's music (she's that good! if you check out her website, you'll see by all her awards that we're not the only ones that think that.). My husband and I also enjoyed the family-style Basque dinner (the beef was amazing!).

The Sheepherders' Celebration is such a neat event, and it's great that this slowly fading lifestyle is being remembered.

Here are links to past Sheepherders' Gatherings (unfortunately I got sick some years so missed some): 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

If you like sheep, you can see posts I've written about them over the years.