A Tribute to Sheep (and the Sheepherders' Gathering Schedule)

Here's one of the traffic jams around here. These are the kind of traffic jams where you might get out and take a photo.

If you've been following my blog for long or read my book Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area, you know that sheep come to this area every winter. And we're not talking just a few sheep, we're talking thousands, actually tens of thousands of sheep.

Back in November I saw them eating leftovers off the fields.

Most of them were too concerned about eating to look at me, except for one.

The sheepdogs watching these sheep came over to see what I was doing, but when they saw I was just sitting on the ground taking photos and not approaching their sheep, they just laid down and hung out.

It can be a lonely life as a sheepherder, living in a small camp and following the sheep around to very isolated areas. So over a decade ago, Denys Koyle got the idea of having a Sheepherder's Gathering at the Border Inn to celebrate this vanishing way of life.

It's a fascinating gathering, and it starts today. Here's the schedule:

January 16th
5:00 pm Industry Appreciation Dinner
7:00 pm Open Mike Program with Emcee Hank Vogler 

January 17th
6:30-10:00 am Sourdough Pancake & Breakfast Buffet with Dave Okelberry
10:00 am Screening of "Operation Haylift" starring Ann Rutherford
2:30 pm Mary Kaye Knaphus in concert
5:00 pm Basque Dinner ($25/person)
7:30 Sheepherders Ball with the Silver Sage Family Band

For reservations, please call Denys or Gary 775 234-7300

See you there!

Unfortunately it looks like I've gotten sick, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make any of it. I'm bummed, because the music and food are outstanding, and it's so interesting talking to people who are sheep experts and hearing about their way of life.

Here are links to past Sheepherders' Gatherings:

2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

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

Backyard Bird Challenge Check-In

Have you been seeing many birds in your backyard?

Our Backyard Bird Challenge is going well. We've been a lot more diligent lately about looking and have come up with a nice list--twelve so far! Only thirty eight to go. We're keeping a tally in the sidebar to the right. We haven't seen anything strange or exotic, but that's okay. And we're really trying to watch bird behavior of the birds we see over and over again. I've seen a few extra that we don't have on the list, as I really want the kids to see them before we add them.

An easy one to identify was the Great Horned Owl. The one in the photo above posed so nicely for a photo. Then it took off and flew across the yard. The chickens screamed (they had had a scare a couple weeks previously from a Great Horned Owl that we witnessed). I ran over, but saw the owl continue into the next yard. The rooster pecked at the ground, seemingly unconcerned, and one of the hens wandered. I didn't see the other hen, but didn't think much of it.

Until later, when my husband told me that he and Desert Boy had been out looking for a hen, as when Desert Boy closed the chicken coop, there was only the rooster and one hen.

I started wondering if the owl had killed the chicken, but hadn't flown off with it. And it was all my fault, because I had made the owl fly because I had gotten too close to take a photo. Of course, I didn't know what had really happened. Maybe skunks were back in the area. And there's been a mountain lion sighting not far from our house, so perhaps the lion had gotten a chicken (although our dog Henry hasn't been barking a lot, so that didn't seem too likely).

Losing any pets is not fun, and I was feeling a little verklempt. As we got ready to go this morning, I opened the garage door, and the hen ran out! What a great way to feel better! I sure do like a happy ending to the story.

Adventure Walk with a Problem-Solving Obstacle

 One afternoon while it was still cold, we had a bunch of kids over one afternoon and decided to go for an adventure walk. We first headed over to the creek, where the water had spilled over the banks to make a nice ice-skating rink. It was a lot of fun.

And also very slippery!

Next we headed to the sand pile, where the kids quickly clambered to the top and then jumped off.

We still had more fun to come, but it required a bit of a hike.

We eventually got there: the kids had to cross the creek, but could use the two concrete structures. Their challenge was to do it safely without getting wet.

One of the boards that had been a bridge had fallen into the creek and gotten stuck. Evan and Desert Boy were able to negotiate it, but the other two boys didn't want to do it. Desert Girl decided to go for it with help. But they still had a dilemma: two boys needed to get across, because they wouldn't be successful unless the whole team made it.

It took them a little thinking, but eventually they figured out a way.

They moved the bridge that still existed.

It took some delicate moving.

Once they all made it across, they extended the bridge back across the other section.

And they all made it! We were at the creek for over half an hour at this obstacle, and I think it made an impression on them. I wouldn't tell them how to do it, but told them they could figure it out. Kids often like a little challenge in their lives!

Wilson Hot Springs and the Boyd Pony Express Station, West Desert, Utah

On the way from Fish Springs NWR to Callao, at the north end of the Fish Springs Range, there's an old bus upside down on the side of the road. Next to it is a dirt road. We took it about a quarter-mile, until it ended. I had heard there were hot springs out here, but I had also heard that lots of people get stuck getting out to them. Fortunately the temperature was below freezing and I could hear the gunshots of hunters, so I didn't feel too isolated.

We parked and checked out the nearby hot spring. The kids were not too interested, so they went back in the truck while I hiked around it and to another old, abandoned bus. I wonder what the stories are about the buses being there! The land is actually the southern edge of Dugway Proving Ground.

Near the bus was the hot spring the refuge biologist had mentioned, with some tubs. The circular tub was only about half full and the water wasn't particularly warm. Nearby was a bathtub with a rusted edge that was full of water but didn't look too inviting.

I could tell by the color of the hot spring itself that it was really hot. In fact, it's about 142 degrees Fahrenheit. You definitely want to be careful around it.

Here's a link to a brief Utah Geological Survey page of water quality for the spring. 

The link shows a map, and then when you click on a spring, you get a listing like the one below:

Id	2081
Mapno__cou	TO-109
County	TOOELE
Region_loc	Fish Springs
Source__we	Wilson Health Spr.
Location__	(C-10-14)33c
Quad__usgs	C
Township	10
Range	14
Section	33
Qtr_sectio	c
Idname__us	395423113254900
Type	Spring
Temp__°c	60.5
Class__hig	SPRING HIGH
Depth_of_w
Flow
Rate_units
Longitude_	113.4303
Latitude__	39.9064
Utm_eastin	292251
Utm_northi	4419986
Depth_to_w
Status
Date	12-Jul-67
Reference	USGS/NWIS; 2000
Ph	7.4
Conductivi	31200
Sodium__mg	7090.0
Potassium_	18.0
Calcium__m	740.0
Magnesium_	224.0
Aluminum__
Iron__mg_l
Silica__mg	33.0
Boron__mg_	2.600
Lithium__m
Bicarbonat	180.0
Sulfur__mg	1600.0
Chlorine__	12000.0
Fluorine__	4.00
Arsenic__m
Total_diss	22900
Total_diss	21700
Cations_an	100

I couldn't find much else about Wilson Health Springs. Apparently Northern Arizona University did a study back in the 1990s and found many different microbes living in the hot springs, but it doesn't look like they followed up on the initial studies. Their preliminary report (link above) shows the layout of the several hot springs and warns that access to some of them is treacherous, with a thin crust.

I was glad that the ground was frozen, as it made it easier to stay up high. I could see that if the ground was warmer and wetter, it would be very difficult to move around.

Frost on the salt grass.

Looking back towards the truck was very scenic. If you like isolated hot springs, this is a neat place to visit.

I could imagine a bus full of hot spring afficionados on their way...

Before the buses traversed the area, this was the route of the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States. What a route they chose! And the reason they chose part of it was because it was previously part of the Pony Express Trail, used to deliver mail by horseback from St. Louis to Sacramento in 1849-50. We stopped to visit the Boyd Pony Express Station, which has some nice interpretive panels. Not much of the station is left, but the view of the Deep Creek Mountains is still gorgeous.

We headed south, but I had to stop for a couple more photos. This is the Weiss Highway. Watch out for traffic. (This highway had a bit of notoriety back in the 1990s.)

And this has to be one of the most complete but remote signs out in the West Desert. It actually makes things seem so close. What it doesn't mention is that the nearest gas is over an hour away. And that if you see more than two vehicles in that hour, it will be considered a lot of traffic.

Ready for a visit? Wilson Health Springs are something I don't cover in my book,  Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area (affiliate link). However, I do have chapters on Fish Springs, Callao, the Confusion Range, and many other places of the West Desert. So if you'd like to learn even more about this fascinating area, check it out!

Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge Christmas Bird Count 2015

 Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge needed some help with their Christmas Bird Count. I had helped a couple years ago and relished a chance to return to this very remote outpost (they have to drive an hour to get their mail; we had to drive two hours on dirt roads to get there). To sweeten the deal, we were offered lodging in their bunkhouse the night before and/or after the count.

The bunkhouse is fantastic.

Inside is a big living room with a huge TV, Dish, and, most important to Desert Boy, wifi.

The bunkhouse has four bedrooms, and as we were the first to arrive, I let the kids choose which room they wanted to stay in. Then they got to choose their beds, and they didn't hesitate to take the top bunk beds.

The kitchen area is great, with plenty of dishes and pots, which we used to make some soup.

Later other folks arrived and we had a lot of fun meeting them. Tiffany, the refuge biologist, came over to make sure we were situated. We slept well, and the next morning we got our assignments for the Christmas Bird Count. We were looking forward to seeing what bird species we would spot.

As we drove around the refuge, we found lots of American coots on a couple of the canals, but they were too far away to photograph. We flushed some northern pintails, and they quickly flew away, looking for other open water. Later we had a wonderful view of a loggerhead shrike.

We got out at the end of the road near Avocet pond and walked a bit, hoping to find some other birds. The boys were busy discussing Minecraft and Desert Girl had fun making strange footprints.

Many of the ponds were frozen over, with interesting patterns out on the ice.

Later we found a coot and a pied-billed grebe next to each other. It was nice of them to provide such a good comparison!

One highlight was seeing about 80 tundra swans out on the ice. Here's a view of them in front of the majestic Fish Springs Range.

We found two bald eagles in the trees by the historic Thomas Ranch. One was content to stay put and let us take photos.

After doing the mid-winter waterfowl count in the afternoon, Tiffany showed us a spot with a large number of black-crowned night herons. They are such cool birds!

They were hanging out near a springhead, where the water was too warm to freeze.

I had planned on going home that afternoon, but it was getting late and I was tired, so we decided to spend another night. Our new friend Shirley graciously offered to watch the kids so I could drive around and take some photos in the beautiful late-afternoon light. I found an American tree sparrow, which I hadn't seen earlier. It cooperated for photos.

Earlier we had noticed the tracks on the ice and were fascinated with them. The ones on the clear ice are raised.

The almost-full moon rose early and I figured it would be a good time to practice for the Full Moon Photography Challenge.

We enjoyed our second night at Fish Springs. I could easily spend a week there, the light is always changing and it is such a scenic place. We did some sightseeing on the way home, which I'll share on a future post.