Peaceful Protest in Baker, Nevada

 A friend told me about a protest march in Baker, NV, for Black Lives Matter and said that it was going to be small. My husband and I talked about it a little, and I did some research, as I don't have much experience with protest marches. I also have found that my knowledge of Black Lives Matter and racism and white privilege in general have greatly expanded in recent weeks. Even though we live in a remote community, often isolated from the rest of the world, we still care.

So the kids and I headed out Saturday morning with a couple signs, our Covid masks, and the dogs. We found that word had spread about the protest march, and instead of the handful of people I was expecting, there were about 30.

The organizer gave a quick talk, saying he hadn't really organized something like this before, so it was fluid. We decided to start off by walking around the streets of Baker.

I ran ahead to take a photo.

Then we headed out to the pavement and continued. We moved aside when vehicles came by and waved at them, sometimes sang, sometimes shouted, and talked with each other. The protestors included ranch employees, national park employees, service industry employees, students, retirees, and more.


A colorful tutu lent some levity to the march!
 

 I was impressed that 100% of the participants wore face masks. We are considerate of each other and want each other to be safe!


I had heard the phrase Black Lives Matter, but it took a little research to understand it better. Yes, all lives matter, but that phrase shows that whoever is saying it really doesn't understand the issue. If you say your grandma is sick, the respondent doesn't say that all grandmas matter. They ask about yours. If you say your ankle is injured, the respondent doesn't say all your body parts matter, they ask about your ankle. When someone says Black Lives Matter, they are referring to the injustices that black people have suffered, and they are many. It's okay to focus attention on them and still love all lives, but right now we need to spend time on this issue.

After the protest, I asked the kids why we were protesting. I wanted to see what their takeaway was. Desert Girl said we were protesting "because not all people are being treated equally, and we all deserve to be treated equally because we're all the same species."
 

We stopped for a photo op with Great Basin National Park behind us.


Then we went over to the courtyard and sat down and discussed why people were participating. It was enlightening. I feel like everyone is on some kind of continuum, with some having more knowledge of racism than others. Hearing other people's thoughts helped us move along that continuum to better understanding. And with better understanding, we can better help those that need help.

We heard about other people's journeys learning how people of color are not treated the same as white people, even though many of us thought they were. We learned that even though we are remote, and one hadn't even seen a black person until she was ten years old, people want to make a difference. We were encouraged to be active voters. We were challenged to not only be an ally to people of color, but an accomplice, actively helping them.

We all know each other, as we're a close-knit community, and it was great to hear and see the camaraderie.

We then walked through town, with some tourists joining us for a short while.

We ended back at Baker Hall, where we kneeled in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the same amount of time that the officer kneeled on George Floyd's neck, killing him.  It's a long time.

A few people continued with a walk on to the Border Inn. Many others, who didn't know about the protest, said they would gladly join a protest if there was another one. 

I wasn't sure how the whole protest would go, but I came away from it feeling the love of the community, and the desire to make the world a better place. We have a long way to go to make the world better, but if each of us takes a little time to do that, we will all be better off.

This NPR article helps us dig deeper into what we can do: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/07/870251488/beyond-protests-5-more-ways-to-channel-anger-into-action-to-fight-racism

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.

Magic Steve at the 2017 Sheepherders' Gathering

Every year in January, sheepherders and aficionados of the sheep industry gather on the Nevada-Utah line at the Border Inn to celebrate at the Sheepherders' Gathering. A musician (or two or three) are invited. This year, Magic Steve from the Salida Circus came and brought his banjo. Before the gathering even started, he went to the local school and entertained the kids, teaching them a little more about music. 

The kids enjoyed it a lot. So did the adults!

Then he said that since his name was Magic Steve, he better do some magic tricks. The first volunteer helper did great.

And Magic Steve obviously enjoyed interacting with him!

More helpers were needed in the make-the-pink-hankie-disappear-and-then-reappear-in-his-taped-mouth trick.

Desert Girl got called up to be a helper, which she certainly enjoyed because she's been doing her own magic tricks at home. She needs a bit more practice to master the sleight of hand that Magic Steve uses. His tricks seemed to go off effortlessly.

It was a very entertaining hour, and I'm glad I got to go, especially since I was sick the rest of the weekend so missed all the other events. But if you do a search on this blog for "Sheepherders," you'll find more about this unique annual gathering.

Fire and Ice 2017

Last weekend we went to the Fire and Ice Festival at Cave Lake, near Ely. This is a fun event that we've been to many times (with blog posts from 2009, 2011 (Day 1) and 2001 (Day 2), 2013, and 2016). This year we arranged to meet friends there and go ice skating. Desert Girl was eager to put her new ice skates to use and also met a new friend who was willing to help her out. She enjoyed it a lot.

Desert Boy wasn't feeling so well, so he didn't skate long. The ice was really bumpy, so I didn't either. But a couple other kids got to use his skates, so that was good.

Jenny and Meg showed off their prowess on skates.

And although it was cloudy, it was a nice temperature to be out.

We also had sleds so that was another activity.

We also took time to look at the snow sculptures. This was an unofficial one.

There were only seven entries this year, quite a contrast from last year when there were so many fantastic ones. The lack of snow made it a little more difficult for entrants to make big sculptures this year.

This was the winning sculpture, Hi-bear-nation. They won $1000.

Second prize was Quarter Size Charcoal Ovens. They looked really good.

This was a cute entry. There was even a guy ice fishing nearby and I even saw him caught a fish, making it even more apropos.

Watching this lady carve the snow in the 22 degree temperature made us realize how challenging it can be. The snow is definitely a lot more pliable when it's right about freezing. She came in third with this bobcat.

Another event was ice bowling. This became extra fun when we used a kid on the sled as the bowling ball. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. And now we are thinking, Should we enter next year?  If we had a big enough group, it would be a lot of fun and not so much work! What do you think?

First Mural in Eureka, Nevada

 Just before Christmas we made the journey to Eureka, Nevada, to visit the Eureka Restoration Enterprise's (ERE) newly restored building. They are making it into an art gallery and were selling local arts and crafts for the holidays. They had asked me to include some of my works, so I thought it was only fair if I helped for a day.

From the shop we could see the newly completed mural. ERE made money for it during an Art and Wine Walk earlier in the year.

It was done by Erik Burke and Nick D'Auria. They managed to get it done despite the cold weather.

It starts on the left with a lone pinyon pine tree.


Next is the pinyon pine cut up in pieces and being burned...


...in the charcoal oven.


Then there's the silver ore (Eureka, as you might have guessed, is a mining town).


It's made into a silver bar.


And then the train transports it. This is specifically the E&P engine that hauled it from Eureka to Palisade.

The bricks on the building were really rough, so it was quite impressive how they made everything look so clear.

ERE also had one other mural done in town, a profile of a cowboy, but I didn't get a photo of it. However, you can check it out, plus there other efforts, on their Facebook page. I have a feeling Eureka is going to become a much more interesting and beautiful town in the upcoming years!