Snake Valley Yachting Club

 Years ago, we joked that it would be fun to have a Snake Valley Yachting Club. We don't actually have bodies of water around that are big enough for yachts, but out in the desert, anything that floats can be a yacht! A couple ladies started it up again this year to my delight. Yesterday afternoon we thought it would be fun to have an informal gathering of the Snake Valley Yachting Club. We brought out a shade canopy (we should do that every time, it makes such a difference!), an inflatable kayak, an inflatable rowboat, some floaties, and best of all, a sailboat. It's been years since my husband and I have last sailed. We had a bit of a traumatic event where we rolled the sailboat numerous times and got mildly hypothermic, and that might be why it was in storage for so long.

Yesterday my husband checked the weather forecast and thought it would be a great day to take it out. I'm so glad he thought of it, because the weather conditions were just right for us to practice. That means winds were about 0.5-3 mph.

The lake water was a little cooler than a couple weeks ago, maybe because some snow melt has been coming in. It didn't take long to get chilled.

But the kids and dogs had fun splashing around. I missed getting a photo of this dog doing doggy paddle--it was the funniest thing, with his head held high and his paws going out of the water.

Some of our friends also took the sailboat out for a spin, with directions from my husband. Going with the wind is easy, but making the turns to start heading back can be a little tricky. Everyone did great, although I did manage to tip the sailboat over! Fortunately it wasn't too hard to get back in.

The kids invented all sorts of games.

Even the youngest enjoyed her time outside.

I loved this scene of wild abandon, everyone doing whatever they wanted. The fun times of summer!

We hope we'll be able to go out again soon, it was a really fun afternoon, and we're starting to get the hang of it. To future expeditions of the Snake Valley Yachting Club!

A Little After School Exploration

 The kids are almost done with school, which means we'll have time for lengthier adventures soon! Right now we have to be content with shorter ones, so after school we went to explore this gully. It has lots of side canyons that are lots of fun. I told the kids to watch out for snakes, and we happened upon this nice gopher snake. I really like these snakes, they eat lots of rodents.

The canyon walls are very crumbly, but they also contain some pretty cool patterns.

It was cloudy, and at one point the sun emerged to light up the mountain tops. They are still covered with snow, so it made them glow.

On our return wander, we saw this eared grebe. It dove under the water a couple times and disappeared, then would pop back up.

Down the way we saw a brown blob on the shore. Upon closer inspection, we found it was a muskrat.

It took to the water when we got a little too close.

Next we went down the road a little ways to a place where we found lots of arches. This was a tiny one, about the size of the nearby globemallow.

The distant Wheeler and Jeff Davis Peaks looked rugged from our vantage point.

Desert Boy climbed up to explore an opening.

Desert Girl was busy taking photos on the other side of another arch.

We had fun taking photos.

Desert Girl wants to enter photos in this year's County Fair, so she's getting an early start!

Wildlife at the Watering Hole

 The days are getting warmer, so the kids asked the other day if they could go to the swimming hole with their friends. Sure, why not?

A little garter snake was hanging out there.

Desert Boy asked if he could catch it, and I said yes. He quickly captured it.

 It wasn't very big.

Desert Girl came over to check it out. Do you notice what she's wearing? It looks like she wants to go swimming.

Ava gave it a try, but it was cold!

Desert Girl's expression is what mine would be if I got in the water! Needless to say, there was a lot more time on the beach than in the water. We're approaching high water now, so the streams are up and dirty. That should give us a nice sandy bottom in part of our swimming hole. We like the sand a lot better than the silt when we're walking in the pond!

Hendry's Creek Pronghorn Trap

After we looked at the burned area in Hampton Creek, we drove across the bench to Henry's Creek.  We didn't have a specific destination, and while my husband and I were talking, the subject of the Henry's Creek pronghorn trap came up. I had found some information about it for my guidebook of the area, but never had had the chance to investigate it.

According to pioneers, the Shoshone Indians built a V-shaped trap between a couple ridges and would herd pronghorn into it. About fifty Indians were needed to make this work, and they would smoke themselves with sagebrush to hide their scent.

We decided to hike over to the trap, as my husband knew where it was. I looked it up on Google Earth later so I could see it better. I outlined the trap with the red line below--look just inside it and you might be able to see the rock wall.

The boulders were still in place, but the willow branches my husband remembered seeing in his youth were no longer there.

The bottom didn't look much like a V to me, more like a U. I'm guessing the boulders used to be higher, or at least the branches, because they aren't very high walls now.

 

It was pretty cool seeing this remnant of a different culture out on the landscape.

Wildflowers and Burned Trees up Hampton Creek

 One Sunday we went up Hampton Creek in the North Snake Range for my husband to check on water. I suggested we look at wildflowers too. We used to go up Hampton Creek to look for garnets or to hike on the trail, but a huge wildfire and subsequent floods have washed out the road. We were (barely) able to cross the creek, but then soon had to stop, with the view above as we looked back into Snake Valley.

The wildflowers were out in abundance, including lots of milkvetch (Astragalus sp.).

Storm clouds were building to the west. We could see snow on the mountains, and it was obvious some runoff had started with the muddy stream water.

I liked this Cryptantha, nestled in its hairy leaves.

I find the burned trees very scenic. They will come back again. The stream bed has been altered a lot, widened many times its former size and greatly deepened. Hampton Creek used to look like just a small mountain creek and sported Bonneville cutthroat trout. Now it looks like a place you really need to avoid on rainy days in case of flash floods.

The spiders have certainly made their home there. We found many like this one, with a white round body that blends in with the gravel.  They moved quickly.


I liked this yellow flower. It had leaves like the Carrot family (Apiaceae) and a flower like the Pea family (Fabaceae). What could it be? I knew I had seen one before, but it took me awhile to find it in a flower book. It's in the Fumariaceae family, and the Flora for the area only has one species listed for the whole family, Corydalis aurea, Golden Corydalis, sometimes called Scrambled eggs. It is rare, found below 9,900 feet on spring moist soil, burns, along streams and in openings in brush. The leaves don't look quite right to me, so this may be a different species.

This beautiful purple flower is in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), its four petals giving a strong clue. It's one of the many Arabis. I really liked this view of it looking straight down.

We also saw some ladybird beetle. This one looks like it only has five spots, but we also saw some seven-spotted ladybird beetles (Coccinella septempunctata), which have cover over from Europe and are very widespread.

This dainty yellow flower caught my eye. I don't know the name, I just know that it's pretty!

We tried walking up the road, but what wasn't washed away was heavily overgrown with willow, roses, and weeds (unfortunately some that should be treated or they will take over). This canyon has certainly gotten a lot more wild, and it will take some considerable effort to get up to the old garnet mine and trailhead.

Rambles on the Ranch

 One Sunday in early April we went out to explore an old homestead on the ranch. Part of the barn was in good shape.

Desert Boy was eager to climb it.

Inside the kids used the metal detector to look for "treasures." They didn't really find anything, but they liked using some different technology.

For some reason there was part of an airplane nearby. I liked the patterns.

Then it was time to walk along a ditch and search for more treasures. I was hoping to see some wildflowers and interesting birds, but it was a little early in the season.

We found some old irrigation structures that aren't used now.

Seeing these old homesteads makes me reflect on our lifestyle. Even though we live in a place most people would consider really remote, we have it easy. We have Internet access, good roads, and UPS delivery five days a week. The pioneers lived such a different lifestyle, as did the Native Americans who first came to this area about 12,000 years ago.

I don't think I could live much more remote than I do now, I like to interact with different people. Although a few months out in the total boonies would probably be okay. How remote a spot do you think you could live?