Week 12: Back to the ranch

Returned from the New Mexico trip in the afternoon, cleaned out the RV and returned it to SLC, left for Elko the next day.  One great part about leaving later in the day is stopping in at the Salt Flats Grill just this side of Wendover.  This is an authentic Mexican restaurant, attached to a gas station, on the turn-off to the Salt Flats.  There can be some really interesting folks in there at certain times of the year.  We stayed in Elko at Gregg's favorite motel--The Thunderbird--an older place where the ladies at the front desk greet him with friendly, cigarette-tinged voices.


Carol Evans is a woman who is passionate about what she does, and she's done a lot to improve rangeland riparian areas and Lahontan Cutthroat trout across Nevada--plus she could hike your socks off!  We spent the morning with her and Jim (the hydrologist) in the remote '6-mile' pasture which is bisected by the Rock Creek gorge.  There were flakes of rock showing that Native Americans thought it was a great place.  The purpose of our trip was to determine if the spring could be developed into a viable water source for cattle.

Gregg, Jim and Carol Evans.

Grant's 7th Grade "school picture".  6-mile.

Boarding the bus for another day of school.

We made it out to Jesse and Ricarda's in time for dinner followed by a partner's meeting.  Jessse and Ricarda Braatz along with Ricarda's parents, Dick and Mary Bradbury, are partners with Gregg in leasing the ranch.  Grant and I spent several hours sitting in on meetings about how this year went and plans for next year.  The meeting continued at Dick and Mary's the next morning and reconvened once more back at Jesse and Ricarda's in the evening.  We came prepared to set up house at Squaw again but it made more sense to just stay with the Braatz's at Lower Clovers--plus it was a lot of fun to get to know their family a little better.  Definitely brought back fond memories of raising our three older kids out on Deseret.  Of course I was a 'city gal' coming to live on a ranch and Ricarda was raised ranching so her kids are getting the whole experience!  One time toward the end of summer when they had started gathering and we were staying out at Squaw, Ricarda drove up: 6 horses in the trailer, 4 kids strapped in car-seats in the crew cab  She was taking 'relief' horses up to cowboy camp and kids up to camp for the night.  Ricarda's friend Tania and her two little girls were staying at Lower Clovers and trading off with child care while the other gathered steers with the cowboys.  Gathering was the preferred option for these cowgirls. Anyway,  I was so impressed with the fact that Ricarda had loaded these horses and kids and was heading out!  We found out later that she had gotten a flat tire on the deepest-powdery-dust section of the road, unloaded all the kids, and had started changing the tire when providence intervened and a truck load of guys from Midas happened by--Midas has a population of about 40 and is an hour from the next closest town.  By this time the kids had decided that the fluffy dirt from the road was as much fun as beach sand and had covered each other up in it--oh the life of a ranch kid!

The skies and landscape provide endless beauty.

And little brother Robin, says, "Me too."

Maura helps in the kitchen.

The Braatz and Bradbury's are associated with Country Natural Beef and raise some of their own cattle out on the ranch.  They care about all aspects of raising happy cattle and so weaning is a longer, gentler, quieter process.  I say 'quieter' (even though I don't think it's a word) from experience.  A month ago when we arrived on the Hamilton ranch it was the day the calves were weaned and we listened to the cows and calves bawl all night long.  Imagine how stressful it is for the calf AND the cow to be with each other one minute and then sorted off the next.  B&B uses a device called a 'blab'--a plastic nose ring the shape of a very tight "C" that is bent open, placed in the nose, doesn't hurt the calf but bothers the cow enough that she, over the course of a week, is not interested in nursing, produces less milk and weans the calf herself.  We went out to 'help' the day the 'blab' was to be removed from the last batch.
      While the cowboys were bringing the cows and calves in to the corral Jesse asked us to go round up a group of calves that had been de-blabbed last week.   Jesse showed Grant how to saddle up Maresy and it was a big next step for him to climb up and ride out, solo, to find the calves while Gregg checked out where they were going to put them back through.  Grant did great getting them headed in the right direction but they refused to go through the gate.  These calves had been without parental supervision for a week or so, had formed a gang and were feeling feisty, stubborn and disobedient like any pack of tweenagers.  Usually Gregg will find the leader, get that one going and the others will follow but I think because it was such a newly formed gang that they were all vying for the leader spot.   Grant is at the stage of horseback riding where he can ride drag and feel helpful but not quite to the chasing-after-wiley-calves stage.  Maresy figured that out FAST.  Grant wanted OFF.  So I got ON.  I'm apparently not too far ahead of Grant in horse skills, the calves broke, Maresy and I gave chase but she had a different plan and I couldn't get her to turn them.  I stopped her, recalled my 'turning circles' lesson in college while Gregg buzzed after them on the quad, he got them back near the opening, Maresy and I walked over, blocked the escape route down the fence-line and waited for them to see the opening but they broke AGAIN, we chased and as soon as Maresy was in a gallop all she could think of was the barn.  Now I thought back to my Buffalo Bill Historical Society ride in Cody where an outfitter supplied the horses but some folks brought their own who liked to trot along a quick clip.  Though I wanted to ride with Gregg and his horse, who was happy to look at the scenery, my horse didn't want any damn 'outsider' to be in the lead, so I drew upon my 'turning circles' lesson so I could wait for Gregg.  I ended up in the dust, the other trotters came back to help me (psychologically) get back in the saddle and I saw Gregg an hour or so later at the lunch stop.  He came (what's the name of the gait that is slower than a walk?) 'strolling' up and said he was so proud to see galloping up the hills with the other riders...then I took off my hat and glasses and showed him my shiner...later, he saw my other bruises.  ANYWAY, Maresy and I trotted back to the barn, she got some oats, Gregg and Grant ended up getting the calves through a different opening.

Grant rides Maresy out to collect a few calves that had gotten out while Gregg, on quad, opens the gate--before all hell breaks loose.

Ty 

Dick and Bill 

Ty and Adam worked as a team in the corral, and Dick and Bill were a team in the alley way.  It was a beautiful thing to watch them sort the calves off of the cows.  A tiny movement here, one step back there, timing, experience--it was like watching seasoned doubles tennis.

Dick removes the 'blab' from the calf.

Our last day on the ranch was spent driving up to cowboy camp while the soggy roads were still slightly frozen, dismantling the wall tent, and then scouting for steers up Rock Creek while Gregg took pictures of the BLM 'critical site' in that pasture.  By the time we dropped off the tent, Jesse and Ricarda had already left for a much needed Thanksgiving break while Dick and Mary would hold down the fort, and feed all the animals.