10/23/05 Sunday

We picked up just three folks for our last week, making a total of five counting Walter and Brian who stayed over a second week.

They spent the weekend at the ranch doing chores. Lyndsey has been sick since Thursday so they took the load off here. They had their hands full feeding calves and hauling water.

We picked up Charlie from De. and Barry from Tx. Charlie has been here four or five times and this is Barry’s’ third trip out I think. Our last newbie of the year is Rhian from Wales.

Again we stopped on our way home and picked up a couple hundred bales of hay getting the week off to a good start.

10/24/05 Monday

After unloading the hay we headed out to Canyon Creek camp. Nate is now sick along with Lyndsey.

The horses had been hanging around camp all week but of course today they were nowhere in sight. It wasn’t until about noon I found them way up on T Bar Ridge about five miles from camp. Once we got saddled we rode Pine Canyon getting a few head from there moved over to juniper tank. It was a nice easy break in day and we got something done as well.

Brian drove everyone except Barry back to H.Q. He stayed out at camp with me and helped with chores there. The other guys helped do chores in the dark when they got home. Leasha is back from her sick time so they at least had a good meal waiting for them.

Barry and I had a great night of camp chat around the table near the woodstove in the cabin. We pretty much solved most of the world’s problems.

10/25/05 Tuesday

The crew got here about 8:30, Barry and I had the horses all fed and we were long ready to go. But those folks had a bunch more chores to do before they could leave. Maggie came along and Nate is back in action again.

We did a big gather covering a lot of country. I took half the crew up the Basin while Nate took the others up the Mesa. We met at the north end of the Basin a few hours later. We had about 80 head and we then turned them west and went through Wolf gate and over T Bar Ridge. The same route we took last week. The cattle moved along better than they did last week.

It was pushing Dark when we made it back to camp so Walter and Charlie headed home with Maggie and Nate to get feeding done there. Barry, Brain and Rhian stayed out at camp with me. We had a good time. The cabin is getting to feel like home.

The weather has been great for weeks now. I have never seen a fall like this one. Days are in the 50’s and 60’s and the nights just down to the mid 20’s.

10/29/05 Saturday

The last couple days slipped by me. They were busy. Feeding riding gathering and moving cattle. We are getting so late in the season I just can’t trust the weather will hold so we are now just putting the cattle into Pitchfork pasture rather than the long push into 7HL pasture. It will mean more riding in the weeks to come but it gets them out of Canyon Creek pasture. The urgency in this is that when winter finally does come we will no longer be able to get out here via motor vehicle. Only way would be a five-hour horse ride and then there is the problem of feed for horses once you get here since we have no barn or anywhere to stock it ahead of time.

We put 105 more cattle through the Incognito gate.

I think we still have about 50 head more here in Canyon Creek pasture. We will work on getting them gathered up next week.

Don from Fl. showed up Wednesday, he’s here for a week or so helping with some end of the year things.

We had our usual Halloween party Friday night. It was fun but much more subdued than the last few years. I think we wore everyone out this week.

It was a great crew to end the year with. Both crew the last two weeks have helped us get just about back on schedule. A bunch of workers they were and willing to do what ever it took to get things done. They are the kind of folks we need to have around here. Many thanks to them all and also lots of thanks to everyone who came to visit this year. You all make it all worthwhile.