Wallowas & Flicker repair 

It was almost 10 pm when we left Hanford to drive 5 hrs to Sam’s family place in  Wallowa County. We had planned a layover to spend time with family, but by that time Flicker’s shakedown run was over and there were many repairs to be made. We spent much of the six days patching together and cleaning Flicker. It was a relief to have the tools and time to improve our setup.

It was also great to have some down time with friends and family. We rode … Read the rest

Owyhee

Owyhee Canyon

Snookered by rain the previous day we contemplated a return to Cedar Mountain. Rain was again forecast, so we thought better of another attempt.

With nowhere to race off to, we enjoyed our first relaxed morning. In the afternoon, we unhitched from Flicker and drove into Jordan Valley where we saw a great big No Monument sign at the town center. We soon met Hazel Fretwell-Johnson and toured her yard and home, heard many stories, and bought one of her five books, In Times Past. Hazel was … Read the rest

Hart Mountain National Antelope  Refuge

We woke up early again the next morning for a 9:00 am group meeting including a welcome from federal employee Laurel. Laurel wears multiple hats now because of the federal hiring freeze. There are two on-site staff for Hart Mountain’s 278k acres. There are another dozen staff at headquarters in Lakeview, Oregon, but they are also in charge of Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge 573 (k) acres in northern Nevada. In other words these public lands are staffed around 50k acres per employee.

Late starts seem to be our … Read the rest