A shed at the Indian Valley Trap Club—most of the towns in this area have a shooting club.
The trap club & the community hall
The Indian Valley Community Church—Eberle & I played a wedding there once—with the Adams County Road Department’s Indian Valley shop to the left.
The Indian Valley general store—yes, it’s open for business! This is a real hang-out for the old-time ranchers.
Sheep; cows (the black dots on the ridge); irrigation pipe (the white line at the far end of the sheep pasture); one lone tree; mountains in the distance—not the best of the pix, but it does sum up one very large aspect of the valley.
You do see cattle in the road (along with any number of other creatures ranging from badgers to bears). Adams County has open range laws, which give the cattle some legal standing (so to speak) in the road—many counties in the U.S. west are open range. Of course, it’s one thing to come across cattle on this country road (which has changed from pavement to dirt after we left the little village); it’s another thing to come across them on U.S. Highway 95, with its 65 miles per hour speed limits!
An old homestead, no longer in use. Even when these homesteads eventually fall to wrack & ruin, the surrounding trees are always a tell-tale sign in this generally treeless rangeland. The homesteaders particularly favored locust trees.
An old barn on the same property, & this still is used.
Two horses feeding
Ah, we’ve reached a fork in the road! Ben Ross Reservoir supplies irrigation water to the local ranches, & is also a favorite fishing hole. The road along the Little Weiser River will fork again, with one branch leading to the little village of Ola & the other leading thru some real rangeland & into the hills & eventually down into Emmet, an area that once was known for its orchards. But we have places closer to home to explore for the time being.
As we turn “our rig” around, a shot of sage & bitterbrush growing out of a rocky hillside.Be sure to check in next Friday as we continue our tour!