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sailing the sagebrush sea

webfoot said:
Having driven across Wyo a time or three including the area where you formerly lived and where you live now I realized where and how far you would have to drive. I do like sage brush country. I also like how much more grass I have now that the sage brush is all gone.
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I can understand that. An older rancher lady showed me once how good the soil is around the sagebrush. Have
you ever checked it out?
 
Faster horses said:
I can understand that. An older rancher lady showed me once how good the soil is around the sagebrush. Have
you ever checked it out?
Click to expand...
Big Horn basin it was said the barley would grow as high as the sage brush. Seen area they flood irrigated to get rid of it but then it now irrigated hay. I plowed some up and it made good grass or even dry farm. . Here it gumbo.
 
Faster horses said:
I can understand that. An older rancher lady showed me once how good the soil is around the sagebrush. Have
you ever checked it out?
Click to expand...
I haven't stuck a shovel in the dirt. Right at the base of most of the burned up sage it is black and nothing growing I think that is because the sage burned so hot. But just out a foot or so there is lots of grass which is going to seed. No fences so no cows. Hopefully that grass reseeds even more grass for next year. There is one stretch above the house where the grass is handle bar deep on the quad.
 
Some former sage brush areas here that were planted in grass that didn't do well, are now tumbleweed fields that have led to tumbleweed attacks. Sagebrush is beautiful compared to tumbleweeds. Although I prefer grass over sagebrush, giant sagebrush may have saved my life once.
 
Nicky said:
We'll be waiting for that story
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Posted on here a few years ago. Dave reminded me that the curves heading up to Gold Ridge are called Shirttail and haven't improved over the years.

Rye Valley Sagebrush

I was coming back from being up 24 hours helping with calving way south of nowhere and Mormon Basin. I decided to take a shortcut through Rye Valley over to Hwy 30. I had to drive as my friend was overtired and fell asleep before I was in the driver's seat. Her pickup was fairly new, comfortable, and automatic, unlike my old International 4WD to which I was accustomed. Coming through Rye Valley as daylight was breaking, I was awakened by her screaming, and the sound of giant sage brush beating the extended side mirrors something fierce.

All we could see was giant sagebrush all around us. I reversed it and was able to follow the path of disturbed sagebrush until we hit the dirt road. I was about a quarter-mile off the road. I had failed to navigate a curve in the road. Had we gone much further, the next curve would have probably rolled the pickup. We sat there awhile drinking the last of the cold coffee from the thermos.

That cold coffee kept us alert as we made it up and over Gold Ridge and down to old highway 30 that carried us into Durkee. Durkee had a great breakfast cafe in those days. Nothing like hot black coffee, homemade biscuits, heavily peppered gravy, eggs sunny side up, and a few strips of pig fat to get the day going.
 

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