“Ketchup” Post #2 7/5/23

We have really been enjoying our time here at Rocky Ridge Outpost and we are so excited to show you more of what we have been up to! Let’s jump on in!!

As soon as we got here, Jerilynn told us she had gotten 20 new chicks with the feathery feet. If you remember from last Summer, a feathery foot hen was Braydon’s favorite and he had named her Featherfoot. Sadly, she died last Fall and Braydon was devastated. But now he has so many Featherfoot Hens he can’t even count them all as they run around and under the bus every day!!

Only about a week after we got here, while driving up Bryan and Jer’s driveway, our brand new ball joint popped out of its socket on the Jeep. As you may recall from January, we almost didn’t make it to Skooliepalooza because we needed to get the ball joints and tie rods replaced. These new ball joints only lasted us three months, but we are so thankful that it broke AFTER we got here!! Bryan towed our Jeep over to a friend of his who works on vehicles here in Manila. This friend, Brandon, said that the parts put on were really cheap, bottom-shelf-type parts and was surprised that a shop charged us 3 grand for the work. He got us better parts and only charged us $700 – and that included the drive shaft that got damaged in the process of getting the Jeep onto the flatbed to take it over to Brandon’s.

We always end up with just enough money to get to where we are headed next and then we have to wait until we get a paycheck to fix any issues that came up on the trip and this Spring was no exception. While we waited to get the Jeep fixed, Bryan had an old truck with a power steering leak that he had let the registration lapse on because he didn’t have time to fiddle with it. He said that if Jeff could fix it, Bryan would renew the registration on it an we could use it to get to work until the Jeep was ready. Thankfully, Jeff fixed it and we had a vehicle to use to make money to fix the Jeep. After that, we decided ordering the clutch and fan blade assembly for the bus was priority #2. I talked with the Bluebird Mechanic/Bus Driver for the Manila School District and he gave me the number for the Bluebird parts and sales company he deals with personally in Salt Lake City. I gave them a call and they said the clutch was backordered 35 days. But that was fine with us as the whole thing was going to cost us $2,000. We needed those 35 days to make the extra money to pay for it!! We actually just paid for the part and it is on its way to us as I type this! We want the bus to be operational at all times, even if we won’t need to drive it again for several more months.

Francis took her job seriously as the resident Barn Cat/Assassin and has been diligently performing her duties every day. Here she is overseeing the pond, making sure no frogs move even a muscle. She has caught snakes, birds, mice, potgut, and frogs so far this year. Her primary task is to rid the area of the small rodents, but sometimes she gets distracted. She and Sue seem to know that the barnyard animals are not to be messed with.

In the photo above, Sue is playing with Buckwheat, the main buck rabbit. There are so many animals for the cats to enjoy! Braydon has especially been enjoying the baby goats that were born here this Spring. They are running and galloping around the barnyard and starting to get into trouble… the goats AND Braydon!

Below Francis is creeping on the mama and baby goats behind the pen enclosure.

One of the first guests we had here at Rocky Ridge Outpost were Phil and Linda Ealy, Jeff’s parents! They came out for a week and got to stay in the Yurt with its brand new bathroom built inside. They loved it!! We really enjoyed getting to spend time with them and showing them all around this beautiful country we call our “Summer Home”. Below is a photo we took of Flaming Gorge from the Sheep Creek Overlook one of the sunny days they were here. It’s incredible just how far one can see with a little elevation underfoot!

Linda and Braydon were doing watercolor paintings together and they wanted some photos of flowers to bring back to camp to paint. Jeff took this lovely one with the Gorge in the background and I thought you would enjoy it, too!

Even though it was only a couple of days before Memorial Day, on the way to Vernal we found a patch of snow and had to get out and have a snowball fight! It was really fun!!

We’ve started going back to the Forbes’ Family Farm to help them harvest for their CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a fancy way to say that people can buy a “share” of a local farmer’s crop in the beginning of the year and then benefit with weekly portions of the harvest throughout the season. Each Monday we drive over the mountain to harvest an abundance of fresh foods and package them up into convenient reusable bags that then get delivered to the CSA Members. In return, we get to take home a share of the goodies and are kept well stocked with an assortment of extremely fresh veggies and fresh raw milk from their dairy cow. We also have been learning SO much from them and it is such a joy to spend several hours with their delightful family each week. Braydon especially loves harvesting carrots in between playing with the three Forbes children.

After harvesting, we wash and bundle each of the veggies and then keep them in a refrigerator to keep them fresh before organizing filled bags in the refrigerated trailer that serves as the delivery vehicle/walk-in fridge. Bundles of radishes, swiss chard, and green onions line the fridge door while bags of spinach and baby leaf lettuces fill the shelves.

One of the Forbes’ children celebrated her birthday recently and Braydon was invited to the festivities! He didn’t know all of the children there, but he had a great time and enjoyed the painting session that they had. He painted our bus in the desert. I especially like the cactus with all the bright purple flowers. What is your favorite part?

The sunsets here are just incredible… and of course the cats are always enjoying it!!

Next week we will share photos of Braydon’s fishing ventures and update you on even more exciting things happening around here!! Until “Ketchup” Post #3…!