Mayor's Office

The ranch partners’ metal storage shed looked like it had been ripped open with a giant can opener. That huge building housing motor homes was shaking, shuddering, and being lifted up into the air by the ferocious, howling winds….

It is late autumn. We drive west on H34 towards the Flying X Ranch. I barely catch a glimpse of Blue Grass Creek. It is a trickle of its former summertime self. The wind does a body block as we turn onto Halleck Canyon Road and head toward the ranch house. Summer’s vibrant greens, multi-hued mountains, purple and yellow wildflowers have all quieted into shades of tans and browns.

Antelope are everywhere, their bouncing white rumps dot the grasslands as large herds migrate to lower elevations for their primary winter refuge. Up ahead and behind us, no dust trails from other partner’s trucks. At the ranch, the RV park is dotted with only a few remaining vehicles. The water faucets are dry. Deer are grazing in the mobile home yards. Last winter, these almost empty neighborhoods were hunting grounds for some young mountain lions.

It is amazingly silent. We sit outside our camper realizing we can hear our heart beat. Even the resident meadowlark is missing from his rock perch. After we go inside, the deer wander and munch around our camper. We appreciate the company. As night closes in, the wind takes control of every loose thing.

Autumn and winter create a different life at the ranch. But even as partners pack up and head out with school years starting and forecasts of cold and snow, there is the ever-present need to maintain, repair, and protect the ranch grounds, buildings, equipment, horses, and human life present. Feeling the chill creep over me, I wonder what it is like for staff members who are here keeping the ranch going when the rest of us are gone. So, of course, I ask them. Each one tells me about their life during the winter and their constant companion—the wind!

Notice: The Ranch House will be closed to work on the floors December 13 - 17.

On August 31 a wildfire started burning on the Small Ranch near the Flying X. It has been named the Poe Mountain fire. Watch this article for updates on the fire and progress fighting it as information becomes available. We will try to give daily updates in this article.

As with other local fires you can find periodic updates on the Wheatland radio station KZEW Blog.

Update September 2: The fire is contained at approximately 5000 acres. (This is an early estimate and will be revised when known). The fire blew up from 150 acres to a couple thousand very quickly. Ray and Michelle were prepared to evacuate, but fortunately did not have to.

The Flying X and our partners were once again crucial in fighting this fire and feeding the fire crews. Thom Yaras cooked any food he could find to feed the firefighters and Jim and Joyce Bradney delivered food and water to the crews. Eric worked the fire, Tom kept communications up and timely among the volunteers, Gina and her crew kept ready to move our horse herd as needed. In times like these everyone needs to step up to help or to do the work of two since others are on the fire in some way and our staff was great.

Thanks to all who volunteered!

For many years we have dealt with several springs popping up in the middle of Cottonwood Road and the drainage along the roadside flowing over the road. The road is typically closed due to the resulting boggy spots and washouts for May and part of June. Last year the road washed out in April for large portions along its entire length and was closed to vehicle traffic for most of the summer due to continued rainfall that prevented necessary roadwork. The road finally opened Labor Day weekend. This was an inconvenience to all, but instead of making excuses, we made repairs. The ranch invested in what we hoped to be long-term improvements to the road which would prevent or at least mitigate future damage and lengthy closures. We published an article regarding the weather conditions contributing to the problem (From Drought to Wash-Out) and weekly updates on the progress of repairs (Cottonwood Road Repairs 2010). I thought it would be appropriate to revisit the road and the weather data a year later to see if our investment was proving to have been a wise one.

August 24, 2011: There are no expected further delays as a result of the Squaw Mountain fire. This article remains for historic refernce only.

Tom and Mike have finished haying operations and are moving the baled hay to various stack yards. Tom is trying to squeeze every bit of water left in Halleck Creek on to the alfalfa meadows in Yaunt to gain a second cutting.

We harvested around 66 tons of hay this year, down approximately 30% from last year, but last year's moisture level was way above normal. This year was more of a typical growing season. This does not include a possible second cutting in Yaunt.

On August 21 a wildfire started burning east of the ranch near Tunnel Road. Watch this article for updates on the fire and progress fighting it as information becomes available. The fire has been named the "Squaw Mountain" fire. Regular incident reports are posted on the National Interagency Fire Center (scroll to the bottom of the page) and we will try to give you daily updates in this article. You may also find reporting and photographs posted on the blog of neighbor, Leah Yetter. You can also find periodic updates on the Wheatland radio station KZEW Blog. The Wheatland Country Store is accepting donations of food and water to support the firefighters. You can drop off items at the store.

August 27, 2011: This fire was contained at 14,485 acres. All FXR personnel and their families are off the fire.

-- Thanks to all our reporters: Tom Massie, Michelle and Ray Parker, Cindy Schultz, Carolyn Thomas, and Thom Yaras and the good folks at KZEW and the Wheatland Country Store.

Special thanks to all those who are fighting this fire! (which includes FXR's Ray Parker and Chuck Schneck and Ray and Michelle's two sons)

This month I must report to you all some serious incidents on the ranch.  The July pig roast went very well with 91 participants.   By all accounts everybody had a great time.  Unfortunately, donations for the Palmer Canyon volunteer fire department that were generated by this event were stolen later that evening.  If anybody has any information on this incident please contact management.