First Day

Today was the first day open for Sodhouse Ranch.  The sign on the gate says "Open Aug15 - Oct 15" but the birds that roost there are gone, the buildings are prepped and ready, and we were ready, so our supervisor was OK with us opening today.   Because it was day one, it took us longer to open than it will tomorrow.   
  Gate unlocked and open 
  "open" signs put out on the road to attract visitors
  buildings unlocked and open
  Waiting for our first visitors
  The total for the day was eight.  Not enough.
 We left a little early because the wind had picked up and was gusting at around 50mph.  There will probably be some repairs that will need to be done tomorrow to replace loose or missing boards.

 

The east side of the Long Barn.  If you squint you make see Steens Mountain in the distance.

In the 1800s horses were for riding and pulling ranch equipment and wagons.  This barn was used for feeding these horses. The hay wagon would be pulled through the door on the far end of the Long Barn and hay would be forked into the mangers on both sides.  The floor consisted of three layers of logs laid cross-wise, length-wise, and cross-wise to provide a firm floor for the heavy wagon and horse traffic.