Your cultural Horizons Are About To Take A Big Jump

Whenever you see artwork depicting western grazing land -particularly in the Basque sheep raising regions of Utah and Nevada- the artist always throws in one of those picturesque little round-roofed trailers with a small smokestack known as a sheepherder's wagon.

Sheepherding is a rough, lonely, and, no doubt, hard drinkin' business. The wagon and the shepherd are transported off to hellngone up into the high country for the summer where he and his Great Pyrenees-or his Komondor, or some useful breed like that- keep watch over his flocks by night (also by day) ---day after day after day, and night after night after night. Eventually fall approaches, and they move down to lower pasturelands and begin all over again.

Sheepherder's wagons are such unique little vehicles. I've always wondered how they evolved into their particular shape and conformation. They all look just alike, and they have forever.






Well, those questions are still unanswered, BUT I can report that I have actually been inside one. And now you get to see too. On a bike ride on Antelope Island, we visited an historic ranch which actually had one- all equipped and ready to receive visitors.

Behold and marvel.
Note how far down the curve of the roof comes. You can stand up only in the middle and turn to work areas on either side. The whole thing sits inside of what appears to be an old REA freight wagon liberated from some abandoned (or maybe not abandoned) train station

Not unlike a truck camper, but lots more primitive.(actually "cozy" is a nicer word)
The hardware fittings tell you that this one is relatively modern- 60s or maybe 70s.

Sheep are strictly grazing critters and do not lend themselves to feedlot life. In this highly mechanized life we have developed for ourselves, sheep still must be shepherded around. It's a Biblical reality (and analogy) which is still viable in the 21st century. So the next time you order lamb in a restaurant, be thankful that there are still solitary persons who are drawn to this singular way of life.