When you crest the hill into the Virgelle Valley, you will see the first glimpses of fall. The leaves are turning yellow, and the grasses have their fall hues. It is an excellent time to cut the dry grasses and flower buds for fall arrangements. This time of year is always great for a Sunday drive, and the gravel roads are in good condition.
If you decide to take a drive down to our quaint little valley, you will find plenty of things to do. You can go to Coal Banks Landing for a picnic lunch and enjoy the sound of the river flowing by as you take in the beauty of your surroundings, step into the past exploring the ghost town of Virgelle, or take a ride across the Virgelle Ferry and head into Loma for a treat. As one elderly woman crossing the river stated, "We are going to Loma for pie. It is as good as my (she pauses and quickly resumes saying) almost as good as my pie."
On your drive down to the Virgelle Valley, you might see an array of wildlife including mule deer, antelope, sage hens, pheasants, and my personal favorite the curlew. The occasional elk, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain lions pass through this area.
This spring a bull moose came and visited. He walked down to the ferry, nibbled some willows, and made his way slowly upriver. He was just passing through, have not seen him since. A bighorn sheep came and stayed in my yard for a week. He would come and lie down wherever I was working in the yard. He seemed exhausted and hungry; he would eat alfalfa and sweet clover along the edge of the yard, then lie down and rest. When I would feed the chickens, he would follow me at a distance. Once he was rejuvenated, he took off upstream.
The raccoons have been very active here this year. I guess it was my year to be tortured by the disastrous little creatures. I didn't mind sharing a little feed with them, but then they got greedy and started to pick on my chickens and turkeys. This started a war! I have harvested eight raccoons and one porcupine from my yard.
This is the first year I have had a porcupine come into my garden and eat on my squash. I could not figure out what was scraping grooves into my big Blue Hubbard squash. I knew they liked the fruit in my fruit trees, but that was sparse this year with the late frost, so they found another source of sustenance.
The Virgelle Ferry is in operation Monday through Saturday from 7 am to 7 pm, Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm. When you arrive at the ferry you will find white call boxes. It is imperative that you pull the call box switch to both sides of the call box. One direction is for the house, and the other direction is for the pager. If you do not pull the switch both directions, then the operator for that day may not be alerted to your desire to cross.
