The Miller Project

Despite what we found in the heat of last Summer the land does have a tendency to look a little marshy in the Spring.  So those in the family who believed the property to be a marshy wetland were not entirely wrong.

Wanting to do some camping next week Karleigh and I drove up to the property to scope it out and make sure the snow had all melted.  With the late storms we’ve had here in Utah and the elevation of the ranch I figured there might be a little bit of snow so better safe than sorry and we made the drive up there.  I was surprised and relieved to see that there was no snow on the ground in the valley, however, the mountain right above the property still has some snow and it seems to all be funneling right onto our plot of land.

The lower half of the land that is somewhat wet during the summer from unchanneled irrigation water is seriously a swamp complete with frogs.  The upper half that seemed dry last year is barely better than the lower half.  Our fire pit could be a small bathtub to wash off all of the mud that you get while walking around.

The one positive thing is that with all the vegetation still down for the count it is very easy to see all the logs that are strewn about that need to be chopped up.  I think camping is off for now unless someone has a small houseboat they would like to tow up there but we need a few day trips to begin clearing more wood while it’s all exposed.  I can also now see the definite need to get a little trackhoe of some sort to dig ditches along the upper part of the property to channel the melt water to the southern edge of the property as well as a deeper and more defined irrigation canal through the middle running north to south.  This will, of course, require some money so hopefully we can get the family organized and start working on this.

Meanwhile, take a look at what’s up there right now.

In the “beginning” there was Isaac Mitton Stewart and The Second Wife, Elizabeth White.  Among many others, they begot Charles Biekley Stewart who went on to marry Katherine Romney and together with his brothers founded the Stewart family ranch in Pine Valley.  Their daughter, Katherine Romney Stewart, married one Karl John Miller and did not found a ranch, but instead started a family that has in turn created so many more families that we hardly know what to do with ourselves.

Well, one thing we can do goes back to the family ranch.  The 1+ acre in our family is not the marshy wasteland some of us have grown up believing.  Jake and I have already cleared a campsite and spent two weekends on the property.  It has great potential for being a retreat as well as a way to connect with the rest of the family.  To this end I have created this web site to track the progress of what I’m calling “The Miller Project,” as well as creating a forum for ideas and comments.

Enjoy.