Thanks for sharing! Do you know whereabouts this sign is? The photo really does show more clearly what the landscape is like. How close do the mesquite bushes grow together? Is there room to walk off road without having to move branches out of the way?
You're welcome. I do not know exactly where this sign is in regards to where Hailey's remains were found. I don't live in Snyder or C City but in another town farther away from the lake, so and haven't been to the area recently. Maybe someone who lives closer could give you a better idea of where the sign is located exactly.
As for your other questions:
How close do the mesquite bushes grow together?
That varies a lot. In some places, they can be dense, but in other areas, a person could walk between them. I'm sorry I cannot be more exact than that, but mesquite is an opportunist (and a pest). It grows where it can.
Is there room to walk off road without having to move branches out of the way?
Yes, especially in winter. It's is easier at that time of year to avoid touching the mesquite branches and thorns because you can see them more clearly. When they are covered with the green fronds during warm weather, the pliable stem branches that grow out of the main stalks
reach farther than the dead mesquite "sticks" of winter. One sign that we know Spring is really here is when the mesquite turns green.
However, that doesn't mean when walking in an area of mesquite in wintertime that you could avoid their all branches and thorns; especially if it were close to dark, and especially if you were carrying a body.
Walking through mesquite is like a maze. There is no pattern to where it grows, so that makes it difficult to walk in a straight line. You are constantly having to walk around it.
