Whew. Today was a long day, but it ended fantastically.
I spent the entire day out in the desert of dry creek. Its the pasture where I first started working the trencher and laying pipe. There were some spots in the trencher where it wasn't quite deep enough, so I had to get in there and dig it out. This is because if the pipe is too close to the surface, it will freeze in the winter time, so it needs to be at least 36 inches deep. The first problem that I encountered was that in the desert, a 3 mile long 5 foot deep trench basically acts as a rattlesnake trap, because they slither into it, and cannot get out. I saw 10 rattlesnakes today. and a few of them crept up on me while I was in the trench digging. Let it be known that i was 5 miles from anybody and in the middle of the desert with only a half a bottle of water left. Probably not the best situation to be in.
Anyways, I got the work done, digging from 7 am till 12pm, when I was cruising in the sawed off and pop goes my front left tire. Damn. So i got out, and saw that there was a spare in the bed, and thought, 'all right, I get to fix this one on my own and get the hell out of here..' turns out there was no jack and no tools to fix it. I ended up pulling a tarp out of the back, draping it over the roll cage for sun shelter, and waiting for someone to rescue me due to the fact I dint have any phone reception. I waited for three hours until I suddenly heard my phone blowing up with texts and voicemails. Service at last. So i picked it up and started calling every Chico number I had. I didnt get through to anybody, and continued to wait. about a half hour later Cooper called and told me that he was on his way. when he got there with the tools to fix it, he said, "you done good boy". He meant that it was a good idea not to start hiking back in the 95 degree heat with no water left, and that waiting for help was the right call. His confirmation felt great. we ended up fixing the tire, and I dug for a little while longer until it was quittin time. my only motivation being the BBQ with all the people from the workshop back at headquarters.
I got home, completely exhausted, but caught a second when I saw burgers on the grill and cold beer in the cooler. While preparing for the BBQ, I encountered a very pleasant surprise. It turns out that David Leach, a great family friend who actually connected me with this job was attending the workshop today. Cooper was walking over with him while I was burning some trash, and I immediately recognized him. He walked on over to me and re-introduced himself (I know him from a very long time ago). I was so great to finally see him and get a chance to catch up with him. we spent some great time together at the BBQ. He is such a nice guy.
We had an awesome time at the BBQ. I talked with Michael, the ranch manager about what they learned at the workshop, which was very interesting. They learned about managing and monitoring different ecological systems on the ranch. I wish I could have been in on that, but I felt it was a bit to early to be asking for a spot, when there were only a limited number. I was cruising the crowd when I saw a girl emerge from a white jeep. She immediately went over to Duke Sr. and gave him a hug and started talking with him. I could just tell that this was Julie, his daughter. I have heard a lot about her, and waltzed on over to introduce myself. She turned out to be awesome girl, very easy to talk to, very nice, and very pretty.
We finished up dinner, and us interns were hanging out talking with Coop, when Julie and David walk over to us asking if we wanted to wrangle the horses and take an night time bare back ride. We all agreed that we would hop in the old Dodge and go grab the horses for a ride. So we did.
It was completely dark, and we were all in the back of the pick up trying to guide Rafa to the horses when we stumbled upon a large group of them in the pasture. We hooped out, and started to coerce them our way. I saw a nice white one with brown spots named Buckshot, so I slowly creeped closer to him, whistling softly. He stayed right where he was, and graciously let me slip a bridle onto him. I got the bridle on him and hopped up on his back from the ground. I was one of the first ones to successfully get on a horse. I started walking him towards the other and heard "Ahhh you got Buckshot!? Thats my horse!" it was Julie walking up behind us on another horse. I told her that she should take him, it is her horse, and hopped off him before she could say anything. She hopped off hers and we traded rides.
We rode around for a while trying to gather up some more horses, but they got spooked, and ran off before everyone could get one. So we took turns for a while riding the three that we had wrangled. It ended up being a ton of fun. Although, riding a horse bareback in the pitch black with only starlight to guide you is a bit nerve-wracking.
We let the horses go, and returned to headquarters to hang out for a bit. We wrapped up the night with a few more beers, and went our separate ways. What a great ending to a not so good day. I love it when that happens.
Its late, almost 11, and Im too tired to post pictures, so they will have to wait. Tomorrow is another day, and Im looking forward to it. Cooper said we get a break from piping tomorrow, so thats awesome.
Goodnight everyone.
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