Long Weekend

Friday I went riding for the second time. I decided to ride Speedy again since I was still a little shaken up from him trying to throw me and really wanted to get over it. I brushed him off and talked to him to the whole time again. Specifically I asked him not to try and kill me. He must of understood cause the ride went pretty smooth. I'm still nervous every time I get in the saddle, but I've only been in it twice. By summer's end I'm hoping it will feel just like walking.
We rode up into the mountains on Friday morning. Me, Tim (my boss), and Cooper (soon to be my roommate up here). Rebel followed us the entire way, which entailed crossing two rushing rivers and walking through three foot snow drifts. I thought he was gonna get swept away by the current at one point and nearly jumped off Speedy to grab him, but he made it through. He's a pretty tough little trooper, weaving through horse's legs and tip toeing on the snow drifts.

Riding through all the trees and snow on the ridge was awesome. It was pretty cold and all I could see was breath and the empty landscape for miles. No houses, no people, just the world as it was a long time ago. Tim looked back at me and all smiles said, "Hey Levi, feel like Jeremiah Johnson yet?" "Yes sir," I said. Crossing the river back towards the ranch was kind of scary cause it was down hill. I just leaned back in the saddle and Speedy went in like a champ. I was glad he didn't try bucking me in the cold water and told him thanks.

When we got back, the guy was at the Lodge who was gonna be running the backhoe so we could dig up the plumbing and run some new lines to a few cabins that don't get water. It was cold, muddy work. It turned into two of the longest, coldest work days I had been a part of in a long time, as we were down in the trenches he was digging filled with slimy mud and water laying pipes (Techincally it's not over. Be covering up the pipes Monday). Pipes kept busting, clamps kept coming off. It snowed the second day which made things even more unbearable. I was exhausted after each day and didn't sleep all that great. On top of all that, the propane line to the house busted and we had to dig that up and repair it. So it's been a lot of grunt work this weekend. But today's been a good day of rest. Except for the fact that Cooper's room flooded cause he left the sink on. Almost forgot. But I just laid some towels down for that, so it wasn't bad.

Figured I'd leave everybody with some music today. This is one of my favorite songs by favorite band and the reason for my blog title, hope you enjoy it, and turn it up (That Much Further West, Lucero):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTJfPz42FwI