The day was hot and dusty, for June. The tractor with a flat bed wagon in tow made its way along the old two track dirt road. Up the short canyon and over the divide between Otter Creek and Sage Creek. Along the bottom of the broad canyon, running mostly parallel to Sage Creek was the old highway connecting the communities in the south half of the county to those in the north half.
This was a mostly dirt and gravel road that had been replaced decades ago by the asphalt paved new highway just a mile or so to the north. A rancher had received permission to salvage a couple of corrugated pipes from under the old road’s surface for use on his ranch six of so miles to the south on Otter Creek. Equipped with a pick, a digging bar, shovels and chains, along with his 14-year-old son, the rancher began the arduous task of removing the 24-30 inches of hard, compacted, sunbaked gravel from the top and sides of the pipe.
Several decades of travel by horse drawn wagons and then cars and trucks had created a formidable, almost concrete-like, barrier holding tightly to the pipe. With a pick and a bar the father and son duo began the excavation. Minutes turned to hours before the pipe’s exposed surface was finally visible. With the help of a chain and the lift from the loader attached to the tractor success was finally theirs. The pipes were loaded onto the wagon and secured for the slow ride back to the ranch. Both man and boy were exhausted. Upon arrival at the ranch, they turned their attention to changing the half mile long sprinkler line that provided life giving water to the alfalfa. Finally, just before the sunset the two headed for the house where the cow had to be milked before the evening meal could be enjoyed.
To stick to a task until it is completed has become a rare but sought after character trait. The man or woman possessed of this trait will find the deepest satisfaction and success that will survive the generations.
