Diiyá (Leaving)

The other day we went over to my aunt and uncle's old ranch where they still have a couple of cows up in Bingham. They're leasing the land to some neighbors but there was an issue with a water tank so we went to go check it out. It ended up just being a pipe that needed to be welded back together and was pretty simply fixed.My uncle's entire blacksmithing workshop is still up there and is really incredible to see. This is a gate he made a while ago.

And their second house is as entirely filled with Native American and western style art as the other. Tons of baskets and pots and paintings and sculptures; really incredible stuff.

Sunday was the day that I found out if they had a place for me out at the Great Western. After some talking it over and attempted negotiating with the ranch manager it was decided that I cannot stay on this summer. And so my journey ends before it really got started. The money just isn't there to hire on extra help and it's not up to them. God knows they're working hard enough with 14-hour days and no days off. They told me that there'd maybe be a chance for next year's round up and I told them I'd love to come back. I booked a flight for home and still have a week of sight-seeing to do before I pack it in. There're some Indian casinos I've been eying. I talked to mom about it all and she told me just to view it as a vacational learning experience.

I really did learn an incredible amount over such a short period of time. I'm great at all things fences, water lines, driving stick, and I know how to cut a steer's balls off without flinching. But I think the most amazing thing I learned is just what people still do for a living nowadays. The other day my uncle was talking to Jim and said, "how many people out there know that this kind of work still exists?" "Most likely just the people doin' it," was Jim's response.