As the leaves change color, and the nighttime temperatures hover in the 40’s, our summer job here in Riverton, Wyoming has come to an end. To prepare for winter, the irrigation pipes are flushed out, disassembled, and put away. The horses will take over the fields until Spring.

Each field of pipes has end caps. Those are removed, and the pipes are flushed out for several hours to remove mud and other debris.

The water that initially flows out is very muddy, but after a few hours, clears up. Then it’s on to the next set of pipes.

Sometimes we get an unwanted “surprise” when flushing out the pipes. We think this was a muskrat that came out of the pipes! I didn’t get too close to inspect it. It must have been swimming in the canal and got sucked into the pipes.

After several days of flushing out the pipes, it is time to disassemble them and let them air dry for a few days. Most of the pipes come apart easily, with the use of a hay hook. Sometimes I have to sit on one pipe, while Dan pulls on the other. A few times we had to tie a rope around the pipe and pull it apart with the ATV.

One field completed. Three more to go!

After a few days of drying, it’s time to pick up all the pipes and store them away for the winter. They are removed from the field and stored in an area the horses cannot access. Otherwise, the horses would spend the winter kicking and damaging the pipes! At this point, Brad comes back to Riverton to help us out. It takes about two days to pick everything up and store it away.

As in the Spring when the pipes are put out, I have the easy job of driving the tractor while Brad and Dan pick up the pipes and put them on the trailer. Here’s my view out the front window. You can see all the pipes ready to be picked up in one field.

And the view out the back window as Dan and Brad load the pipes on the trailer.

I have found that if I maintain a blazing speed of 0.91 mph, I don’t need to hit the brakes and they can just walk a steady pace as they pick up the pipes.

After each field, I have a full load of pipes on the trailer. And an empty field just waiting for the horses to arrive!

The pipes are stacked up in a storage area for the winter.

After the pipes are put away, we pick up all the tarps that are used to irrigate another field, clean them and store them for the winter.

Horses have arrived!

Some of the horses have arrived already for the winter. Twenty five horses were dropped off by a dude ranch that closed for their season. All the horses were kept in the corral until they had all arrived (it took several trips before they all arrived).

The horses were very excited once we opened the corral gate to the back pasture. They were very excited with their home for the winter!

The horses did have a “spa day” after they arrived. A local horse shoer came out to remove their shoes for the winter, and trim their nails. The horses really like having their shoes removed. In the picture below, you can see the leg on the right has had the shoe and nails removed. The leg on the left still has the shoe attached. You can tell by the nails in their foot. I’m not a horse person, so I may not have the correct terminology for this process. I’ll just keep it at “spa day”!

Same horse, both shoes removed and the nails are out.

The horse shoer removes the shoe, then pulls out the nails. It only takes a few minutes.

After the shoe and nails are removed, he takes a grinder and smooths out the foot.

The rest of the horses from other organizations will arrive after we leave for the season.

What’s next?

Although our work is done, we are going to stay here until at least the 15th of October. Then we will head down to Yuma, Arizona for our winter jobs at Westwind Golf and RV Resort. This year we do not start our work until November 1. Since it is still 100 plus degrees, we are in no hurry to arrive! There is no snow in the extended forecast here in Wyoming, so we are in no rush to leave.

Quote of the day: “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.” – Viggo Mortensen

We have a unique summer job here in Wyoming, watering about 200 acres for grass hay. The hay is used to feed the horses that Brad and Joanne board over the winter for several different companies. Here’s a few photos of their “customers” before they all leave for their summer homes.

The most labor intensive part of our job is right at the beginning of the season when we put the water pipes out in the field. Brad and Joanne help us with this part, as it takes 4 people to complete this process. There are four fields that are watered with the pipes. Each field is about a quarter mile wide, so there are a lot of pipes to install each spring. And in the fall, we will disassemble them and put them back in a storage area.

The reason the pipes are not kept in the fields year round, is the horses would kick and damage the pipes. The pipes are stored away from the horses during the winter. Although the horses like to look over the fence at them! It’s an expensive play toy for them!

I get the “easy” job, driving the tractor with a trailer full of pipes out to the field.

Let me tell you, this is not your grandfathers tractor! Driving the tractor is more like a big video game, with all the buttons and joysticks.

When the tractor first starts up, all kinds of symbols light up on the control panel.

It’s very comfortable to drive.

Dan, Brad and Joanne lead the way out in the fields in the ATV.

Brad, Joanne and Dan install pipe starting at the gate valves in the fields.

My job is to drive the tractor at a slow pace, while Brad and Dan pick up the pipes and install them along the fields. Here’s a shot from the rear view mirror of the tractor showing the 30′ long 12″ diameter pipes..

Here’s a view out the back window of the tractor.

Below we are crossing over from one field to the next.

The pipes have gate valves on them, that open and close to let the water flow out and irrigate the fields.

When the pipes are all connected, and the water has been turned on, we will irrigate one field at a time. We open the gate valves on 3-4 pipes in the morning, and then close those pipe valves in the evening. Then we open another 4-5 pipes in the evening, and let them run overnight. We repeat the process every day.

Here’s a view from behind the pipes, as the water flows out into the fields.

The fifth field that we water uses an “old school” method of watering. There is a trench around that field, and we install a tarp in the ditch to catch the water, and let it flow out on to the field. We move the tarp once a day to a new position on that field.

WHERE DOES THE WATER COME FROM?

In 1921, the LeClair Irrigation District was formed in Riverton, to provide water to 15,000 acres of land in the community. The water comes from the Wind River in Riverton, and has channels throughout the community that distribute the water to various landowners. Over a mile from Brad and Joanne’s property is their main gate off the canal. This gate is shared by another neighbor. The gate is controlled by a “ditch rider” employed by the District. In the Spring, the ditch rider will unlock all the gates for the landowners to use for the summer.

Once all the pipes are installed, we will open up the main gate.

That water flows about 1/2 mile to a box with two gate valves. One is to divert water to Brad’s property, and the other flows to Brad’s neighbor.

Once the water is flowing, we will open up the pipe to Brad’s property, and then another 1/2 mile down the road is his water box/gate. The two valves control the water to four fields on the east and one field on the west side of his property (the one with the drainage ditch).

This is a view down in to the box. You can see the two gate valves that can be opened up to divert the water to the fields.

Brad’s neighbor has one big field that he waters, and he uses a pivot for his watering system. The pivots are more water efficient than the flood irrigation.

By the end of May, it was time for all the horses to leave. Hope they have a good time!

We have learned more than we ever thought about water on this job! It’s amazing all the engineering that went in to creating the water district over 100 years ago. Some smart, forward thinking people!

Quote of the Day: “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” — Jacques Yves Cousteau