Under the Wire

Growing up in Eastern Colorado there were two things I had little, if no, experience with and never developed a like for. Deep water and high places.

In a region with about 12 inches of annual precipitation, I grew up without seeing much deep water. We had the Poudre River which ran too fast to get in when it was deep enough to swim in. Then the water was 34 degree snow melt, not many opportunities for swim lessons. Later I moved farther east to South Platte River country, often described as a mile wide and an inch deep. No diving lessons there. To this day, I don’t like deep water. Can swim about 10 feet, get tired and then drown if nobody is there to pull me out.

Lack of intrigue for high places came from living at an elevation that was already 4,200 feet. Our house is built on one of the highest spots in the area, elevation 4,220 feet. Highest spot on the ranch is a four high stack of 4x4 hay bales. It goes untarped after climbing up top one time. Cows can eat a little moldy hay.

Trees are our most common chance to get to a higher elevation. Didn’t do it when I was younger. Now? Not going to happen. Carnival comes to town every few years with Ferris wheels and other off the ground rides. Got to stay home and sort my sock drawer. Kids throw a ball up on the roof? “Don’t cry, it’s only 11 more months until Christmas, Santa might bring you a new one,” is my answer to their tears.

Lived in Colorado my entire life. Never skied. Got to ride those lifts to get to the top. If they ever add a new “drive up” feature that lets you cruise up and then slide down, I might try it. Otherwise, that sock drawer needs attention again.

Heck, I don’t even like real tall horses. That might be why I gravitated towards calf roping because smaller horses are more common, rather than team roping where big rides are the order of the day.

Overall, I am pretty fearless as evidenced by several dozen serious injuries doing things others might avoid. Only had one serious high altitude injury. A small horse threw me very high in the air resulting in a very broken leg. At least there was no deep water for me to land in. Someone else would be writing this silly stuff.