Signing Off: The End of the 2015 Rangeland Intern Program

Over the summer we have had the great opportunity to meet, get to know and see the work Josiah has done over the course of three months. While a majority of the work being completed looked a lot like ranch work there were also great conversations about the management techniques that lead to the specific activity or chore, such as irrigation.

We are pleased to have Josiah and learn from his insight throughout the summer. Next year we will be looking for more interns who are interested in learning a hands-on approach to range and ranch management techniques. Until then, enjoy the last post from Josiah and look to RealRanchers for more insights to rural Wyoming and the stories not told in the main stream media.

“It has been a good summer working at Red Canyon Ranch. This week was calm and easy as I got a lot of irrigating completed and spent a lot of time with the ranch family.
Now that I am at the end of the internship, I have finally gotten to the point where I have figured everything out. I’ve irrigated all the fields and know how the water runs on them, figured out all the fencing tricks, and learned where everything is located. Now that I’m at this point, its kind of a shame that I have to leave this week right as I got everything down. For most of the summer I was learning everything and getting taught how to do it, and now that I got it all down I won’t get to see what it is like to work on a ranch when you know what you are doing.

I’ve been taking in a lot of the sights and sounds of the ranch this week, making sure I remember this summer here. It’s been super hazy, due to some big fires up north, and has been making some pretty cool sunsets on the ranch. Its honestly been really calm, which I think is a good way to end the summer.
One of Garrick’s kids had a birthday this week, so Amber rented this big bounce house with a slide that runs in to a pool of water for the party she was going to throw. All day these kids were playing in this bounce house and having a good time. It looked like blast. So after all the kids go home it was pretty late, pushing midnight, and myself, Amber, Garrick, and two of their friends are all hanging out and eventually we get to the point where we decide its our turn to have some fun with the bounce house, and so we all end up playing in the bounce house and sliding into the pool. It was seriously a blast. I had a ton of fun and I think everyone else did too.”