Seajay
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2011
- Posts
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YOU WANT A JOB?
Some years later we went back out to Colorado to go elk hunting. There was me and Jim and Roger and we went out for a ten day stay at the ''Terra Alta'' ranch north of Gunnison as I remember.
We took Roger's station wagon because we figured we needed a place to haul all the ''trophy'' elk racks we were sure to get. W R O N G ?...
The ''Terra Alta'' was one of those large ranches out in the Rockies. As I understand it, the ranch was bigger than a one day horse ride in about any direction. The land down along the road had been given away to sons and hired hands but the bulk of the ranch went from about a quarter mile off the road to the mountain tops to the west. It was a BIG PLACE.
We went out and got our license and our red vests and prepared for the big hunt the next day. The main problem was weather or lack of same. For a good elk hunt you need snow in the high country. This drives the elk down the mountain and makes hunting possible without ''packin' in'' and going to the elk. Anyhow, no snow, no elk to hunt. We tried everything.............. Nothing.......
The main house there was a large brick structure with several bed rooms and a large dining area. After we had been there a few days Paul came to us and asked if we would mind going to the bunk house because he had several ''paying guests'' coming in and he would like to put them in the main house. We said ok with us and we moved to the bunkhouse. Four more guys came in and we would all eat together and then have a poker game on the dining room table. There was an Army Major, a chef from California, a rodeo person, and a guy that was a millionair that owned a chain of stores out in California. All were good guys and easy to get along with. They were paying Paul for the elk hunt which included ''feed and found''...... (food and a place to stay)
Paul told us that we would have to come back to the main house for showers because the water heater had crapped out in the bunk house. I looked it over and found that the burner was full of rust and the igniter was inproperly adjusted. I got some tools from the tool shed, took out the burner, cleaned and adjusted everything, put it back together and in thirty minutes we had hot water. Paul came over to check on us and was amazed.....
''How the heck did you fix that water heater? It has not worked in years....''
I told him that I was a ''master mechanic'' back in NC and I had tended a boiler bigger than this cabin and the principal of ''firing'' is the same........just smaller......
The next day dawned sunny and warm so no hunting that day. One of the hired hands was grumbling about a hay bailer that would run for about three minutes and then stop and he had hay to ''get up'' before bad weather set in. I asked him to show me the ''bailer''.
I grabbed a tool box and we headed for the machine which was setting in the middle of a hay field. It was a large machine with a gas engine. I looked everything over while Sweet (the hired hand) watched over my shoulder. He said that it would go for about a minute and then stop for no reason. You could let it ''set'' for about thirty minutes then it would go for a few minutes and stop again. I took a screwdriver and removed the fuel filter. It was so plugged up that I could hardly get air thru it. I took a punch and literally punched a hole thru the filter and put it back in the line. I told Sweet to give it a try and the machine fired up and he made three circles around the field without a problem. I told him that they must replace that filter ASAP and we headed back to the ''big house''.
It seems that these people know a lot about horses and cattle and very little about machinery. While I was there I fixed the starter on a jeep, the belts on two snow mobiles and several other pieces of equipment that had ''died'' on them and no one could fix.
Paul came to me and asked if I would like a job here at Terra Alta. You will be our ''fixit man''. He offered me ''feed and found'' (basic food and a small house), a truck to drive with free gas for same and 1200 dollars a month. Mind you this was back in the late sixties and twelve hundred a month was goooooood money...
He told me that one of the main problems out there was finding someone that could ''fix things'' that busted. I thought about it for a while and the next day I told him no because my wife Linda probably would not move to Colorado. He told me that the offer would stand and if I changed my mind or got another wife, I would have a job just for the asking.
We never did kill an elk on that trip but we met some wonderful people and made memories that can not be bought. Sometimes I think of the Terra Alta and wonder how my life would have turned out if Linda and I had moved to Colorado and made our living on one of the larger ranches in that area.
Such is life and memories of an old man reliving his youth.......nuff said ?..cj
Some years later we went back out to Colorado to go elk hunting. There was me and Jim and Roger and we went out for a ten day stay at the ''Terra Alta'' ranch north of Gunnison as I remember.
We took Roger's station wagon because we figured we needed a place to haul all the ''trophy'' elk racks we were sure to get. W R O N G ?...
The ''Terra Alta'' was one of those large ranches out in the Rockies. As I understand it, the ranch was bigger than a one day horse ride in about any direction. The land down along the road had been given away to sons and hired hands but the bulk of the ranch went from about a quarter mile off the road to the mountain tops to the west. It was a BIG PLACE.
We went out and got our license and our red vests and prepared for the big hunt the next day. The main problem was weather or lack of same. For a good elk hunt you need snow in the high country. This drives the elk down the mountain and makes hunting possible without ''packin' in'' and going to the elk. Anyhow, no snow, no elk to hunt. We tried everything.............. Nothing.......
The main house there was a large brick structure with several bed rooms and a large dining area. After we had been there a few days Paul came to us and asked if we would mind going to the bunk house because he had several ''paying guests'' coming in and he would like to put them in the main house. We said ok with us and we moved to the bunkhouse. Four more guys came in and we would all eat together and then have a poker game on the dining room table. There was an Army Major, a chef from California, a rodeo person, and a guy that was a millionair that owned a chain of stores out in California. All were good guys and easy to get along with. They were paying Paul for the elk hunt which included ''feed and found''...... (food and a place to stay)
Paul told us that we would have to come back to the main house for showers because the water heater had crapped out in the bunk house. I looked it over and found that the burner was full of rust and the igniter was inproperly adjusted. I got some tools from the tool shed, took out the burner, cleaned and adjusted everything, put it back together and in thirty minutes we had hot water. Paul came over to check on us and was amazed.....
''How the heck did you fix that water heater? It has not worked in years....''
I told him that I was a ''master mechanic'' back in NC and I had tended a boiler bigger than this cabin and the principal of ''firing'' is the same........just smaller......
The next day dawned sunny and warm so no hunting that day. One of the hired hands was grumbling about a hay bailer that would run for about three minutes and then stop and he had hay to ''get up'' before bad weather set in. I asked him to show me the ''bailer''.
I grabbed a tool box and we headed for the machine which was setting in the middle of a hay field. It was a large machine with a gas engine. I looked everything over while Sweet (the hired hand) watched over my shoulder. He said that it would go for about a minute and then stop for no reason. You could let it ''set'' for about thirty minutes then it would go for a few minutes and stop again. I took a screwdriver and removed the fuel filter. It was so plugged up that I could hardly get air thru it. I took a punch and literally punched a hole thru the filter and put it back in the line. I told Sweet to give it a try and the machine fired up and he made three circles around the field without a problem. I told him that they must replace that filter ASAP and we headed back to the ''big house''.
It seems that these people know a lot about horses and cattle and very little about machinery. While I was there I fixed the starter on a jeep, the belts on two snow mobiles and several other pieces of equipment that had ''died'' on them and no one could fix.
Paul came to me and asked if I would like a job here at Terra Alta. You will be our ''fixit man''. He offered me ''feed and found'' (basic food and a small house), a truck to drive with free gas for same and 1200 dollars a month. Mind you this was back in the late sixties and twelve hundred a month was goooooood money...
He told me that one of the main problems out there was finding someone that could ''fix things'' that busted. I thought about it for a while and the next day I told him no because my wife Linda probably would not move to Colorado. He told me that the offer would stand and if I changed my mind or got another wife, I would have a job just for the asking.
We never did kill an elk on that trip but we met some wonderful people and made memories that can not be bought. Sometimes I think of the Terra Alta and wonder how my life would have turned out if Linda and I had moved to Colorado and made our living on one of the larger ranches in that area.
Such is life and memories of an old man reliving his youth.......nuff said ?..cj