Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

How high's the water, Momma?

by Julie Carter

Dan and Donnie were working on the Tierra Verde Ranch one exceptionally wet spring.

It had rained repeatedly. Deep mud prevailed and the ground was saturated to the hilt.

The duo had an old pickup they used to get around the ranch for feeding or whatever else needed doing. This relic had four-wheel drive, big tires, a good strong engine and a back window that was broken out.

Because of the rain and the fact that it could go most anywhere, the truck was christened Noah.

Cold, wet spring weather motivated them to acquire a new back window for Noah, which required an entire day of their time to install. The new window had a sliding glass opening which was just perfect for the special needs of cowboys, including but not limited to spitting and reaching the cooler strategically placed within reach.

The boss was gone one Saturday so Dan and Donnie decided to go to the Stephenville Horse Sale.

They didn't have any business going since individually or combined, they could not come up with $10. Nevertheless, they loaded Noah with their cooler and headed out.

When they arrived, they visited with friends, watched the sale and got caught up on the news.

On the way home, they had to pass the Ranch House Restaurant, where they noted that the parking lot was crowded with pickups. They figured it was just some of the sale barn crowd and so they decided to stop and continue the day's good time. But when they got inside, they discovered the crowd belonged to a wedding reception.

Nobody threw them out and there was food, beverage and pretty girls all dolled up in the wedding attire. Being the suave and debonair type of cowboys, they got one gal sorted out and soon had her agreeing to go with them for a ride in Noah.

The girl was a bridesmaid - fancied up in a full length formal gown that is required for such an affair. They took off in Noah with the girl in the middle, a cowboy on each side and the cooler just through the sliding window.

They were all getting along just fine. The roads were slick and the rain still falling when they came to a creek where water was rushing over the top of the road crossing.

Dan stopped the truck and a consultation was held. Donnie told Dan he had complete faith in Noah and to just take off.

Dan launched Noah into the creek and the rushing water promptly took them off the crossing and floating down the creek. Dan could feel the wheels touching bottom occasionally. It felt like the water wasn't too deep, so he didn't worry.

Eventually the girl became concerned that they might go too far down the creek. Dan climbed out Noah's sliding window, dropped a catch rope over the trailer ball and snared a big oak on the bank.

That stopped the truck from going any further. Dan sat down on the bank and watched the truck. At some point, Donnie thought Dan needed help, so he climbed out the window and joined in the sitting and watching.

Some later, the bridesmaid yelled at them from the truck. "Hey, did you guys forget something?"

Dan grabbed the rope and hand-over-hand, worked his way to the truck bed. There he rescued the cooler and brought it to the creek bank. He and Donnie had a few cool ones pondering the situation.

At some point, possibly near the end of the beer supply, it became apparent they were going to need some equipment to rescue Noah. They told the girl to stay with the truck while they went to get a tractor.

The general philosophy of "all's well that ends well" applied here. The truck was rescued, the occupant was safe and no harm was done.

However, Dan reports that that was one of the maddest women he has ever seen.

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net.