Rez 101

I decided to make the least comprehensive list of complaints from my vacation on the rez.

#1) There is dust and dirt literally everywhere
No, I'm not using "literally" as a Kardashian interpretation, but in the actual literal sense. Since I am blind as a bat, I was quite surprised my lens lasted as long as they did. By the end of the day, I had to rinse the dirt from my mouth and wipe the accumulating dust from my glasses.

#2) You need a sturdy vehicle
Sure I have a cute lil Focus, but on rez terrain, not so cute. I've always wondered why a diesel truck was necessary and use to question my dad constantly, but no more. There were many times I was glad to be in an all terrain vehicle as I knew if I had my car, it would've gotten: stuck, sunk, scratched, flipped/damaged by overly affectionate horses, etc.

*Side note: Since the nearest store is about twelve miles away, you better make sure the gas comparable to the destination (trust me on this, not fun to wait for someone to get gas because you forgot to fill the tank, in 92 degree weather).

#3) The animals
Not that animals are bad or anything -some do know how to use the crosswalk. But, there are animals right and left, leaving one driving at night with a sense of uneasiness. There have been far too many "close calls" for me at night, so I just don't drive at night anymore.

I've been promoted to what my family affectionately calls an "elker". As an elker you have one, and only one duty, to watch for any animal on the roads day or night. (This moniker came about when driving through Payson and the enormous amounts of elk in the roads, so really it should be changed to "cower" for the rez)  The drive between where I live and my parents is about 6 hours, so it's quite a bit of driving we do. (My mom kept falling asleep, so she was demoted from being an elker, so be sure to choose your elker wisely).

#4) Water
Most of us do not think of water as a luxury and how accessible it is for (most of) us. The animals at the ranch need water, and a lot of it. If the windmill is broken, or not functioning correctly, where do we get water? (Hint: see side note for #2) Yes, you have to haul water.

Water (for human consumption) is not set up at the ranch, so if I stay there, guess where the water comes from? Yes, we have to haul it from my parents' other home. It doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it is. Think about how much water you use and waste daily. I learned really quick to take the elusive 7 minute shower (What? I'm not magic, that's the fastest I can take a shower). When I returned to my home in Gilbert, I had a new sense of awareness. When I look at our pool, I think about all the water wasted by evaporation and how many cows and horses could've benefitted from the water I wasted. Then I remember when I was almost chased by an angry cow (tagged #23 with evil beady eyes) for feeding the horses watermelons.

Note to self: Cows get jealous.