Tub time

Posted by Gordon King on Nov 28, 2011 | Comments Off

The closest house is almost a mile away.

So what’s a tub doing in the middle of a cheatgrass-covered hillside?

At first blush, a tub on the hillside makes no sense. That is, unless you know cattle. Or the history of the area.

I shot this while on assignment for a story on the restoration of the Snow Mountain Ranch.

Though it’s now a nature conservancy, the Snow Mountain Ranch was once a cattle ranch. And here, in south-central Washington, cattle need a place to water during the dry months. So instead of a traditional (or stereotypical) watering trough, a rancher recycled an old tub into a watering place for the cattle. A very sensible, economic solution for an important need.

–Gordon King