Southwest of town the country opens along the old Santa Fe Trail route toward Timpas, and when it snows out there the wind gets a running start across miles of shortgrass. Bryan Perrier Contracting works the snow around La Junta — plowing driveways, lots and ranch approaches, shoveling walks and entries, and treating ice on the surfaces that hold it longest. On those roads, drifting matters more than depth: a drive cleared at dawn can be crossed by a fresh white bar before mid-morning, so you go back out. The contracting habit of mind applies well here — look at the whole site, decide where the snow ought to end up, and put it there instead of somewhere you'll have to move it twice. Clear ground, an open gate, and the day goes ahead as planned.