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Casper, Wyoming is labeled as "The Oil City" and many of us that live here are somehow connected to the Oil Industry.

For example, my husband sells heavy equipment to the many oil companies in this area, and at least half of my friends have loved ones that work on Oil Rigs.

Here's where I admit that until this week I only had a vague idea of what that meant.

I knew it involved hard physical labor surrounded by equipment that can injure or even kill the workers if even a small mistake is made. I know the shift work is equating and that these men and women are the backbone of Wyoming's economy.

But, this all didn't REALLY hit home until I came across a video of an oil rig worker "throwing chains".

I was suddenly sucked into a series of videos that clued me in on how truly insanely hard, working on an oil rig can be.

I thought perhaps I wasn't the only one that didn't entirely understand what the Oil Rig life entails, so below is a series of videos and explanations of what you're watching, so you too can have a better understanding and appreciation for what these people do.

@yustinjustinHere to provide y’all with the worst chain throws ##waterwelldrilling♬ Up Down (feat. Florida Georgia Line) - Morgan Wallen

What you see happening in this video is called throwing chains, it's how people used to make a drill pipe thread faster before iron roughnecks came along. This practice is less common now because it can be incredibly dangerous.

##oilfieldtrash ##oillifedad ##oilfield
♬ original sound - Dieseldoug53

In this video, these workers are pulling rods. The rod elevator clamps around the bottom of the rod and then the floorhand puts the rod wrenches on and breaks the threads loose so they can continue the process.

@dangerbird13Trippin pipe ##oilfield ##oillifedad ##roughneck ##bluecollar ##oilrig ##oilriglife ##bakken ##sendit♬ Suga Boom Boom - Down3R

This process is called "Trippin Pipe" and it involves a floorhand, an operator, and a derrick hand. The workers repeat this process until they get to the correct depth.

After I watched these videos I not only had a whole new understanding of what it means to "work on an oil rig" I also had a whole new appreciation and respect for the work that these men and women do.

And please, let's not forget the spouses that are home taking care of everything while their partners are away...

#wyomingproud #wyomingtough

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