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That's life on one of the 2,100 oil and gas land derricks in the United States. Delta Petroleum's site south of here is no different.

After driller Bryan Otero, 23, finishes a shift, "I go right to camp and go to sleep."

The Montpelier, Idaho, man is one of 20 workers drilling for natural gas here on the Klickitat County plateau.

Often called roughnecks, they work 12-hour shifts, spending 10 days at the site and 10 days off. The work is physically and mentally demanding, not to mention dirty and greasy. It's often done in high winds, scorching heat and bitter cold.

When not on the rig, the men -- and rig hands are almost always men -- eat, watch satellite TV and sleep dormitory style in air-conditioned mobile homes.

"Being a roughneck is not in everybody's blood," says Gregg Tubbs of DHS Drilling, a Casper, Wyo., company contracted by Delta to drill an exploratory well, often called a wildcat.

But demand is high for the workers, as rising natural gas prices push more companies to search for reserves.

In Wyoming, where the cost of living is relatively low, typical wages for a driller like Otero start at $30 an hour, according to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. Even roustabouts, entry-level workers who handle most of the grunt work, start at $19 an hour.

In the Mountain states, drilling companies, community colleges and Job Corps programs offer training. DHS pays medical benefits and offers 401(k) retirement programs.

Otero, who spends his 10 days off visiting his 2-year-old son at home, says he likes the money and admits the work would make a decent career.

But, "it would be nice to go home every single night," he adds.

The work also is dangerous, even with stringent safety rules and guidelines. DHS and most other companies allow no alcohol and prescribe random drug tests for their employees.

For example, the derrick man -- a hand that climbs part way up the 145-foot tower to sort 90-foot lengths of steel pipes in slots called the monkey board -- harnesses himself into a zip line leading away from the structure. In case of a blowout caused by unexpected pressure in the well, he can simply slide to safety.

The drilling industry has a web of subcontractors and consultants.

David Deans is the boss, or "EL-JEFE" as it reads on his name tag. It's a joke from his family, not the employees.

Deans works for Sierra Engineering as Delta's representative. DHS has it's own foreman, called the tool pusher, for the men.

The North Carolina father of two spends 20 days on-site and 10 days off. He usually flies home for his rest.

Then there's Fred Sanders, 41, a contract welder from Casper.

He stays at a hotel in Sunnyside, a good 50 miles away, during his time on to prevent burnout. His shifts run anywhere from four hours to 28 hours at a time.

By the end of his two-week rotation, he's ready to go home to his wife and three children.

"I always get agitated toward the end," he says. "You learn to cope with it, though."