Keeping It Close.

     Mud. It’s muddy. And wet. And kind of dirty come to think of it. But amazingly enough, the combination of  water and dirt has no effect on the smiles around here. Even when ya gotta work in it. You always can manage to find some play time as well! Entering the Kid-at-Heart zone. It also makes it difficult to discern between our paint horses… …and our wannabe paint horses. Busted Rimrock! But regardless of the rain, there are still muzzles that need kissed, work to be done, And trails to be rode! Oh and while we’re at the barn, check out one of our newest boys—Conagher! Isn’t he a handsome boy? The majority of our new guys are on the trail already and  all being loved by our guests!      Our baby Bill has also been enjoying his new home in the kids’ program this summer. And as crazy as it sounds, this little calf adopted our black sheep Ebony as his Mamma! What a pair they are, eating their meals and together and snuggling at night. And speaking of snuggles…… Horse snuggles. (No need to explain.) Lure snuggling. (Getting closer with your fishing poles. Not so much the lures. Hopefully.) Drink snuggling (Embracing your favorite beverage.) Rein snuggling. (Getting good and familiar with those leather steering devices.) Spoon snuggling. (Hunkering down with some dessert after dinner.) And snuggling the ones you love. (Also self-explanatory if you’re doing it right!)      And to show you the difference, here is a not-so-snuggly shot. Seeing the difference here?  Choctaw is giving her best “stink eye”. Maybe she thinks she’s having a bad hair day and doesn’t want her picture taken. But in truth, we happen to know—she is not a fan of our photographer’s horse beside her! Moving on! Here are some shots from another of our Kids’ All Day Ride. So. Much. FUN. Even a pair of golden eagles joined us for a spell! Then after lunch we headed for the dunes! Then headed for home! What an office view huh?      Well, well, well!!  We’re sure many of you remember this wonderful lady! We got an absolute surprise when our former kid’s wrangler Kirsten showed up for a long weekend to say hello and share the trails with us for a few days. What an incredible treat!! She is now working full time in Wisconsin in sports medicine and although we miss her like crazy, we’re happy she’s getting to do more things she loves and thrilled we  get to have her for as long as we can!      So allow us to return to the snuggling thing. It’s truly a theme. How about snuggling up with some comfort food? Well around here, we provide some opportunities to get up close and personal with one of our favorites—Cheri’s flying blueberry pancakes! (Umm….we recommend NOT wearing a white shirt that morning…) INCOMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Blueberry down! Try it again! And if it’s the last pancake left…       ……you GO for it!! (Nice work Roy!) A few more photos of some of the fun!      Now here’s something you don’t see everyday. Aliens. (It explains so much….oh and if you DO see aliens everyday uhhh…then disregard the first statement. And perhaps be wary of current roaming charges for “phoning home”.)      Here you can see this UFO stalking one of our guest while fly fishing. Comforting huh? For a brief moment we wondered if there’d been a “hatch” on the river we weren’t aware of (that’s gonna catch a BIG fish!) ….but alas THIS giant fly comes with an operator. Oh! And an entire camera crew.      We were pleased to have the fellas from Root Sports come take promotional photos and video here at the ranch to promote our Colorado baseball team, the Rockies. These guys contacted us to get real Colorado footage highlighting some of the best of the true west our state has to offer. They spent a morning filming our horses and wranglers working and bringing in the herd, along with filming our guests getting some morning fishing in. And this “little” baby is a droid to get the filming shots from a whole nother angle! We had good luck that morning on the river including this beauty that Roy pulled in! Nice work! Dang fishermen paparazzi. What a curse to be so skilled at fishing and be hounded by filming crews so relentlessly. A trial of the talented we suppose… We did set up a few shots for them as well. River crossings are definitely within our abilities so we set the cameras up at several angles… Even some sketchy ones. And some high ones! “And ROLL ‘EM!” Uh….only to find it was a bit too muddy in this spot……hahaha!…RETREAT! So we tried again. And got it right this time! Oh the things a filming crew will do for the right shot.      After a dozen takes we sent the wranglers back to their morning routines and the crew headed back to the Front Range. A fun, different way to start the day and so nice to have such great models—thank you Lauren, Cory and Mark!     On a closing note, if you’re interested in squeezing in an extreme hike while you’re in Colorado, our state is home to fifty-three 14ers—which are peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation. There are dozens within just a couple of hours and “easily” done as a half day excursion. Just be prepared to hit the trail early to summit before the afternoon storms roll in. The last place you want to be in a thunderstorm is above 14,000 feet! If anyone is ever interested, many of our staff and even guests have experienced several of the trails and could give you more information. Here, Tammy and her sister-in-law Cassie headed for the peaks of Gray’s and Torrey’s in honor of Tammy’s brother and Cassie’s husband, Jason, who worked for us for several years and passed away in an accident a year ago last May. He was one adventurous soul and to keep his adventure going, Tammy has been peaking as many summits as she can. So wonderful to have Cassie join her for a double-header and it gave us a few pictures to be able to share of the incredible Colorado views these climbs can offer. They are not for the faint of heart though, so if you’re interested in getting one in while you’re here, start getting in shape now and be prepared to take it slow when you get here. Heading up!      And they made it! We think of you often Jason and all the memories you created here for countless of our guests. Your adventure still continues and you inspire us to live it to the fullest. We miss you little brother. Don’t forget that whole snuggling the ones you love thing! And when you’re trying to decide when the right time to take a vacation is—do it now. You can always make more money. You won’t always have the chance to make memories. We are truly honored we can offer so many people that lasting gift here at the ranch. Adventure on!