Feels Like Home to Me
The word home has embedded itself deeply in both my head and heart since moving back to Vista Verde last month with my husband, Cholly…
Cowboys and Kayaks
An unlikely combination, cowboys and kayaks, yet it was reality at the ranch this week. During our orientation weeks, we do try to have a bit of fun. After spending all day packing information into their brains, it’s nice for the staff to laugh a bit, have some fun and blow off a bit of…
The dude ranch staff map
It’s that time of year again. It’s the time of year when Dace pulls out the big map, and we start sticking pins in it. Twice a year (once in summer, once in winter), during orientation, the first morning is spent getting to know the crew who will be working for the ranch that season.…
Made in America
Charlie, Kyle, Carson and Jason have been busy working on our new cattle pen. The pen is about 3 times the size of our old one, and designed so we can more easily move cattle in and out. What I found to be the coolest thing about this pen is that the wood harvested and…
The baby stories
Nicky guest blogs for us this week. She has spent the spring keeping an eye on the broodmares and helping with the new foals. Her fun stories will give you more insights into foaling season at Vista Verde. We have talked about having some pregnant broodmares this year with our own studs Whiskey and Gunny.…
Signs of Spring
I returned from a great vacation yesterday, and it was so great to be back at the ranch. It’s amazing how the place can change so fast. When I left, there were still little bits of snow on the hillside behind the cabins, some here and there in the pastures, and plenty of mud. Upon…
Prisoners, mustangs and a dude ranch?
The real West is still alive and kicking at Vista Verde! But, it’s alive in a much more civilized fashion these days. Terry and Reid just returned from a trip to the Front Range to check out some new horses for the ranch herd. The guys had been put in touch with the man who…
Mending the Fence
It’s that time of year. The mud is oozing around as the snow melts, and the ranch has a quiet hush as there are no guests and very few staff. As much as we are all people orientated folks who work here, it is nice to have some down time to get projects done, regroup…
Closing down the ranch
Wow, it seems like just a couple weeks ago that I was blogging about our winter dude ranch season kicking into gear with orientation for the staff. The winter did fly by. Yesterday our Horsemanship retreat guests checked out and we completed to final steps to closing down the ranch for the season. Any of…
Emily’s Backcountry Ski adventure
Knees bent, arms out, holding tightly to the metal bar in front of me, I could feel the slippery wind at my ears and feel the bumps in the road making my arm muscles tense and release over and over again. Who knew that today I’d be riding on the back of a dog-type sled…