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 your former staff can remember fondly the kitchen clean. Big messes, loud music and face masks. It’s not pretty, but it makes for some good laughs. Since it is a bit hard to cook dinner for everyone after that clean, the crew headed into Steamboat and came over to my house for dinner. Then, a bunch of them headed to the hot springs to soak away their kitchen grime and celebrate the close of the season. Today we get some more cleaning done, roll up the rugs, put out the mud mats, and then most of the staff head out for their next adventure, or just a little time off before summer.
The past couple weeks have been a mix of mud and snow and sun. We call it “Mud Season” and it did come a bit early this year. So, as we head into the off-season, we are already ahead of the game. I don’t suspect you’ll be seeing pictures of Sarah shoveling off the patio the day before we open, like you did last year. But, Mother Nature does like to remind us all of our insignificance, so you never know!
For those of you who joined us this winter, thank you for coming to play with us. As we regroup and reflect on this past winter ranch resort season, we will look at what worked well, what we can do better, and keep working towards improving the experience for all of you. Then it’s time to start getting ready for the summer dude ranch season, which is just around the corner!
Speaking of summer, I am going to start highlighting the spots we do have open still on Facebook. There isn’t much space left for the season, but there are a few spots here and there. Maybe one of them will work for you?