Sunday, October 18 marked closing day for the season, and it was a flurry of activity. Our last guests checked out after breakfast, and then we had a chore list a mile long. From deep cleaning the kitchen to moving all the picnic tables into storage to taking screens off all the windows, there wasn’t a lack of jobs for anyone!
As those chores were wrapped up, the staff moved on to cleaning up and moving out of their homes. Some of them will stick around for much of the off-season as there are projects to finish before winter, horses to feed and train, and the office doesn’t shut down when we’re closed. But some are moving onto the next step in their life, and some are just heading off for a break before the winter season. The office crew had struggled to find a time to do any sort of get together over the course of the summer, so we took advantage of this quiet afternoon to grab some horses and head out for one last ride.
Mother Nature did a grand job of providing us with spectacular weather right up to closing day. Although it was much appreciated, we never expect that. October can be the most beautiful month, but we can also get plenty of weather. Well, she timed it well as around mid-day the first rain started to roll in, and it was off an on all afternoon. That didn’t stop us on our ride. We just put on the big, yellow slickers and kept going! The company was wonderful and the scenery was gorgeous.
Now it’s time to start gearing up for winter. Nate and a small crew are working on the barn loft to winterize it so we can have barn dances in the winter. Yes, you heard that right Wanda! Kelli will also be able to accommodate larger yoga classes with the loft being enclosed and heated. And there are plenty of other uses for that area that we’ll work in over time. KP, Sam, and the wranglers are preparing some horses for a sale we’re having this weekend. We’re hoping to find forever homes for some of our four-legged staff members who aren’t a great fit for dude ranch life. Beka is busying wrapping up all the hiring for the winter season. And Meagan and Devyn are rounding up the reservations for the Christmas break as well as other winter stays. Ben, Charlie and myself? Oh, we’re just kicking back eating bon bons by the pool. Or, put otherwise dealing with the exciting back end parts of the business like insurance, credit card fees, website maintenance, and financial statements. Yee haw!
Rumor has it we have an El Nino headed out way, which means lots of snow! So, we’ll hopefully open up in mid-December to a gorgeous white blanket of snow and a lot of excited guests. We hope you can be one of them.