By Steph
First of all, welcome to our new website! It just went live on May 15, and we’re excited to share it with all of you. This new site brings us several new features. Most notably, you can remove your high powered magnifying glasses while you view it on a mobile device, as it is a mobile friendly site. Second, it allows us to showcase the beauty of the ranch with big, amazing photos. We’re learning that those big, amazing photos aren’t helping our load time…..so a little work still to be done. Lastly, it has some fun features that are just plain cool. Have you checked out the ranch tour? I love the fun sort, and the expanded views of each cabin, room, or building. Or the Summer dude ranch activities? There’s a lot of info on the site, but hopefully it helps potential guests get a good feel for who we are, as well as makes it fun for all you returners to keep tabs on the crew at the ranch. Please feel free to send any feedback my way. The joy of websites is that they can be tweak and tinkered with even once live.
Springtime at the ranch is part excitement and part frantic. The whole valley is coming alive. Bright green leaves are popping out on the aspens. Wildflowers are peeking through. The grass it growing at a mad pace. Tiny calves dot the pastures along the Elk River Valley. And little foals are showing up down at the mare barn. There is just so much life. On top of that, we are anticipating the arrival of our staff for orientation next week, projects are coming to completion as we near opening day, and everyone here is gearing up to be ready for May 31, when our first guests arrive. Which leads me to the frantic part of it. There is never enough time to get it all done! It’s a little like knowing the freight train is coming at you, and at some point you just have to jump on and blow the whistle.
Before starting orientation next Tuesday, there was some pre-orientation happening. Talitha has come in to learn the ins and outs of the dining room from Bubba, as he hands off the Head Server role to her in order to focus more on wine service and formal dinner service. Don’t worry, you’ll still see plenty of Bubba, but he’ll have a more focused role this summer, and Talitha will be the ringleader of the servers. Then, as Nate has shifted over to help Bill out with the maintenance projects and overseeing our safety programs (can you say OSHA?), KP has stepped into the barn to head up the wrangler crew. That crew came in a few days early for a wrangler clinic with KP and Mandy. For the Nate fan club, never fear. You’ll still get a chance to ride or hike with him as he jumps in to guide here and there. And, there’s no way we’ll get him off of cows come the cattle round-up in September.
One of the projects I am so excited about is our outdoor dining. Long story, but we spent much of the winter brainstorming and mapping out new ideas to improve the layout, design, and feel of our outdoor dining area. Today, we unloaded three of the new pieces of “furniture” that we’ll be using on the patio. When I say “furniture”, I’m talking about pieces the required 4 strong guys to unload off the trailer. They are absolutely fantastic, and we are so excited to get it all set up! I know, where are the photos you say? I was too busy unloading and directing traffic to remember to get some. So, guess you just have to come out here to see them for yourself!
If you don’t already have plans to join us for a ranch vacation this summer, it’s not too late. There are a few cabins that are left to be filled, and we’ve had some cancellations here and there that open up other spots. Give Meagan a call or send her an email to grab your spot. It’s going to be such a fun summer!