Marvelous Monday at Deer Valley Ranch

Monday morning always means an early wake-up time as it is the first of two Wranglers’ Breakfasts. It’s like living in the Old West, except at Deer Valley Ranch, all the work is done by somebody besides the rider. (I’m liking that!)


The basics of a Wrangler’s Breakfast are the following: get on a horse, take a ride to a beautiful meadow, eat breakfast (off of tin plates) that is freshly prepared by the extraordinary young women and men on staff, socialize with the other guests, admire the gorgeous view of Mt. Princeton, then take part in another of my favorite activities during our week here.

Kent, the cowboy minstrel of sorts (who, by the way, was a wrangler here once upon a time, met his wife here, and now works here as the official guitar player and song leader) starts out the gathering time with a song that says something like ‘If God doesn’t live in Colorado, then I guess it’s where He spends most of His time’. Which I happen to agree with, by the way.

And then, here comes Favorite Wrangler #1, riding from a clump of trees yonder with the Colorado flag whippin’ around beside him. (At this point I felt the need to slip into some cowboy-ese.) Once the Colorado flag is in place, Harold and Jake bring in Old Glory, and we have the privilege to pay due respects to her while Kent and a few others sing ‘America the Beautiful’. I just love that part. And it gets even better. Each week a wrangler is selected to share a short devotion. This week, we got to hear from a good ole Georgia boy. His main message was to let God lead, and don’t try to negotiate. He must have known I was in the crowd.

Our family loves the Wranglers’ Breakfast. The staff girls make everything feel so authentic, but they are much prettier than the Cookies of the Old West. And I am sure they are much nicer! It’s an experience that will stay with you for a long, long time.


After everybody rides back to the barn, the wranglers continue their work – they start the hourly rides right after that and work until lunch. Harold does give them the afternoon off since they have to get up so early. The last 3 years we would hear them walking down to the corral around 5:30 or so to start catching horses for the first ride out to Wranglers’ Breakfast. By then they would have already eaten breakfast, so who knows what time they had to get up, and what time the kitchen staff had to get up in order to feed them.


Monday night is Sue’s Famous Brisket night, followed by the Square Dance on the deck of the lodge. Even the kids get to take part in a few dances, then they are whisked away to do even more fun stuff with the children’s counselors. The past 3 years Jeff and I danced as much as we could – last year he gave out early so I had a lady-partner. This year, well, the Square Dance is one of the things we let go of in light of Jeff’s health. But next year – we’re there!


Another beautiful, starry night sky between Mount Princeton and Mount Antero. And another night falling asleep in our favorite place in the world.