Sunday at Deer Valley Ranch

There was a nice hike this morning that Jeff and I intended to take, but instead, we took a short walk and stopped back by the corral to visit with the horses and mules. On the way to the lodge, I snapped one of my favorite pictures here – the American flag and the lodge with the Chalk Cliffs in the background.  I hope it comes out right below here, but who knows?  And here is a picture of Jeff with a very friendly horse.

 

Around 8am the breakfast bell rang and we headed into the dining room. We had French toast and Canadian bacon for breakfast, along with oatmeal, cereal, homemade granola, yogurt, fruit, like last night there was too much to list here. And lest I forget to mention a vital part of the eating here, I have to tell you that the ladies who work in the kitchen and the dining room look like they just stepped out of the Red Door. And they are as kind as they are beautiful, without exception. Some of these young ladies are permanent dining room servers, and some rotate through housekeeping and another job that I can’t remember. I can tell you that no matter what job they have, they do it joyfully and as unto the Lord, just as Scripture admonishes us to do. Can you imagine the amount of time John, Harold, and the nice ladies in the office spend putting together a crew like this?


After breakfast the children’s program and teens’ program had orientations for the parents. Yes, I’d love to have ALL those who work in the kid/teen area as Sparky leaders!


I have to take a minute and gush over the staff. They come from all over the country to work here. And those who can come back year after year, just like the guests do. We were so afraid one of our favorite Regular Wrangulars wasn’t going to make it back this year, but much to our delight, he is indeed back for his 4th year. We have many favorite wranglers. We really love them all, and it is hard to play favorites. (I’ll take any one of them for a son-in-law.) And we love all the staff girls who are models of grace and joy.


Onto the next thing. Now, here is where Deer Valley Ranch differs from most other guest ranches. No horseback riding takes place on Sunday morning. Sunday morning is reserved for worship. Our ranch host, a third generation Woolmington, led us in a worship service right here at the foot of Mt. Princeton. The staff led the music, one of the guests gave a powerful message about being in a valley and how God can turn that around, then there was more food. Sunday dinner is oven fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, biscuits, salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yumm-O!


While all the guests were enjoying more of Sue’s cooking, the Regular Wrangulars were already down at the corral, catching horses and saddling them for the rides that began at 1:30. Rides left during this window about every 10 minutes, either instructional rides or trail rides. All rides at Deer Valley are led by one of my potential sons-in-law, and some have a wrangler in the back as well, especially if the ride is a kids’ ride. It boggles my mind to think of how many things these young men have to be good at – riding, encouraging, protecting, nurturing, teaching – it seems like everything I talk about regarding the ranch involves a list of Godly characteristics.


At my insistence, Jeff did not have one of his favorite horses – Hondo or Crockett. He had a nice mule named Shoofly. I am not too keen on the idea of something under Jeff getting easily spooked and throwing him and his thinned out blood to the ground, and mules just seem to be more sure of themselves than horses. I had one of my favorite horses, Steamboat. Our wrangler was the Head Wrangler, and he was assisted by a great wrangler from the state of Alabama, who I had a great conversation with about Milo’s Sweet Tea. This ride was a refresher ride. We reviewed skills we had learned in previous years – walking, jogging, loping, not falling off, etc.


In the kids’ ride, Mariah had Adobe and Evie had Sugar, another mule. That made them both happy! The wranglers try very hard to give folks their favorite horse or mule when they can. Some horses and mules are the favorite of about a dozen people, and to be fair, everyone gets a turn with their favorite. The lesson to be learned here is that the wranglers are most concerned about safety, not with making everybody happy. Believe it or not, guests sometimes forget this and are less than kind to our sweet boys. I feel very protective over the wranglers, and it frustrates me when they are mistreated.


And then, more food. Sue and her ladies had prepared a sandwich buffet with homemade cookies for dessert. Delicious!


And then, more worship. One of my favorite activities here is the Sunday night Hymn Sing. I’ll have to admit that I’m not crazy about some of the songs (I know lots of folks love anything by the Gaithers, I don’t). But I love that the people here share my heart in appreciation for this beautiful setting and the One who created it.


After the Hymn Sing the teenagers, wranglers, some families and one 11 year old (ours) went for ice cream in Buena Vista.


And now, in the coolness of the mountain night air, I’m turning out the lights. Tomorrow is Wrangler’s breakfast. We have to be at the barn at 6:45am. Good night.