Deer Valley Ranch Extraordinary Offer!

No, seriously!  If you book the ranch package at our favorite place on earth by April 15, 2011 for your family, you can save up to 25%.  In the words of Barney Fife, "That ain't nothin to sneeze at!"

Here are a few photos to get your attention:

Crossing Chalk Creek with Adobe

Campfire up in the Rocky Mountains



Wrangler's Breakfast - paying respects to The Stars and Stripes



White water rafting on the Arkansas - included in your package!

Cogan's Ranch ride

Happy horses, happy girls

Tiny Town and the Deer Valley Ranch Players

The lodge, the Chalk Cliffs, Mt. Princeton and Old Glory

Square dancing under the stars.

This horse loves Jeff!



Sunset over Deer Valley



Our Hero! Founder of Deer Valley Ranch, Parker Woolmington.  In his 90's and still going strong!

Give me a shout and we'll fix you right up!

Space is limited so don't drag your boots, uh, feet!

719.683.8733

888.87LEGACY

Laurie@LegacyFamilyTravel.com

Journies

I never intended to contribute to this blog only semi-annually, but here I am, almost 6  months after my last entry.  My world has changed since the day I wrote that.

If you'll remember with me, I wrote about some of my travel memories that surrounded my family as I was growing up, and specifically, my Daddy.  Just a few days after writing, I got on a plane and headed for Douglasville, Georgia, to see him.  I made 3 more trips after that to see Daddy and Anne.  It saddens me to write that the next trip I made was with my husband and daughters to attend Daddy's funeral.

On January 23, 2011 he took the greatest journey of all - he went to be with Jesus.  His crossing was not as easy as I would have like for it to be, but it was time.  His lungs just couldn't support him any longer.  With the completion of his life here on earth, a new journey began for Anne, Cindy and me.

For Anne, it's kind of back to square 1, where she was when she and Daddy began their 'more than a friendship' relationship.  Her first husband had passed away in 1986 in a plane crash, so she was single for quite a long time.  Now she's single again.  I have learned so much about grace from watching her handle this whole thing.  She could have come down pretty hard on the funeral home for forgetting to take Daddy's wedding ring off before he was buried, but she was amazingly gracious.  She seems to have the right balance of grieving and living.  Her journey is a familiar one.

Cindy and I are still getting used to the fact that Daddy's gone.  He didn't look at all like himself at the funeral home - he was actually the spitting image of our Granddaddy who died in 1966 or something like that.  Neither of us have gotten past the point where we unconsciously question if all this really happened.  We still have the tendency to pick up the phone to call and tell him something.  And the realization that you don't have either of your natural parents is a pretty tough thing to deal with. 

All these steps we must take are part of our new journey.  Grieving is a journey.  But it isn't an ordinary one where you start at one place and go straight to another.  This one involves backward steps, circles, long and drawn out stops, lots of tears, and there is no rhyme or reason. I much prefer a cruise with an itinerary that shows you what port you will be at on which day.  Grieving is SO not like that.  Sometimes it's hard to put your finger on when it begins, and I'm not sure it really ever has an end.  What do you think?

My Mama passed away in 1998 from cancer.  She was 59 years old.  Her life journey was far too short in my eyes.  Psalm 139 tells me it wasn't, so I have to believe it was her time.  After her death, the journey I began was very dark, and I experienced a kind of hopelessness that I'd never felt. Often times I would say that I wished I had died with her.  I sincerely thought that I would never be happy again.  I couldn't come up with anything that I thought would ever bring me joy.  Further along in my  journey I discovered that I was wrong - we found out just 3 months after Mama's death that our Mariah would be joining us the following January.  The journey was still very difficult, but our merciful Lord gave us some sunshine to help us traverse those darkest places.


You may think this subject inappropriate for a travel blog.  I disagree.  Our lives are filled with journies.  Some are thrust upon us, others we choose.  In either one, there are memories to be made and to be held on to.

I am grateful that every time I land in Atlanta and roll past the Delta jetbase I can almost smell the jet fuel.  It brings back vivid memories of visiting the jetbase with Daddy and running through the airplanes looking for loot - playing cards, peanuts, Delta pilot wing pins, anything left behind by a forgetful traveler or stewardess (it was okay to call them that in those days).  I am grateful that Daddy cared enough about his little girls that he wanted to show us the United States.  I can't fathom that he was philosophical about travel like I am, but nonetheless, my memory bank is in good shape thanks to him. 

Having said that, oblige me by letting me say that this journey is just a little bit less traumatic.  Every day I know that God is good.  I have come to appreciate my Stepmother in a way I would never have dreamed.  The bond between my sister and me grows steadily stronger.  My extended family gives me stability like never before.  I treasure my aunts, uncles, cousins of 3 generations, and the family that God has given us through our years of moving around.

A little analogy:  I began my journey long ago expecting to end up in, say, Florida.  Everyone goes to Florida. But as my family has changed through time, I feel like I have ended up with something kind of foreign and exotic - a Disney Cruise instead of Florida.  Both are fabulous, both can offer extraordinary rewards and experiences.  A Disney Cruise is not what I expected and can be a little scary at first. After all, my friends went to Florida. But once I get used to the idea I will begin to find its positives. For now, it is my job to make the most of my Disney Cruise.  My Florida may await me in heaven.

I have waxed on and on about life's journies.  In my next blog (which I hope will be written in less than 6 months!) I want to share with you about a journey of another kind - our recent Western Caribbean cruise on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam. 

Two Cowgirls and a Misfit

You would think that in our fourth year here, we would have experienced everything there is to do by now at Deer Valley Ranch. Well, as Trail Boss Harold says, if you try to do everything they offer here in one week, it’ll kill you. So Tuesday morning I got to do something brand new to me.

 Mariah and one of my nieces were going on the Cogan’s Ranch ride. This particular ride is not a trail ride like most other trail rides. The riders are permitted by a local ranch owner to walk, jog and sometimes lope their horses through a huge pasture and into a Pinion Pine forest. The fun thing is that you get to make your own trail. Jeff was planning to go with the girls, but he wasn’t feeling up to it. Early Tuesday morning I made arrangements with the wranglers for me to take his place. (And being the benevolent guys they are, they allowed me to do that. More evidence of how wonderful they are!)


The first thing that happens is that the wranglers load up the horses in trailers to drive out to Cogan’s Ranch. I find that a fascinating part of the whole thing. Horses are naturally claustrophobic, but somehow the ultra-talented wranglers over the years have managed to train Deer Valley horses and mules to just walk right in. Then we riders pile in the trucks for the short ride out to the pasture.


So for two hours, between Mt. Princeton and Mt. Antero, the girls and I got to pretend we were real cowgirls. I think my favorite part was watching these two girls that I love so much socialize with the other girls on the ride, which in itself isn’t too unusual, but they were doing it on horseback. They would gather with a few other girls, talk and laugh for a minute, and the next thing I knew, they would go flying by me to get to the front of the pack. And then they would repeat. Now call me sentimental, but when I see my girlies enjoying themselves like that, and I see the looks of pure delight on their faces, their hair trailing behind them as it is caught by the wind, it really makes me hope that their grandmothers in heaven can see how beautiful they are. It is one of the most sacred moments I experience as a mom and an aunt. God must love me a lot to let me be a part of these young lives.


On the way back to the horse trailer, our two perspective sons-in-law, uh, I mean, wrang-u-lers allowed us to jog some and lope some. I loved watching the girls lope (or gallop). When their horses lope, they revel in it. When mine lopes, I hang on for dear life! Kind of reminds me of one of those roller coasters that shoots out of the loading area at 60 mph. Rock-n-Rollercoaster anyone?


During our ride I was attempting to take some pictures. Since I was mostly snapping pictures while my horse moved, some of the pictures didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped. I got some good pictures of the ground, a really clear shot of a horse’s head but no rider, and I have several of the back of Sage’s head and ears. Sage was my horse for that ride. I did manage to get a few good ones, and I’ll post them here.

Shoofly the Mule and Favorite Wrangler #1 having a talk while Dustin loads somebody  into the trailer.

 

Loading the horses into the trailer at Deer Valley Ranch.

Our Super Excellent Head Wrangler, Dustin, giving us 'the talk' before we ride.

My two beauties, their horses, and Sage's head.

For these two, this is what Deer Valley Ranch is all about.

 

Our new friend Brenda and authentic-looking cowboy Matt.

A real horsewoman, Mariah and her favorite horse, Misty.

Cowboy Matt from Texas and a beautiful Colorado Sky.

A Nameless Wrangler who is a fantastic trick rider.
Yes, his horse is moving while he stands there.

One of these things is not like the other.
As promised, Two Cowgirls and a Misfit - me.

Our last picture at Cogan's Ranch.
Notice the future wrangler holding Shoofly, Brenda's mule.

We got back to the ranch in time for Mexican Buffet – a legend in the annals of Deer Valley History. I love all of Sue’s cooking, but if we had Mexican Buffet every day, I’d be happy. Another legend here is Sue’s Peach Punch. Now you have to know that every day she makes a different punch. But every day, Jeff asks for Peach Punch. Well today, one of our super excellent hostesses managed to procure Jeff a top secret glass of Peach Punch. We’ve decided to adopt her.



Tuesday afternoon was a restful time. The rain was falling a little bit, which dictated that I have a nap. So I did. I was able to work up an appetite with my nap. Dinner was homemade pizza. The kids sat at one table, the teens at another, and adults got to sit with other adults and have adult conversation.

We sat with some Texans, a native of Vermont who once lived in Texas (She told a hysterical story about tying dogs around her waist to protect her from snakes while hanging out laundry. It became even funnier when someone at the table with us didn’t understand that she tied their leashes around her waist, not the actual dogs themselves.), and a lady from South Africa. What a great dinner it was. As always, the food was over the top, and the company was just as satisfying. Sitting with a group of adults who share your faith while on vacation is a real treat. There is no profanity, there are no crude and offensive jokes. Just Jesus loving people who know how to have fun.

Guests also have the option to choose the Steak Ride on Tuesday evening. Harold takes riders up the Colorado Trail to a clearing where a steak dinner is cooked and served by the staff, followed by some Harold-driven entertainment. Harold reminds me of Wilford Brimley, the Quaker Oats man, except he has a very good sense of humor. After dinner the group makes its way back to the ranch via a pretty steep path down the ridge – lots of switchbacks, but well worth it when you see the Colorado sunset.


John’s history talk takes place every Tuesday night. We try not to ever miss that. He seems to know everything about every Colorado explorer, every Colorado town, and every Colorado mine there is. Last night was my 4th history talk to hear, and each one has been different. I’m dying to put together a home school field trip out here and let our kids experience a real historian.


After the history talk, we uncharacteristically did not go to bed but went into Buena Vista in search of a high speed internet signal. Never did find a good one, but we got some fabulous ice cream at K’s Dairy Delight.

Oh, one thing about Buena Vista. The lady who named the town was not of Hispanic descent. She named it to be pronounced with a ‘ue’ sound, like in the word Beulah, not with a ‘w’ sound. And Vista is to be pronounced with a short ‘i’ sound, not ‘veesta’. So if you think you hear the locals mispronouncing it, well, it’s us from the outside that don’t know how to say it.


And then we caught some z’s.

Hilton Offers Money Back Guarantee for Gulf Coast Hotels

Lots of folks have reservations (some non-refundable) for Hilton family hotels in the Gulf Coast. If you are one of them, you can rest easy about your vacation versus the oil. Hilton is offering a Money Back Guarantee on all of their Gulf Coast hotels. These include Hilton, Hampton Inn, DoubleTree, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites and Hilton Grand Vacations.

Don't be afraid to make a reservation and take off for a great family vacation! You are protected by Hilton's desire to earn and keep your business. In fact, I'd say this might be a really good time to go as the beaches will be less crowded due to the fear surrounding the oil spill.

All you Madison/Huntsville and Atlanta folks ought to take advantage of this. Call me for more details. 888-87LEGACY.