At the Vee Bar: BBQ in the John Wayne Saloon

Tonight Brent and Dan played their guitars for the guests after burgers in the John Wayne Saloon.

Brent and Dan tune the guitars.

Brent playing solo.

Dan, mid-song.

Dan, mid-song again, with Brent playing background music.

Grandpa Tommy and baby Bailey (Kari and Brent's 5 month old daughter).  Both were about ready to fall asleep!

Dan and Brent playing "Much Too Young"  by Garth Brooks.

At the Vee Bar: The First Ride

This is the first ride I have gotten to take since I have been here.  With the day off, I got to join the guests on two rides today.  The first consisted of going off the back of the property up onto a small mountain that overlooks the ranch.  We had to cross several streams, which was a first to me, and very fun.  After lunch we got to go out a second time.  This time was a much shorter ride but we got to do plenty of loping (basically, a slow gallop, which was also a first to me).  This ranch is very different and is not your typical style of "trail riding.  You get to ride up mountains, ride next to people and chat, cross rivers, and trot and lope.  You do not have to ride in the typical "head to tail, single file" line.  These pictures were taken by one of our guests and she was gracious enough to let me have them.  Thanks Nancy!

The horses being herded in early in the morning.  Every morning two of the wranglers go and round them up out of the pasture and bring them into the corral.

Dan, bringing in the last of the herd.  There are about 30 horses owned by the Vee Bar.  There are about 10 others that are leased for the summer.

Brent saddling up one of the horses, Lucky, for a morning ride.  This is Nancy's horse for the week.

Wrangler, Tommy, and some of the guests on top of a small mountain overlooking the Vee Bar Guest Ranch.  I got to go along on this ride.

The view from atop the mountain, overlooking the Vee Bar Ranch.

We gave the horses a rest once on top of the mountain.  You can see for miles up here.

My ride, CJ, and I waiting for the rest of the guests.

There are several bald eagles that live on the property.  This bald eagle has a nest that it shares with its mate.   In the nest lies a baby bald eagle.  You can see them everyday out here. 

Kit and Kaboodle, the miniature donkeys that Brent is training to lead a miniature wagon.  This is the first time they have every been hooked up to it.

This is Brent giving a demonstration on how to work with the horse in a round pen.  The round pen is for training and working with the horses to get them to do what you want them to.

Sampson and Goliath the real team.  These two horses team up to pull the hay wagon ride for the guests.

Tommy teaching one of our guests how to drive the team.  This is Nancy; the photos in this posted we all courtesy of her.

This is one of our guests who brought her own Arabian horse to the ranch.

The Vee Bar

Number 1, Work at a dude ranch, check!  At the Vee Bar people pay thousands of dollars per night.  Included is horseback riding, fly fishing, river tubing, hiking, 3 meals a day, and a cozy little cabin.  I love it here.  The people are so nice, so here is my first set of pictures, of hopefully, many more sets to come.  Tomorrow will be my first ride.  Some of the cool things about this place is that you get your own horse for the entire week, you get to ride every day, and its not a typical trail ride.  You can ride to your own experience and style, it's not the typical nose to tail, stay in a single file line type of riding.  I cannot wait.

The Little Laramie River, which everyone keeps telling me will be flooding soon.

My buddy, Kaya, likes to follow me around while doing landscaping.  She is great at picking up sticks and running off with them.  I didn't realize that chasing the dog would be part of my job.  She sure is cute, though, part Lab, part Australian Shepherd.  Kaya is Dan's dog, one of the young wranglers that was hired on for the year.

Riverside suites, these little cabins are actually duplexes located right next to the lodge.

The John Wayne Saloon, where everyone meets up for cocktail hour just before dinner.

After the horses are herded across the river and into the corral the wranglers pick out the horse best suited to each riders style and personality.

A little curiosity

Divinity's backside.  This is Kari's horse. (the boss lady)

A place to practice roping, next to the barn.  By the end of the summer, I will be able to rope this little guy.

At least 40 bridles....

At least 40 saddles....Each rider gets to use the same saddle for the duration of their stay, so each saddle is numbered.  This way they do not have to change the stirrups throughout the week.  I have never seen so many saddles and bridles in one room, not even at Murdoch's.  (The local ranch and home supply store)

A young bucksin that came to greet me at the barn.   I don't know all of their names.....yet....

This is GOLIATH.  Look at the size of those hooves!  Goliath is a part of a two horse team that pulls a hay wagon ride for the guests.  Brent, the manager, plays the guitar on the ride.

Goliath again, scratching his butt.

The Vee Bar Lodge and the front yard.  No, I don't have to mow this.

One of several old wagons in the yard.

The outside of the saloon.  This saloon is decorated by gifts that previous guests have sent to the Vee Bar.  They all have something to do with John Wayne.

Horse shoe wind chimes, homemade and incredibly light.

The back of the lodge where we grill out.

The Little Laramie.....Not so little.  It gets a little bit higher every day.  So, sadly, I have not gotten to fish it yet.   Everyone says it is great fishing, however.

Riverside suites.

Mountain Biking Saul's Creek

In May, as soon as school was out, Andrea and I took our bikes out the back of mom's property which is all part of National Forest in Saul's Creek.  There are tons of trails back there, so we thought we would try one out.    Unfortunately, the trail was all downhill, so you know what that means on the way back.  It was a fun ride, though, on a nice day, even Beau was able to keep up!

What a ham!

Beau

Thirsty dog drinks like a person.

Andrea and I

Why start a bucket list?

This past year has been the hardest of my life.  Since Maddie's death I have made the conscious decision to live the happiest life I can.  Over the past several years, I have been creating a bucket list.  I have been adding things to it, but never crossing things off.  After the death of Maddie, Billy, and my grandmother, in the past year, I have decided that life is too short to be unhappy and being "too busy" to make things happen, is no excuse.  Now I am going to make it happen, and not only add things to my list, but also, start accomplishing them.  So, as I go through the adventures on my bucket list, I will share all of them with you.  I want to inspire people to make their own bucket lists because you never know when your time on Earth is up!  Good luck!