Go on an Adventure with a Ranch Read

A few weeks into this self-isolation and looking for an escape? We wish we could tell you to escape the city, come to the ranch, hop in a saddle, and ride the mountains with us. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet. By summer, we’ll know more about life than we ever have. By summer, the horses will be ready to take you and your family on a backcountry adventure. We wish the timing on both were different. We wish we could offer you an escape now, right now, as being out town is likely what we all need. [...]

Go on an Adventure with a Ranch Read2020-04-06T22:43:40+00:00

Make it a Tech Free (almost) Reset

We often associate vacation as a time to re-connect, a time to get back in touch with the ones we love and with ourselves.  We strive to spend our time disconnected from worries of work, home, and other stressors and come home recharged and ready to tackle the world with a fresh dose of optimism.  Funny, though, that on our planet now, somehow the term "being connected" has become synonymous with "having a device in your hand."  Parents, you're just as guilty of it as your teenagers.  We are on our devices ALL THE TIME and do you really, truly, [...]

Make it a Tech Free (almost) Reset2020-04-06T22:53:49+00:00

The Story on the Boots

To start the first day of vacation at the ranch, families gather at the barn, anxiously awaiting the assignment of their horse and the adventure of their first ride of the week.  A simple trip down the ranch's dirt road is the first outing with horse and saddle for some guests.  This, our lesson ride, is when new riders learn to communicate with their horse and when they experience the first taste of the views. During this ride, many guests notice the boots that sit upside down on fenceposts along the road. "What is the story with the boots?" they ask. [...]

The Story on the Boots2020-05-05T19:28:04+00:00

DWR: Dude, We’re Riding

Frequently, you'll see three letters around here: DWR. What, you ask, does that stand for? Maybe Does Water Run? Maybe Dorks Wear Red? Maybe Dogs Wander Round? Nope, off target on all of those.  One meaning that applies is simple: Drowsy Water Ranch.  But that's not really what it means. Dig a little around here, and you'll learn that DWR is really an acronym for  "Dude, We're Riding". We do a lot of that around here. And we do it well. At Drowsy Water Ranch, we work hard to teach something about horses to each and [...]

DWR: Dude, We’re Riding2019-12-12T19:57:43+00:00

The World Needs More Cowgirls and Cowboys

Our neighbors to the north, The University of Wyoming, recently adopted a new motto that is worth some conversation when it comes to a Drowsy Water Vacation. The motto, "The world needs more cowboys", has been slightly controversial (you can google the articles), but the intended point is a good one: the world could use a few more hard-working, no-nonsense folks that can persevere with rugged individualism. At Drowsy Water Ranch, part of why we love sharing our family ranch with our guests is that we get to share this lifestyle where we get up early, we [...]

The World Needs More Cowgirls and Cowboys2019-04-30T22:15:35+00:00

Of Kids and Horses

It goes without saying that a lot of what we do here at Drowsy Water Ranch is put people on horses.  It sounds like nothing major, but when you stop and think about it, it's kind of a big deal, especially when you think that a lot of the people we are putting on horses are little people.  These cowboys and cowgirls will be on a large animal out in the wild and, for us, that is, certainly, a big deal.  It also goes without saying that we have a few horses around here.  Usually, our herd is around 120 head of horses.  Some of [...]

Of Kids and Horses2018-12-03T17:08:18+00:00

Sounds like February

Chase and I figured out something big this morning: February, we decided, must start with a 'F' because most of the words we use to describe the second month of the year also start with 'F'. Yep, it's true. Think about February. How would you describe it?  Here is what comes to mind when living at Drowsy Water Ranch in February: 1. Frigid. It is cold. It has been cold for months now. It will be cold for a few more months. Snow, ice, storms. Brrr. 2. Feeding. We have a lot of mouths around here and they all need food. Luckily, we have a lot of hay. We [...]

Sounds like February2014-01-30T20:16:00+00:00

Pumpkinlicious

I admit it. I confess. And, to Kroger stores everywhere, I am sorry. I, like many of my Drowsy Water Ranch counterparts, am a baked good snob. You see, it all started so innocently. In the summer, we just show up for lunch and dinner and end up getting spoiled. For those few, fleeting weeks that we welcome families and friends here at Drowsy Water Ranch, we also welcome to our diet homemade baked goods: homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade breads, homemade cookies, cakes, and pies. Yes, we are spoiled so much in summer that, in winter, grocery store bought baked goods just don't do the trick, [...]

Pumpkinlicious2013-11-19T19:38:00+00:00

Fall Cow-tivities

We look forward to this day every year.  Maybe its because we love to work cows, or maybe we love to get outside on warm fall days, or maybe it is just because we have a tremendously silly sense of humor, but we all enjoy the day we wean the calves using what we call the "easy-weaners".   First, we round up our herd, then separate the cows from their young.Next, we load the calves in the trailer and take them to our neighbor's house down the road. There, we run each calf through the squeeze chute and insert a really silly looking yellow tag in [...]

Fall Cow-tivities2013-10-29T16:43:00+00:00

As the Ranch Turns

We have received the phone call once or twice. "We'd like to film a reality show on your ranch. Is there any good drama?" the person on the other end asks. "Why certainly," we reply. "Do they hang out, have boyfriends and girlfriends?"he continues."Yes, of course," we say.Then, dramatically, the person asks greedily, "And do they fight over friends or lovers?"And we honestly respond, "Oh, yes. You should see them. They are so nice sometimes, grooming and necking or going for long walks together then other times they are so mean--chasing, kicking, even biting each other.""Kicking and biting?" he asks, the astonishment clear in his voice."Yes, of [...]

As the Ranch Turns2013-07-30T21:04:00+00:00