Dude ranch people are "different"! Well, a lot of folks see us that way. But it's not a bad thing. On more than one ocassion we have been told how lucky we are, how exciting our lives are! You won't get any arguements there from us "hard core" ranchers. But sometimes folks can't see the real work that goes on at a
Wyoming dude ranch like ours. Starting weeks before our first guests arrive to weeks after they leave we are a busy family. And I use the word family because being at the L&B is like that, at least for most of us!
Our days are not 8-5, with Saturday and Sunday off. And you wear many different "hats". Even if you were hired to be a dining room server, that does not mean you won't be called on to help clean cabins or mow grass. Wranglers get up long before our guests crawl out of their cozy beds to feed the horses, "wake up" the corral and then they can have that first cup of hot coffee. It doesn't matter what the weather is like out there, that is the first thing for them. If there is a sick or injured animal, then their job turns into 24 hours a day until all is well. When the guests have an afternoon off to enjoy the pool or simply relax on the front porch, Wranglers are loading up several tons of hay to bring back to the ranch. Dining room staff usually ends their day around 10 pm and housekeeping....that too is 24-7 because ya' never know what "surprises" may happen!
The reason I point all of this out is because sometimes (not often) we run across someone who thinks it is all play and no work! Banish that thought!
But, having said all of that, let me tell ya' about some of our perks! Walking to work (no gas, no traffic jams, no loud radios and definately no drive thru windows), just the sounds of an early Wyoming morning. Hot coffee enjoyed quietly with your ranch family made even sweeter by the fire in the big old cast iron stove. Communication. Someone asking "how are you today?" and really meaning it!
The aromas coming from the kitchen ( perhaps ocassional swearing when the cook burns his fingers or the bacon :)....yep, it happens folks! :) We are, after all, only human!
Walking into the lodge to check on the fireplace and finding the early risers in there soaking up the peace and simply being in that moment in time. I often wonder what goes through their minds as they sit there.
When we get a break, we sit back on a bench, lay on a shady spot of ground or take a quick hike into the hills (we don't have a "break room" here, ours is wide open spaces). At night we don't go to town to enjoy the nightlife. Usually you can find us around a campfire laughing and visiting....connecting.
Our cell phones are used mostly as alarm clocks, we watch movies only when the weather is stormy and if someone brought a TV w/ a DVD player. Sometimes we use that as catch up on sleep time! And we all rediscover the art of reading a good book! Amazing!
We ride horses, we take trips into the Tetons or Yellowstone, we hike, we swim in the frigid Wind River or perhaps the pool (which seems too "civilized" for us), we fly fish. Even if we are "off" you will probably find us visiting with the guests, learning about them and their homes and families! They bring the world here for us to enjoy.
Do we work hard? You bet your sweet bandana we do! Do we work 8-5? Nope, usually 6am-10pm, 51/2 days a week with some breaks thrown in here and there!
And when we start our day we can honestly say that it is NOT just another day at the office.
But most of us wouldn't have it any other way!
