Home Sweet Home

Burns homestead

With the ranch closed for a couple weeks in August, I headed back to New York to wrap up loose ends and get some quality family time in. My flight didn't leave ABQ until 4pm and then I had to transfer in Vegas which I didn't enjoy because I lost $5 in about 30 seconds. Luckily I transferred quickly to my flight to Buffalo but then I didn't arrive until 1am. After some rest, it was non stop for the two weeks I was home. Tuesday I went with Mom, Dad and Felix to the New York Farm Days so Felix could look at all the tractors. I hadn't been in years so it was nice to check it out (and drink some delicious raspberry apple juice).

Farmer Felix

Wednesday I went back to KJT for a farewell lunch. I was a bit nervous but when I walked in the door it was like I never left. I even got to participate in some water balloon tossing to celebrate the Olympics. It reminded me of how much I love that place and those people and how much fun I had there. It was bittersweet to walk out the door with my cardboard box of belongings but I was excited for the future. Friday I got a much needed massage to iron out all the kinks I've worked up being on horseback 6 hours a day. Sunday I got to participate in the Silver Ball Tournament. I was glad I was able to make one game. There was no quarter given by Ma though as she got me out at third. She's a hell of a shortstop.

Priscilla Porters

Monday I was so excited to drive down to Falconer, NY and visit my friend Amy and her family. She had recently moved back after living in Boston for the last several years so it was great to see her and her new house. It was gorgeous with a barn and surrounded by cornfields and with horse and buggies going by. I loved spending time with her and her husband and kids. Wednesday I finally conquered my yard. It's amazing how overgrown it was even with the lack of rain and people taking care of it. I hauled two truckloads to the dump and was very pleased with my progress. I realized how much I'd missed mowing a lawn! 

Mopar in the Fury

Thursday the entire family drove down to Perry in the Fury, Roadrunner and Camaro. It was super cruise night so it was cool to see all the old cars. Earlier that day we had taken Felix to the Charlotte carousel so I could get my horseback riding fix in :)

Riding the wooden pony

Saturday morning the girls and I headed out to get pedicures in preparation for Cyd and Kevin's wedding. It felt nice to be pampered after being a cowgirl all summer. The wedding was amazing and it was nice to be able to see everyone and share what I've been up to. Amber and I danced the night away.

The siblings

The entire time I was home it was so hot and muggy. I'd forgotten how awful humidity feels. I broke down and installed an AC unit on Thursday because my house became unbearable. My last night at home the weather finally broke and it dropped into the 70s. Leaving was just as brutal as I had to get up at 3:30 am to drive to Buffalo for my flight. It was nice to step out in ABQ to the dry heat. I stopped in T or C before going back to the ranch to get myself a real cowboy hat. In all my years of cowboying I have never had a real hat, instead sticking with the "Fester" look. However I felt it was finally time to commit and get a real one. With that it was back to the ranch where I drove past a bald eagle at the lake which I took as a good omen for what's to come!

My new hat

A New Chapter

This has been quite the summer of change for me. I started out with the intent of helping Meris and Seth out at their ranch for a couple months. As the summer progressed though, it became clear to me that I had found my way back to doing something I love.

Summer 2005

It all began when Meris and I met working at a dude ranch in Colorado in 2005. I worked there for 2 summers and fell in love with the West and ended up moving out to Colorado after graduating. Meris was still working at the ranch for a third summer when she convinced me to quit my first real grown up job and come back and be a wrangler for the summer (do you see a pattern with Meris here ;) ). Over the years as I moved back East and got my MBA and started a career and bought a house I kept in touch with Meris (who had since bought Geronimo Trail) and had gone back to visit multiple times. She asked me every so often to come out and work but I always had an excuse. I was always thinking of her out there living her dream though.

Summer 2006

So this past May when Meris emailed and asked me to come and work my first thought was actually 'yes!'. It all happened so quick that my original plan was to just quit my job and find something else when I got back in August. However, I was offered to take a leave of absence for the summer and come back to my job in August. I was floored and obviously accepted since I figured I could just live my dream for a few months and come back to reality. I just assumed dude ranching was a chapter of my life that I had already closed.

My first visit to Geronimo in 2007

When I arrived in New Mexico, I jumped right back into wrangling and housekeeping and other vagaries of ranch life. I was back in the saddle again! It wasn't until the first time it rained though that I was immediately flooded with scent memories of Colorado and it reminded me how much I had truly missed this environment.

Visiting in 2009

Eventually the Geronimo team offered me to stay full time at the ranch and take over some more of the operational aspects. I was faced with my dream but it was a hard decision as it meant leaving the security I had built up over the last 6 years with my job. However with every week that went by talking with the guests and going over my job history, my degree in marketing, my MBA in entrepreneurship, my love of nature, my friendship with Meris and her family, that it made me realize that everything in my life had been leading up to this job. It was funny because the first thing my Dad said when I told him I was going to help Meris out for the summer was "i always knew you'd end up back out there". I was quick to remind him that it was just for a summer but he must have known.

Visiting in 2013

Leaving KJT Group was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do as that was the first place where I actually had a career and not just another job. I had been through so many ups and downs there but the people and the culture were the reason I stuck it out as I felt it was the best workplace in the world. The whole company has been nothing but kind and supportive and it was more than I could ever hope for. They helped mold me into the professional that I am today and I am forever grateful for all the knowledge, skills, and experience I learned there.

Everything has been happening so quickly but as I have been home visiting for the past week, people have been commenting on how happy I am and that is the greatest compliment I could receive because Grandpa Burns always told me to do what made me happy. Well Grandpa, I finally found it!

Summer 2016

Flora and Fauna

Turtle on the trail

Osprey screeching at us on the trail

With all the rain we've been getting there has been an abundance of flowers blooming and animals roaming around. On one of our rides we noted this amazing elk antler. Because it was so big and bulky we couldn't take it back via horse so I decided to hike out a couple days later and pick it up. Alas, someone else had somehow beat me to it. The tin miners descendants were having their annual vacation up in the mountains so I assume one of them snagged it. Next time I'll have to hide it better.

Awesome 5x5

However, the hike was worth it for many other reasons. When I was driving out to the trailhead I saw more javelina! I had seen some once before running away from us so it was nice to get a bit closer. Although up close they are pretty ugly :)

Javelina

I also got to see some gorgeous butterflies landing on the thistle that's starting to bloom. On the road to the Pottery Mesa I got to see mule deer one week and elk another week.

Mule deer

 I'm still getting up to speed on the names of all these flowers but every trail ride I feel like there's something new and different blooming so it keeps me on my toes!

Swallowtail

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant

Monarch

Thistle

Rainy Days

Monsoon season has finally hit and we've been getting some afternoon rains. Earlier in the summer there typically wasn't a cloud in the sky but now the clouds have been stunning. Back in New York, its very easy to see weather moving in but here you just never know what direction the storms and rain come from. Sometimes it will be rumbly and you can only see puffy white clouds. Other times it will thunder and lightning intensely then stop and begin raining and once the rain stops the thunder and lightning comes back. You just never know what you're going to get! Luckily, it hasn't really rained on the guests.

One afternoon we were up on the Pottery Mesa and some storms came along with the rain so we headed back to the truck. However our trip was not for naught as we got to observe the neighbors free range horses and mules. They were having a blast in the rain. One even had a stick in its mouth and was running around hitting the others with it. We watched them for over a half hour just laughing at their antics. One of the mules wanted nothing to do with the palomino but he just kept egging him on. It was a completely unexpected but it made our day.

Las Cruces, La Paloma, and Elephant Butte

Caravaning to Las Cruces

Over our last break Meris and Seth headed to Las Cruces while I hung out at the ranch with Meris' parents. We had an expedition every night to try to spot some elk but alas we did not see any. While in Las Cruces Meris and Seth bought a new trailer for hay. Therefore, on Friday Meris and I headed back to Las Cruces to turn in the old trailer, get the truck tuned up, and pick up the new trailer. We also got to go to lunch with Meris' parents who were in Las Cruces for the day. I got a delicious piece of  lemon pie from the Village Inn. We made a quick stop to get some horseshoe nails and the supply store had a variety of animals outside. It was funny to see camels, goats, and ostriches all thrown together. 

Camel and bison

 Meris and I had caravaned to T or C so I could spend the night there and hit the hot springs. I stayed at La Paloma and it was amazing! It was so quiet and peaceful. 

One of the baths at La Paloma

Sunset at La Paloma

They have unlimited soaking for overnight guests which I took advantage of even though the pools were over 110 degrees. It was just so dang peaceful I couldn't resist. Along with the relaxing, I was finally able to upload a bunch of my pictures to Facebook and Skype with my family for a few minutes until it froze. It was nice to see everyone's faces and to see Felix running around. I took one last soak at La Paloma and then headed in for my massage. It was a perfect way to spend a day away from the ranch and relieve my muscles. 

Rio Grande

Dam

I decided to head over to Elephant Butte State Park since I had never been to that side of T or C. I drove up to the dam to see the "elephant" then down to the Rio Grande on the other side of the dam.

The elephant

 Then I drove over to the main entrance to the beach. Apparently out  here the protocol is to drive your vehicle right to the edge of the water and set up a tent/canopy/shelter. I was nervous about driving in the sand and almost got stuck once so I decided to stick to the hard packed sand and walk down to the beach. 

The beach

The water was clear and warm and shallow. Of course as soon as I got out of the water I was roasting on the hot sand.  I debated setting up my tent since I had it in the back of the Mazda but I didn't want to lug it down. I decided to just grab my little black umbrella from my car and huddle under that. It did the job of keeping the sun off but I ended up spending most of the day in the water. The beach was busy but not crowded. I was amazed at how huge the lake was and how extensive the beaches were. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. After I had thoroughly roasted, I grabbed an ice cold slush puppy to cool down, filled up with gas, and headed out for the drive home.

Beautiful views

Lots of sand and water!