Weekend Away

Okay so now that I actually got a post to submit lets see if I can do two in a row! At the end of July Kevin was gone to scout camp and Riley, Kelly & Kaitlin were on a pioneer trek, so Joe and I took a much needed mini vacation to a guest ranch.
We went up to Quincy Ca to the Greenhorn Guest Ranch and relaxed for a couple of days. We went horseback riding on Thursday and then just kicked back and enjoyed the area on Friday. It is truly a beautiful place. The ranch usually does full week stays but due to financial need they had decided to try letting guests come for a partial week. We arrived late Wednesday evening and checked in. On Thursday we went on a group ride in the morning. Since we were new to the ranch we were required to go on the walk ride with the beginners which was fine with me since it has been a few years since I rode. That afternoon the other guests who had been there longer all chose to stay at the ranch for the guest rodeo so Joe and I got a private tour of the area as we went out on another ride. Thursday evening there was a cookout dinner and then an awards ceremony for the rodeo. There were two other families there - one with 16 members and the other with 23 members. Joe and I were the only other guests. I can't remember the last time we were the smallest group anywhere! Anyway at the awards ceremony they had ribbons and certificates for all the activities that had been held during the week. Frog racing competitions, kids horse riding lessons, you name it. As we watched the other families for those two days we noticed that there were several cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Everytime someone in the family left the area everyone gave them a hug. The older kids were taking care of the younger ones. It was so nice to see the love and devotion they had for each other. One of our favorite things about the ranch was the family atmosphere. They had activities for all age groups and obviously the families had had a great time. If it weren't for the $22,000 price tag we'd love to take the whole family up for a week of riding and ranch fun! Thanks heavens there were only two of us staying for 2 days or we'd have gone broke!