Takeoff and Day 1.

I made it! I'm officially moved into my digs in Estes Park, Colorado and had my first real work day. Blogger has been down since yesterday so I couldn't post last night or I would have. Long post here so be prepared!

Thursday, May 12

My flight yesterday was at 6AM (because apparently I'm crazy) and both legs of it (1 hour layover in Atlanta) were uneventful. As we came below the cloud cover above Denver, I was shocked. There was SNOW on the ground! The pilot announced it was 38 degrees in Denver. I was so not prepared. I got to the Denver airport 3 hours before my shuttle was scheduled to pick me up so I hung out and bought a few things I forgot at home (headphones....and my cowboy hat. D'oh!). Then I watched most of Pride and Prejudice on my computer while waiting.

I got on the shuttle and it was a 2 hour drive to Estes Park, throught the flatlands, up to the foothills and, finally, up into the mountains. It was a great drive. I arrived at Sombrero around 3PM (Mountain Time--2 hour delay from Maryland) and immediately put my boots on for a tour. I got the grand tour, brought my stuff upstairs to the room (there are 2 rooms of 6 girls each and one bathroom for all of them...)  and then started getting trained doing a number of things: everything from office work to horse work. I'll essentially be doing two jobs so I have to learn the ropes of each. While the season is still slow (until Memorial Day), I will be helping out in the barn quite a bit. When things heat up, we'll be crazy, crazy busy. My boss told me that we are the largest stable in the country in terms of volume and capacity. So...that's intense. We will have 140 horses here this summer. Yikes!

I met everyone throughout the course of the afternoon (introductions below) and after "breaking down" the horses (which means taking off their saddles and bridles, etc), I went to dinner with two of the guys here. Dinner isn't included in our meals so people eat dinner out a lot. We went to a BBQ place and it was really good. Then we came back to the stables and went to bed. Early mornings!

Friday, May 13

We had "barn call" (when we tack up the horses) at 6:30 this morning so breakfast was at 6 and I set my alarm for 5:15. Unfortunately, my body felt like waking up at 4:30 so that's what ended up happening. Got up, took a shower and headed off to breakfast. One of the boys made what he calls a "trainwreck" for breakfast. It was a delicious mess of potatoes, cheese, sausage, and eggs. Yum.

Then we headed off to barn call and started our day. It was a beautiful day in the upper-50's and felt much warmer. I got more training and was even left on my own in the office for most of the day since I got a good handle on how to do things. I went on one guest ride (14 guests) and made my first tip of $20. I also went on another ride at the end of the day with the other wranglers. I won't bore you with all the particulars.

After breaking down the horses and locking up, I moved my stuff into a different room that is only 4 girls to one bathroom and is sort of set aside from the main bunks. It will be quiet but not lonely and there is a common area in the main bunkhouse so I can always go up there and hang when more people show up and things really get rocking. I moved my stuff in and cleaned the room and bathroom since they were pretty dirty. Now I'm all settled and have the time to write!

Tomorrow's barn call is at 7 so we get to sleep in a bit!

Some initial observations:

•  gas is cheaper (3.59-3.79)
• elk nuts (exactly what you think they are--commonly called "Rocky Mountain Oysters"
• medical cannibis? I saw a sign on the roadside advertising...
• mud, mud, mud
• lots of new construction near the Denver airport and in Longmont
• COLD--Spring has yet to arrive in Estes Park

List of things requested from home:

• sheets for a full-sized bed (we were told to bring twins but the bunks have fulls on the bottom)
• muck boots (no idea why I didn't bring them...)
• vest I gave to Carole at one point and am now asking to borrow
• standard pillow case (might as well stick that in the box as well, right?)

List of things to buy:

• ibeprofin (no idea why I didn't bring some...)
• new cowboy boots? (maybe as the summer progresses--mine are a bit snug)
• belt cellphone holder? (seems to be pretty necessary)
• lotion (SO DRY HERE)
• liquid soap for the bathroom
• hand towel for the bathroom
• sponge?

Introductions (of those who are already here--many more on the way in June):

• Kansas: my boss and the general manager of the Stables; dating Kristyn
• Kristyn: the assistant manager and one who knows most about the office job; stable "vet"; dating Kansas
• Jeff: head stable hand/wrangler
• Clayton (Clay): wrangler from Washington state
• Matt: moody wrangler
• Malori: wrangler; Gail's grand-daughter
• Gail: chef for breakfast and steak rides; Malori's grandmother

Note: The internet is pretty good but not very good for streaming stuff or uploading things. So that means pictures may not be so forthcoming... We'll see what I can work out but so far things look bleak in the picture-sharing department. I'll be sure to share when I get the first opportunity. Stay tuned!

I might just start keeping a list of eventful details and post one a week or maybe twice a week. I doubt there will ALWAYS be something to report. Though, with horses, there is always disaster/excitement to report.

Love you all!  

P.S. My address here is:
Sombrero Stables
c/o Margo
1895 Big Thompson Ave
Estes Park, CO 80517