As a warning: This is going to have SO many pictures, folks. I've been slowly uploading pictures on Facebook and here (slowly because of the patchy wifi), and since I've taken somewhere around 500 since getting here it's taken me a while. So here goes.
I took the shuttle to Estes Park after arriving at the train station, and I got to the ranch around 3:30 in the afternoon. I mostly wandered around meeting people, hearing names and forgetting them (seriously, I met like 30 people my first day), and taking pictures of stuff. This is the first room as one walks into staff housing.
At first I was a little skeptical about this note--but the chipmunks ARE everywhere. (Along with elk--but I doubt there will be elk climbing the steps of staff housing to get inside.)
This is my room! My bed is the one on the left, down on the floor, and I now have a roommate on the bottom right bunk. The only downside to this room is that the guys' living area is on the other side of the wall, and sometimes they get loud when normal people should be sleeping. O.e
The mountains here are so beautiful, by the way. This is behind SH...
...and this is looking out over the ranch. Longs Peak is the taller of the two at 14,000'.
{More after the break! Much, much more!}
Around the breakfast table...this is Lacey from Nevada (on the left) and Tess from Minnesota. Tess and I are both noobs--we arrived on the same day within minutes of each other and have been helping each other figure stuff out.
Emily B, wrangler extraordinaire and horse gal! (She snapped something to her knee yesterday while we were dancing, by the by, and as of last night she was still in incredible pain. If the people reading this could take a moment to pray for her it would be greatly appreciated--she's allergic to pain medication, so she can't even take an aspirin for it)
Getting ready to head down to town...I kinda love this picture. Ernie (on the left--name is Emily but nicknames come easily around here) is leaving on Sunday, which makes me very sad. Moriah (on the right) is going to be my housekeeping partner all summer.
AMBER! This girl is so awesome, you guys. She loves God so intensely and can sing like crazy (Or even sing 'Crazy', should it come to that) and is just incredible. Gah.
Wandering around Estes Park...so many little shops...
I like this little river.
I liked it so much that I got Amber to take my picture next to it. XD
We went to this hat shop down the way, and this guy knows Amber and gave her (and us) a bull-whip demonstration. That thing was amazing--it sounded like a pistol and went echoing through the mountains like crazy. *now wants a bull-whip*
Demonstrations...
...copying demonstrations...
Oh! The rainbow slide! This was so cool--it cost a dollar a ride, and we all went twice. I don't think I could have gone any more, because those steps were killing my non-acclimated lungs. (Seriously--every time I climb more than 10 steps I start wheezing like a horse with broken wind. It's a little obnoxious.)
I think this first time we decided to go in unison, but we all slid at different rates and it...
...kinda...
...fell apart.
But it was still fun.
Oh! Two of the wrangler dudes met us at the slide just so see people before they headed back to the ranch, and one of them (Darron) was taking pictures. The other one, Chris, is a fantastic dancer--last night he was basically teaching everyone how to two-step. He's leaving on the 4th, though, which is very sad. :C
I think Amber won here. XD
I think Darron was taking some creative liberties here. O.e On the other hand, there's Amber and Chris! XD
Okay, this time we raced. It was a ragged start and even more ragged finish though.
There are impromptu music things on a fairly regular basis, it seems. Also, I love the wood on both of these guitars.
From back to front: Jake (Danger-Cake), Moriah, and Will. I think.
And Tess came to join us!
Singing away...
I believe it's snowing in this picture. It's kinda hard to tell, but just trust me on this.
Or just look at the ground outside. XD
Housekeeping crews getting ready to head out--we were all so cold. I feel like I didn't prepare for either extremes.
One of the cabins...
So apparently the aspens have been stricken with this blight that turns them black and eats away at the bark. It's really sad, but looks kinda cool at the same time.
The hummingbirds are prolific, and apparently unafraid of people. I have made it my goal to get one to land on my finger AND take a picture of the moment. 5 months ought to be a good length of time to make that happen, right?
Winston the piano wizard on the piano! XD So apparently this guy plays piano down in Louisiana for a living. Today he's going back, and we are all very sad because he could play almost ANYTHING and made for some really great evenings singing.
The resident coffee machine--it reminds me of Iron Man or something.
Heading out again!
And there's staff housing from the outside. The girls are on the front and left side, and the guys are on the right. (There's this rule called the 'Purple Rule' where guys are blue, girls are pink, and the twain shall never meet. XD I can still hear the guys through the wall, though, so I'm thinking that would be a shade of magenta or something.)
Moriah and I spent all day working on the housekeeping shed, and this is the 'after' picture for the left side. All bedding, towels, etc are here.
Ahh, here we go. Before for the cleaning supplies side...
...and after. SUCH a huge improvement. Now as long as everyone puts everything where it's supposed to go, we'll be good.
Emily B, doing her thing...
Some electricians/volunteers working on the Love Shack. Apparently it got its name from some kind of a bromance between Winston and another guy who worked here. (No homo, y'all. XD)
Amber and her paints...
This is one of the families that works every season on the ranch: Beverly, Katie, and John. They're all pretty awesome.
Andrew and Darros (Darres? Darron's little brother) painting the wagon...
Jake was facing his fears and going on the roof--we were so proud of him. XD
Winston shoveling sticks or something. (Weird story: I think he looks like my dad at 30. I could be wrong, but it was the first thought to cross my mind when we first met.)
Another night visiting in the Cocoa Cabana! (No idea why it's called that--I'll have to ask around)
Winston the piano wizard doing his thing!
From left to right: our cook Cas, a volunteer whose name escapes me, and Darron.
Amber and the other Molly. Things have been a bit confusing having two Mollys around, but the other one is tiny (under 5'), blond, a bit of a spaz, and from Maine, so that should be enough differences to get us started. XD
I believe they were rolling on the river here...
And there's Jake again! I think he could totally be Santa Claus or something.
Okay. So I have another 200-some-odd pictures to work through, but consider this enough for now. I'm loving this place so much, people. You have no idea. *insert excited face*
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