Summer Fun - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Reality Is…

November 2, 2017 by Allison

… Its November…

GASP!!

I can’t believe that not only is summer gone, like LONG GONE, but Fall is on its way out. And so much has happened in that time. The good news is, I FINALLY (mostly, or almost mostly) have the new look for the blog up and running. The reality is that I am NOT web designer and so what I thought would be a quick and easy change was anything but… There is still a handful of surprises I have up my sleeve but I have enough done that I might sleep at night and NOT stress over it all.

I don’t have the time or the head space to give you a complete update on everything that has happened between now and then. But here is the highlights reel of the summer.

The kids and I made a trip to Montana- a much needed break and chance for renewal before a long and crazy summer. The highlight of that week had to be the basketball camp that The Rancher’s Sidekick got to be a part of. I have to admit that I was swelling with pride because I went to that same camp since I was a girl in second grade and it was my high school basketball coach that put on the camp!

My Montana skies!

Between The Rancher and I, we had FIVE different family reunions scheduled throughout the summer. No, we didn’t make them all, and that’s ok. We still had lots of time to reconnect with family, especially those that we don’t have the opportunity to see often. Highlights included fishing, water slides, bon fires (and consequently FIRE TREATS!), and late night games. Low-lights include being stuck at the mechanics for SEVEN hours, stomach bug while camping, and never enough time for it all.

My sister planned an EPIC road trip for herself and I was privileged enough to kick it off with her. The Cowboy Kid (my littlest) and I braved a plane to California, two full days of driving to Arizona (where we surprised our brother) and a flight back home in just a few days. Once again never enough time, but still so much fun. I have a whole new appreciation of how much I love where we live. One, because it isn’t swarming with people and two, because it isn’t a desolate, dreary, bleak, sterile desert. I mean, we live in a desert, but at least we have cedar trees and sage brush growing!

Road trippin’… (we really had fun despite these crazy faces!)

Even though it was summer, there was so much work to be done on the ranch. We rolled from crazy winter to busy calving to hectic branding to a quick turnout to rushed spring field work. This was our first spring with the new pivots (Christmas in May!!) and there was a heavy learning curve and lots of kinks to work out. I wish I could have had a dollar for every time The Rancher said, “We shouldn’t have to touch the cows until…” or “The field work should be down now…” because I swear Karma would kick in and we would inevitably have something come up that we STILL didn’t have a chance to catch our breath. Maybe we will after the calves are all gone? The reality is, catching our breath is pretty unlikely because we just don’t know how to slow down!

Getting the pivots up and running

A little spring farming!

Out on the range to check water with The Rancher

Of course we had our hands full of rodeos and roping all along the summer. The Rancher’s Sidekick even took a chance to ride into the arena and do a little sorting like the big boys. I don’t know how well he did, but it didn’t matter when you saw the smile he had on his face. All I could do was pray that he didn’t fall off and all he could do was beam with pride!

No summer would be complete without a little fire action. Unfortunately a lot of the action we had was on our private and BLM rangeland in Locomotive. And of course Mother Nature has no regard to Holidays or family time so Fourth of July fireworks had a whole new meaning and the dust was a little thicker with smoke at the Annual Stone Rodeo.

When we actually managed to be home and NOT working, we poured sidewalks and laid sod! I had been saving my pennies for a good long time and it was all worth it to a new sprinkler system, established grass and sidewalks instead of mud! It might actually be worth dusting now that we don’t live in a giant dirt bowl… HA! The reality is that even though I don’t have as much dust, I still don’t have any more time to clean!

The summer closed out with fairs, concerts (can you say bucket list!) and a wedding (Cowboy Pete tied the knot! More on that later, for sure!!)! Being on the County Fair Board is exhausting but always worthwhile. From ropings to horse races to hog washes, we did it all! Probably one of the highlights of my summer and the best way to end it was to go to a Home Free concert! The music was awesome, my date was the best and having a TERRIFIC babysitter was the icing on the cake!

Home Free date night!

We are full swing into school and fall work and back into some sort of routine. We eat, sleep, work, play and pray. The reality is, I don’t ever feel caught up and I never feel like I am doing good enough at any of it. But as a good friend recently told me, we are too blessed to be stressed.

Until next time, Friends!

A Family Cattledrive

November 11, 2015 by Allison

Oh boy was this a crazy summer! With all the ropings, family events, community activities, and building a house we were running in every direction. To help things out, the cows decided they didn’t need much moving for the summer. For real… Between the field rotation we were on and the rains it seemed we hardly had to move the cows. The unfortunate thing about that was that I didn’t have many opportunities to ride with the guys or take any photos.

On the one chance I had to saddle up, the whole family got to tag along. We really weren’t even moving to new field, just pushing the cows to a different trough. So even though it wasn’t too much of a ride, it was perfectly short enough that we knew they would last and have a great time. We have my old horse from when I was a kid that The Rancher’s Sidekick has claimed. And the Ranch Princess bounced around between me, Rancher Sr., Cowboy E, and The Rancher. It might not have been much, but we made a few good memories.

Trucking Cows for a Day

August 3, 2015 by Allison

I’ve never been one to love the life of a trucker, not to mention be married to one. The long days if driving and being away from home just don’t appeal to me. I love a good vacation, but a slow noisy semi truck is no vacation.

But on occasion, I do LOVE to tag along with The Rancher to haul cows. We have a semi and bull wagon for our personal use mostly. But we do hire out for custom cattle hauling when called upon. It’s not a lot, just enough for us to make a little income to keep the semi maintained. My favorite drive is hauling cows up and down Logan Canyon. We start it good ol’ Park Valley- dry deserty area with only sage brush to call trees. Then cross down into the beautiful Cache Valley to drop off our load. The trees and water and mountains and cliffs and flowers are breathtaking! The lush green in the summer turns to vivid orange and yellows in the fall. I’m almost salivating just reminiscing of it’s beauty.

We just dropped off our first load of cows of many loads to come. I’ll admit it was a long day, but still great. This momma had to get up at 4:30 am to get all the snacks and clothes and you tractors necessary for a small ranch family to play in a semi all day. It got to be an even longer day when the ranch wasn’t quite ready to load up as we got there. They were still vaccinating calves which meant lots of sorts and moving groups of cows around… I could have slept in my on bed another two hours if we had only known! But I did get some much needed paper work done while we waited do I can’t complain too much.

I have to laugh a little st what it takes to get into the area where we dump the cows out. The turn off is so tight thst we have to go up passed it and turn around ;which involves crossing the highway blocking traffic, to only stop part way across the highway to back up so we can sneak by the skin of our teeth to get all turned around. I held my breath but apparently to The Rancher it was no big deal.) to make it in. It’s actually at s camping/ hiking parking area that they have to close off so they can get in and out. It’s so small if an area that only two semis can be in there at a tune, so you can guess how a bunch of extra cars in the way would really foul things up. Once they actually hooked up a truck and horse trailer to a parked truck to take it out of the way. I doubt that hiker was very pleased to come back to see his truck NOT where he left it.

Still, all good and fun. We drove, we enjoyed the sites and I stole just a minute for some photos (it really was just a minute because between the time for my potty break and diaper duty, it’s all I had before we were unloaded and on the road again.)!

Moving Cows on a Wonderfully Rainy Day

September 1, 2014 by Allison

You know that we are desperately in need rain. Every time we have a cattle drive means that we come home covered in dust. Somewhere there always seems to be a trough that runs dry. The feed is so dry and not so palatable (not that I would want to eat yucky dry crusted wheat!) that those blasted cows are out all the time. That all equals some pretty intense praying and praying for rain.

We have had a great answer to those prayers. In the last two weeks we have had 3 inches of rain. THREE! Its been amazing! There was so much rain that we were having flash floods… all over our freshly cut hay. With the fields so wet we couldn’t even haul out the bales… with out getting stuck. We found that out the hard way. There was so much debris and water coming down that we had some intense back hoe work to be done to get the water following in fine fashion again. The ground was so saturated that any bit of rain turned into a flood.

But we were so thankful for the rain that none of that mattered. It didn’t even matter that we had hundreds of cows to move seven long miles… we are just so happy for the rain! It was muddy and cold… but so wet!

Love me a Little Rodeo

August 27, 2014 by Allison

Naturally, I love rodeos. Everything about them. I love the crazy rough stock (occaisionally I cheer for them instead of the cowboy) and I love to see a good ride. I love fast roping, especially now that I have a new appreciation for the art since I started. I even love the crazy rodeo clowns and their terrible, intermittent jokes. And as terrible as it is, I love watching the bull fighters run for their lives!

There is just something about the energy in the air at a rodeo that makes me smile.

I guess there is one thing that I don’t love… That’s the terrible lighting at a night rodeo. I just never manage to get good pictures by the end of the show. Especially when I don’t have all of the equipment I would love to have or I don’t have close up access (but I’m really ok not being in the arena with those crazy critters!).

Never the less, I do have some fun, great photos from the IMPRA Rodeo when it came to town!

Ready?!

Bringing the Party Home- Team Branding in Malad

August 20, 2014 by Allison

Team branding. By this time of the summer we are counting down how many are left. If the heifers could count, I’m pretty sure that they, too, would be on the count down. The team branding for our fair has to be one of the favorites for me.

Part of it is because we don’t have to travel a long ways. Phew… For once the stock contractor doesn’t out drive the cowboys. But the best part that since it is local we see so many of our great friends and neighbors! Normally at the end I am just praying for these things to get over because we are all tired, cranky, bored, and someone has most likely gotten hurt. But not in Malad. I’m so stinking busy doing fair board stuff, helping with the heifers, taking pictures, visiting with friends and watching my own kids. Scratch that last one… with so many friends around, everyone else is playing with my babies that it seems like I hardly see them!

Prepare yourselves for a lot of pictures. Not all are that fantastic… I blame the light and the timing. If only I could be in charge of the timing of this shin-dig… But alas, I’m not. So deal with it. I would rather share these photos that might not be my best than not show them at all! 🙂

Click “Read more” for the other pictures…

2014 Stone Rodeo

August 6, 2014 by Allison

Raise your hand if you have heard of the Stone rodeo. Ok, don’t really. Someone is going to think you are crazy… but good for you if you have! If you haven’t, now you are!

The Stone rodeo, practically a Holy Day in this area. Stone, Idaho is the tiny gathering of homes and ranches near Snowville, Utah and good ol’ Holbrook. The community is so small that there isn’t a single church, bar, post office, or gas station. But any good town full of cowboys will have some rodeo grounds! But don’t let the small town setting make you think that this isn’t a quality rodeo. Or the fact that the square arena is closer to an egg shaped! Amateur rodeo or not, they ride hard, rope hard, and sometimes fall hard!

These rodeo grounds are used just the two nights of the Stone rodeo. Now days the bleachers are all permanent, but back in the day they had to haul in seating. Except for those that bring their own, and I don’t mean a camp or lawn chair. Days before the rodeo, the arena is lined with pick-ups reserving their spot and getting them front row seats!

The events at the rodeo are entertaining for everyone to watch or participate. We have roping for all the hometown cowboys, rough stock for the crazies and dreamers (aka The Buckaroo), milk calves for the kids, and wild horse riding for the brave (or drunk…)! Every year I can guarantee two nights of hand-clapping-side-ache-laughing-country-good-time-fun!

Team Branding at Bancroft

July 25, 2014 by Allison

Our weekends have been busy- like something every weekend. Family reunions, parties, and of course, team brandings. One of The Rancher’s favorite team brandings is at small town Bancroft, Idaho.

Being in such a remote area with nothing around it but farms and ranches, you can see why he likes it. Only the real cowboys come out, and even though it’s competitive roping, those cowboys make it a good time.

I might have mentioned before that I’m working in my roping. I want to be a REAL cowgirl, so I figure I better get this roping thing down. The Rancher thought that this would be a great time to give it a try. “I’ll put her right in your loop, babe. It’ll be easy!” Ya… I said no… I got a little stage fright. I better practice up a little more before I put some money down. And if your gonna lose (which I most likely would) you better look good doing it, and I’m pretty sure I would have just looked like a fool! Turns out it was a good choice to not rope because a big ol’ storm came through with some crazy wind. I could just see me roping myself with that kind of wind…

But next year… I’ll get all practiced up and next year I’ll do it!

Water Slides Rancher Style

July 20, 2014 by Allison

Over the 4^th of July weekend, my family had a reunion out on the ranch. And let’s be honest, what better place is there?! We shot guns, had a massive water fight, visited the ranch animals (and some milked a cow for this first time!) and enjoyed Malad’s 4^th of July parade and firework show.

But the most fun we had was at the water slide… park… thing. This isn’t your typical water slide. No twisting slides splashing you into the pool. No slides that dump you straight down and give you an atomic wedgy. Oh no, these are much cooler!

When you drive up there you might be a little unimpressed. In the midst of the hay fields is a nice size hill with two; massive tarps running the length of the hill. At the top of each tarp is a small hose running water down. Something so simple couldn’t be that amazing, right? Man, this is the most fantastic thing ever! You can go down the slide on your knee/bum/tummy or these have a plethora of inner tubes (my personal favorite!). You start sliding down the hill, pick up some speed, and get spinning along the way.

About half way through we had the bright idea to do a train everybody holding onto each other’s tubes so that we all went down together. We must have had 5 or 6 tubes loaded up with kids, parents and even grandpa! The first time we went down was the most memorable. My brother and I were the caboose to our little train. We grabbed onto the tube in front of us. Actually to be more specific, we grabbed onto riders of the tube in front of us- my other brother and my 7 year old niece. In retrospect, my niece wasn’t the best to hold on to. Grandpa was at the front, the steam engine you could say. Once he started down, the rest of the train followed… except us. The tube in front of us took off and instead of my niece pulling us along, we just pulled her off! It was just like in the movies where the tube was ripped right out from under her and she was left sitting! We laughed and laughed as we jumped on to follow the train.

Never doubt a farmer and his ingenious ideas. You might think that a simple tarp down a few hills in the middle of a few fields is lame… and you would be wrong!

5 Ways How Being a Rancher’s Wife Makes me an Awesome Camper

July 14, 2014 by Allison

Are you wondering where I’ve gone? A whole week of nothing from The Rancher’s Wife… That’s, like, unheard of. I’m probably the chattiest girl in the valley!

But I have been gone this last week. To Girls Camp. We camped out near Soda Springs with about 150 other girls and leaders. And not to pat myself on the back, but I have to tell you that I rocked it. It wasn’t long after getting up there that I realized we had a bunch of city girls in our midst! Boy, was I grateful to be a rancher’s wife and new a little bit about surviving in the wild. Now I don’t know if I learned these things from life on the ranch or life living in the country. Either way, they are certainly worthy of sharing with you today. Here are my “5 Ways How Being a Rancher’s Wife Makes me an Awesome Camper!”

1. I know how to set up a tent. Seriously, you would think that such a basic camping essential would be high on the list of knowing BEFORE you go camping, but for some it wasn’t. For as long as I can remember, I have known how to set up a tent. Growing up we would throw the tent up in the yard ALL the time. Or we would load up the camping gear and campout somewhere on the ranch. Since being married, The Rancher and I have even had the awesome opportunity to do overnight cattle drives where we camped along the way. Yep, this girl doesn’t need anyone setting a tent up for her!

2. I’m not afraid of bugs. I wish I had a dollar for every time I had to squash a bug or save some helpless girl from her impending doom. I’ll admit, I’m not a bug person. Especially the extra buzzy ones, but these girls were something else. It was almost like they had never been told there would be bugs!

3. I know how to tie knots and to use knives. Last minute I was asked to help teach some basic skills with knots and knives. It only took a quick look at the manual to know just what I was supposed to be teaching and we were on our way. I do have to give credit to my father-in-law, Rancher Sr., for being willing to help (he was there to cook all week). There were a few knots that I was sure everyone would know. Ya know, the ones we use almost daily to tie something together or up to the trailer. But no. A lot of them didn’t even know what a square knot was. But I guess that’s why they were there…

4. I took my cowgirl boots to camp in. Everyone has their favorite pair of shoes or hiking boots to camp in. For some crazy it is their flip flops…. Mine are my boots. They have kept me clean and dry all over the ranch and did the same camping. I didn’t suffer from stubbed-toe-itis, nasty-dirty-toenail-itis, or soaked-foot-itis. I love my cowgirl boots, especially when they can be functional and fashionable!

5. I can cook over a fire. And when I say I can cook over a fire I don’t mean a hot dog on a stick. Don’ get me wrong, I love a good tube steak. But camping should be more than just a weiny roast or tinfoil dinners. We enjoyed BBQ ribs, cheesy bacon potatoes, corn on the cob, and dutch oven cobbler. That’s pretty close to the same menu we had branding this spring. Cooking on the desert for the cowboys is all too similar to cooking at camp. But wherever we eat camping out, it’s in style!

Ok, I have to share a bonus. The last bit to share about how my ranch life has helped me be an awesome camper is dealing with the dirtiness of camping. From the dusty sock line to the greasy hair I was totally ok that I hadn’t showered all week. Don’t be grossed out. Please. I pride myself in being ok with doing my hair once and leaving it up for the week, having spraying on tan of dirt, and wearing no makeup. Working on the ranch has taught me to appreciate crazy hair, dustiness, and make-up-less face!

My list isn’t anything crazy… No secret tips on how to camp rancher style. But it’s crazy how many skills I use for camping I have learned from the ranch!