A Smile At Every Turn

LOOK at how big these kittens have gotten! They were finally old enough to be added to the Kid’s Program and the past few weeks they’ve been getting lots and lots of lovin’. Much to their delight! (The kids and the kittens.)

Photo caption contest-- have to wonder what he’s thinking right here. Probably something like, “ I just woke up. Tell me this picture isn’t going on the blog.”

        We were fortunate to have a special family come and celebrate a big anniversary with us!  Jack and Peggy came with their loved ones in honor of 50 years of marriage, so we wanted to add our own gift of congratulations. Thursday night after dinner, we had a surprise for them!

 

       One of our staff makes special occasion cakes on the side, so we commissioned her for a cake that would highlight their Irish roots at the same time.

“50 Years isn’t just the Luck of the Irish”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        The happy couple was touched to tears. Thank you Jack and Peggy for spending your big day with us! We were thrilled to be a part of it in some small way! Congratulations!

        The thing that never ceases to amaze us is how quickly friends are made and how long they are kept here at the ranch. Year after year, we watch friendships form and strengthen from their common ground of their love of this place. It must be part of that ranch magic…

So, how about another ‘How To’ lesson from your Bar Lazy J staff?! This week’s segment? Well, let’s just call it…..

“A Different Kind of Wrangling”.

Step 1. Find your pile and line up your pitchfork. Angle is everything. Don’t overlook this tiny detail.

Step 2. Using a scooping motion, swiftly shove the pitchfork underneath the pile. Remember to have confidence in your scoop.  A half-hearted effort will leave you scattering the pile and will double your clean-up time. It’s all about form!

Step 3. Once the pitchfork is full, lift. You will likely spend one full minute trying to add small pieces and manage to drop half your load in the process. This is totally normal and it is appropriate to grumble under your breath.

Step 4. Find a place to toss it where it will not be seen, attract flies, or smell. Preferably the back of someone’s pick-up that will be leaving shortly.

**BONUS MOVE**: If you are having difficulty mastering these skills (we’re not laughing at you), the “Side-Foot Sweep” can be used to minimize pile scattering. However, we warn you that if not executed correctly and precisely, it can lead to unfortunate green stains on your socks. We highly recommend boots for this technique (or black socks). Bar Lazy J and it’s affiliates are not responsible for any ruined shoes, clothing, or reputations.

   Thank you Kari for your wonderful demonstration and cheery attitude! A smile is always the best part of our staff’s attire! (And a good sense of humor absolutely mandatory!)

We have begun incorporating the zip line into our weekly program and the guests are LOVING it—we knew they would! Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, groups of up to 10 at a time can sign up to take the plunge! It’s been quite a hit!

 

 

Horse tip for the week: Do not wash your horses and then leave them in the hot sun to dry. They shrink. However, they do eat less and with hay prices like they are…… “Welcome the the Bar Lazy J! Where your troubles are small and so are the horses!” I like it. Now if we can just figure out how to cross the river…..horse floaties? Might have to look into this one….

Jerry and Cheri have more than most people could hope for—a home in the gorgeous Rocky Mountains and friends who come see them yearly—not to mention everyone’s DREAM JOB.  So what do you get for the two people who have everything? Why, horse accessories of course! Thank you Rin for the fun personalized “Jerry’s” and “Cheri’s” hats! Now we won’t get them confused anymore! Whew!  ;)

        We were also pleasantly surprised by this beautiful piece of art in the mail this year. One of the members of our dear guest family actually made this himself in honor of our 100th year! What a treat! And it looks absolutely stunning in the sunny window of our dining room in the lodge. Thank you Marshall Gerry and Kalamity K! We are fortunate to have such wonderful friends! You all spoil us.

So thank you from all of us here at the Bar lazy J!

A Big Star in a Small Town

        We get some mighty impressive stars out here in the West---anybody can tell you that. But who’da thought a little old town like Parshall, Colorado could attract one of the biggest Western stars around? Award-winning Western music entertainer Juni Fisher first started making tour stops at the Bar Lazy J several years ago, and we are honored to have become one of her favorite ranches to play. She has become a dear friend and now plans her performances around a little R&R time at the ranch in between the dates she plays, much to the delight of Jerry and Cheri and the rest of the staff.

        Juni’s accomplished a lot for women in the Western Music world.  Her list of awards is impressive! Just to give you an idea……

2005 Academy of Western Female Vocalist of the Year,
2005 WMA* Crescendo Award (*Western Music Association)
2006 WMA Female Performer of the Year
2007 WMA Song of the Year
2008 WMA Songwriter of the Year
2008 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Wrangler Award
(Outstanding Album) (first female in Heritage Museum history to win)
2009 WMA Female Performer of the Year,
2009 WMA Album of the Year
2011 WMA Female Performer of the Year
2011 WMA Song of the Year
2011 WMA Entertainer of the Year (first female ever to win)

         And besides her fine music abilities, she’s also an avid fly-fisherwoman and loves competitive cow horse reining . So she was sure ready to get out and enjoy the trail with us!

Where’d she go?…..Darn paparazzi……

 

Cheri and Juni!

“That’s What Cowgirl Friends Are For”

 

         And even though she’s only here for a short time and has now made her way to her next destination, we still think of her several times a week.  In fact, ALL of our guests do! Juni’s most recent (amazing) album features songs celebrating 100 years of the Pendleton Round-Up: one of the longest-running rodeos there is. The songs make you feel like you’re right there with the contestants and the entire cd is a beautiful masterpiece. And the title of the album is the title of one of our favorite songs.

 

  You can see she proudly displays (and lives by!) that anthem as she travels from state to state performing for both large and smaller, more intimate crowds.

        So when we asked her if we could add that saying (slightly modified…) in front of our new zip line platform, she couldn’t have been more honored!

         Now, a couple dozen times a week, you can hear our guests shouting those words as they take the plunge off our zip line platform. And what a treat it is to be able to think of Juni every time! We look forward to her return next summer when she, too, can “Let ‘Er Zip!” Thank you Juni!  Sending much love from your Bar Lazy J family! Until next time!

It’s Elect-ric-a

        Things got a bit…uhhh…. “charged” around the ranch recently you might say. As afternoon rides went on hold waiting for a storm to pass one day, a dramatic bolt of lightning hit a tall tree directly between Wayne’s Washroom and the barn. As wood and leaves flew through the air, both guests and staff alike said they could feel it from all directions on the ranch. But one person felt it more-so than others…

        

        Electra has been with us for several seasons—working on crew and part-time as a wrangler as well. But this particular afternoon she was folding laundry in the Washroom—just yards from where the lightning struck. The surge of energy through the ground and surroundings actually exploded the light bulb above her head! Combine that with the sound of the lightning hitting just outside and talk about a scare! She came tearing out of that laundry room like…well…..someone who thought they were gonna be struck by lightning no doubt!  Check out the path of that lightning bolt. It runs from top to bottom!

        Needless to say, we are grateful for many things, including the fact that there were no fire-starting sparks created during the strike. But most importantly, no one was hurt—especially our sweet Electra!

Or now should we say….. “Elect-ric-a”?

Flight School 101

DAY 1!

As you well know, we got the zip line installed, so all we lacked were some certified operators so we could get to running it!

          So on Sunday morning, six brave souls headed out to start their 2-day course to become just that—who knew “school” could be so fun? But then again, I think with these classmates, they could’ve made even Calculus fun (Is that exaggerating? I didn’t say “easier” mind you, I just said “fun”. Let’s clarify that right here and now.)  A professional team flew in from North Carolina to offer the training and our first day began with a trip to Drowsy Water Ranch—good friends of ours who simultaneously installed zip lines on their ranch by the same company from NC. So we combined our training days which allowed us to teach and learn from one another as we went. Our friends at Drowsy were already on day 2 of their training, so we got to be their “dummies” so-to-speak under the watchful eye of our trainers. They were fantastic and we all found ourselves quickly learning “the ropes” (figuratively and literally). Not to mention, we had SO. MUCH.  FUN.

As you can see…….

             …………….here we are getting harnessed up!

Then it was up to the practice zip where we got all the instruction on what to expect and what to do with ourselves. (Our excitement was building...)

 

And then??

Cheri!

Jerry!

Chad!

Dale!

  Sue!

and Tammy!

We zipped and zipped (and zipped some more) and instead of wearing us out, it got us hooked. After a long (awesome) day,

     

we couldn’t wait to get back to the ranch for Day 2 of training on our own zip line!

DAY 2!

After stellar teaching and demonstrations the day before, our second day of training was a breeze.

First things first—putting on and adjusting harnesses: and don’t joke about making any mistakes, cause your partner got to suit you up next!

 

Then it was up to the top and our own practice zip line. (And we may or may not have laughed at one another’s helmets during the drive.)

        Just like our horse program, safety comes first. We were quite impressed by all the cutting edge equipment and first-rate safety procedures used throughout the entire process. If you could call something “over-cautious”, this would be it—and we mean that in a very positive way. One of those times, you can’t have too much of a good thing!

    

Then it was time for our test runs!

   

        

You can thank Jerry for doing a little tree trimming on his run down the line…… Now Dale won’t have to climb up there and make Pete do it and do it himself! Thanks Jerry! Very thoughtful!

We’d like to thank our wonderful instructors for their mighty fine teaching and getting us all certified. Most fun we ever had in school! (Oh and please don’t let the alarming shortage of people in this photo….uhhh….alarm you. This is no way an indication of survivors. Just the photo-ready ones!)

     

So……..

—drum roll please--

the Bar Lazy J River Zip is officially operating!!

Let the zipping begin!