A Glimpse

Bar Lazy J 2012—by Beverly VanDell

       Many of our friends were fortunate to see this already, but in case you missed it (or like us—just want to watch it again!), here is a stunning compilation of photography from the talented Beverly VanDell. We were truly touched by her beautiful portrayal of the ranch through her artistic photos. We thank her profusely for her wonderful work. (Now somebody help me find my boots—makes me wanna go ride my horse!)

A Reel Recovery

     You may or may not know that at the close of our typical guest season, the past several years Bar Lazy J has been the host to an inspiring group of individuals who bring their own magic into an already enchanting place. It’s truly one profound combination. They don’t come for the horses. They don’t come for the food or the activities or even necessarily the mountains. They come for one reason only. To fish—and forget.

     “Reel Recovery was founded in 2003 by a group of avid fly-fishers, inspired by their fishing buddy’s ongoing battle with brain cancer. Witnessing first-hand the beneficial impact fly-fishing provided their friend, they created Reel Recovery to provide the same opportunity for other men battling the disease. Combining expert fly-fishing instruction with directed “courageous conversations”, the organization provides men with all forms of cancer a unique opportunity to share their stories, learn a new skill, form lasting friendships and gain renewed hope as they confront the challenges of cancer.” – from the The Reel Recovery website(http://www.reelrecovery.org/aboutus.php)

Here was the 2011 group!

*These five above photos compliments of Reel Recovery.*

Reel Recovery is a truly remarkable non-profit organization, so this year we were once again privileged to have these fine men among us—sharing their delightful spirits and inspiring stories with us. It was touching to speak with some of them and hear how much this experience meant to them. It filled us with gratitude to be apart of it in some small way.

Equally moving is a marvelous piece Channel 9 News did covering the retreat this year and many of you will recognize the familiar setting!

Finally some News worth watching!

Check it out!

Channel 9 “A Peaceful River in the Fight Against Cancer.”

      At the close of their 2 days here, the men gather on the river one last time before they head back out into the world to face the trials that lay before them. But now? With a renewed look at life and and a fresh sense of their own empowerment. And with new friends who have walked the road before them or are walking it with them and are standing nearby—ready with their waders…

From their own words:

“Thank you for helping me see there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.
I will never forget these few days.”

---

“This Retreat was the most rewarding and uplifting experience of my life.”

---

“I discovered that while fly-fishing, I was in another place. In this place there was no cancer, no pain and no fear.”

---

“Reel Recovery is a gift. Being here has given me the strength and courage
to move forward with my life.”

       If you’d like to learn more about Reel Recovery and their mission, check out their website at  http://www.reelrecovery.org . It is incredible what these guys are doing for one another. One of those things that renews your faith in mankind and impels you to take another look at life around you.

      With that, the last of our ranch friends packed their things and drove out of the ranch drive as we waved goodbye to the very final guest. We here at the Bar Lazy J would like to offer a huge thank you to Reel Recovery for all they do!

And in the words of those inspiring men…

“Be well….Fish on!”

The Hundred Year Poem

The older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune
100 years gazing upon the same moon.
100 years striving to give us her best
To welcome the weary and give them some rest.

And now with a century under her belt
She'll pause for a few months and watch the snow melt.
Remembering the joy that the summer did bring
She's anxiously waiting to see you next Spring.

Our thanks to the many who made her their home
Who mend her and keep her a place you can roam
Who's vision has kept her alive from the start
We love the Bar Lazy J with all of our heart.

-Cindy Edwards <The Poem Gnome>

*Thank you for this lovely poem! This was left in the comments section, but it was just too good not to share with everyone.

Back In Business!!

        At last! At last! Thanks for your patience while we were getting this here technological dilemma taken care of. There are still things not yet transferred from the old system, so apologies for some chronological disorder within the next few posts, but we’ll get ‘er all worked out here! Just loosen the reins and enjoy the ride…. “time” is sometimes overrated anyways…that tends to be the motto in our neck of the woods.

     FIRST and foremost, we want to make a special recognition of these marvelous folks you see here. Would you believe that they were the VERY first guests to make reservations with Jerry and Cheri under their new ownership of the ranch? And here’s the whole story. They already had tentatively made plans to come to the ranch before they knew about the change, but when Jerry and Cheri contacted them to let them know and introduce themselves (and see if they were still interested), they were still in! And now look. Seventeen years later, here they still are. Guess we’ve been doing something right all these years…..

     So THANK YOU Ron, Sandy, Sam, Harriet and Judi for your continued friendship all this time and being part of our early memories with this incredible place. It’s quite meaningful to us to have people who have “grown up” here with us.

      Now, many of you know of Cheri’s accident early in the season and her amazing comeback from all of that, but you might not have known of the second surgery she had to have the last Friday before our closing week. Nothing major, but just a clean up of a few things the doctor wasn’t satisfied with. And this picture here? Is Cheri. 5 days later. Leading the Breakfast Ride. If you’ve ever met a more determined woman—I’d like to meet her….<bowing to her cowgirl highness>…

Oh and this picture is purely meant to make you wish you were here.

(Successful?)

Here comes the breakfast ride! When I tell you the colors were incredible this Fall…..multiply that times 100.

I wanna be a cowboy when I grow up.

And we couldn’t resist sharing this painting-like photo. A favorite!

Did I mention within the last 5 words that the colors were insanely gorgeous this Fall? Cause we just can’t seem to get over it. Thus you must endure the repetitious beautiful scenery photos (quit your moanin’.)

   

And then you have the trees that start to look like your staff…..(told you it was an unusual Fall—try to top that one!)

    

       Alas, there is truly no greater compliment to us, than when those who come here want to share this place with those they love the most. It shows us how truly sacred this place is to them. Kim was here with a large group our closing family week and just a few weeks later, she brought back her (absolutely wonderful) parents to share the ranch as well for the first time. And the first time we saw ole David swing up on his trusty steed, we knew that cowboy had come home! We are delighted to hear he and Ann might be bringing their whole brood back next summer to celebrate a big anniversary!  With finger crossed, we can’t wait to meet the whole family!

    

      And speaking of family, our closing week was a time of LOTS of it! Dale’s parents came for the first time and it was such a pleasure to have them here! They did a lot of fishing with Dale and hitting up all the things to do in the county—it’s hard to fit it all in in a week!    

       Likewise, Chad’s parents came for 2 weeks (a yearly tradition) and certainly livened up the party around here!  (Ummmm…this is the incorrect way to harness fyi….) Oh!  And just look at that happy anniversary couple! Still facing new and exciting adventures together—true love! Absolutely nothing can come between these two I tell you!

Uhhh…..well almost nothing….(I tried—really I did.)

At least the view was nice when Janie pushed him off the mountain!

And here’s a few pictures from our closing Buckhorn night—nearly (dare I say??) as wild as our opening Adult’s Week!

Look at those hats!

 

We thought about turning these bandits in for the huge reward that was listed on their Wanted posters, but….we knew they’d be getting a time-out if we did—so we kept them instead. Maybe some hard ranch work will turn them from their outlaw ways!

     However, these wild ones we sent straight to the slammer. They will likely get out on an insanity plea, but we simply couldn’t sleep at night knowing we left them out prowling around. (Bless their hearts….)

But then we have this sly villain…..

…not only did she threaten the lives of anyone attempting to ring the bell in her stead, but she also (might want to not read this part aloud if there are children in the room) put a HUGE red flower on her horse to wear!!! Ahhh!!!! Is there no decency?? What kind of a person—I mean—what has happened to mankind?? We are appalled. We will avenge you Bruiser. She will pay….oh wait.  She did….

Alright then. No harm, no foul. (Bruiser is recovering with the help of some counseling, for those of you interested. He should be suitable to carry guests again by next summer.)

And congrats to Deb’s hubby Pat for his big win! We’re sure to take care of our winners!

And THEN??? What a treat! Every now and then we have guests that give us back one of the best gifts—a little piece of themselves. These guys put together a few hilarious song parodies for our listening pleasure—now we can’t wait for the cd to come out!

One more look at your rowdy hosts!

   

       The “last supper”—so to speak—was bittersweet as we shared dinner with our final ranch guests of the season, but at least we went out with a huge celebration!  Two birthdays and an anniversary! And LOTS of cake (and that’s always something worth smiling about...) **On a side note, this is an adults only week, but the Ranch Kids live here year round and occasionally make it over to see their returning guest friends. Thus the occasional small child in a photo—just so ya know!**

     But the real birthday girl? The one with the biggest anniversary? She sat back quietly smiling listening to her new friends retell their stories from the week --relishing their desires to stay and excited plans to return. She chuckled to herself remembering the story Jerry was boisterously retelling from a few years back of some daring ride up Elk Mountain and how all the guests roared with laughter as they came riding back into her barn. Oh the stories she could tell….100 years? Was that possible? Had it been that long? Well if you’re as old as you feel, than she was still yet young. Because it was impossible to feel anything but renewed every time a young child climbed trustingly and hurriedly into the saddle for the first time and went sauntering out her gates. Unable to feel anything less than beautiful as new flowers were planted in her ground and returning flowers bloomed and reached to the sky. And honestly, how could she not feel fresh and made-over every time her floors and walls were scrubbed clean and adored by each new guest—running their fingers appreciatively over the old wood and bumping happily out of her screen doors? Yes the truth in fact, is that her guests—as in all of YOU—have kept her young all of these years. Without you, there would be none of it—no ringing bell, no laughs echoing down off the mountainsides back down into her valley, no squeaking swings, no snorting horses munching their hay. We dare not imagine a time without those things. So on behalf of our beloved ranch—we extend our deepest gratitude to all of our wonderful guests—both present and past—who gave her this year the greatest gift a ranch could ever get…..

           ……………………………..your love and presence all these years.

 

 

Happy Anniversary old girl. Here’s to 100 more. 

The Cons of a Small Rural Town

     There aren’t many, to be honest. And when you think about the pros—like good friends just minutes away, NO traffic, the gorgeous scenery, public land in every direction for camping, hiking, and riding--they certainly outweigh any downsides you might find (well, for us anyways!)  But when it comes to things like finding someone to quickly fix your computer when it crashes…..

…….in that area we are lacking!

     Thus, the lack of recent blog posts, although there has certainly been a significant amount of things happening and being documented! We just can’t post them yet.  So we appreciate your patience and wanted to let you all know what the delay was. It just means—we’ll have several coming at you at one time (hopefully) very soon! So be not dismayed—we plan on periodic updates even throughout the winter. And we’re hoping the new computer upgrade will give us faster service and allow us to share even MORE with you. So check back in soon! We’ll be up and running again shortly!

You Know It’s an Adults-Only Week When….

….the pranks begin. First, you start finding unfamiliar pictures of yourself in random windowsills….

         

        Then, you start finding pictures of OTHERS perhaps randomly on your office desk….oh--and those others may also be posing in a porta-potty….the gift that keeps on giving….

        Then, you may all show up wearing the same clothes….always awkward…. (Aren’t these jackets awesome?  Thank you Marshall Gerry and Kalamity K for the awesome keepsake! They made these themselves and now we all covet….and covet some more….*ahem!*)

                 Oh! Check out the new patio benches we commissioned!  A local chainsaw artist did these for us and we couldn’t have been more pleased with how they turned out. Truly a piece of art--comfy art!

Even Rocky thinks so!

 

        We were thrilled this season to welcome Darcy and Luis back to their ranch home-away-from-home after being missed the past several years. This is a special place for them (and they are rather special to us) because in 2005, after being guests for a week, they flew back in to Colorado to come be married here at the ranch. And not just at the ranch, mind you—on a ride! Jerry, Cheri, Chad and Tammy were the special guests, witnesses and photographers and after we prettied up their horses with flowers and ribbons, the happy couple, their four guests and the preacher, all rode out on horseback to a special spot way back in a gorgeous valley and there they said, “I do” under a Colorado blue sky. It was certainly a day we all remember and hold dear, so we were thrilled to have them back again this year. It always feels like a family reunion when our friends come back to see us! (And no worries—they already booked for next year—so we won’t have to wait that long to see them again—whew!)

         Ok, back to Adults-Only Week:

         Jerry led an epic ride into the High Country one morning and what an adventure it turned out to be…

        (See the picture below? So happy they specify this sort of thing….would have been tough getting the horses to cross that swinging bridge….Hmmmm….I wonder if the wild horses knew to cross over this direction back in the day? Bet they wish they’d had that sign….)

        Jerry then led everyone up the river bed, much to the delight of everyone….well, uhh, almost everyone.  Here you can see Camille is wishing she had NOT asked for the shortest horse we  had. Good for getting up….bad for crossing rivers. “Seven”, here,  is only 2 feet tall you might notice. Also awkward when “bushwacking” through the sage. …

But it was right about…..NOW--

…we were thinking we were gonna get a liiiittle more wet than that as the storm rolled over the hill and straight for us. So we got out of the water--

  And took cover! (And then lots of pictures, because what else does a bunch of wild adults do when they are waiting out a rain storm in the woods? Right?)

        See what incredible guests we have? Tammy and Remi forgot their rain coats, so being the fine individuals they are, Abby and Christina graciously shared.  Now, let me take a brief moment to tell you that Christina was our only new victim, I mean, first-time guest this week. Everyone else had been here at least once before, but as you can see, she fits right in with the family here at the ranch—almost a little too well….. (where have you been all this time??)

                                             We are so happy she found us and from what we hear, she caught the ranch fever as well--we’ll be seeing her next year and we can’t wait!!

        While we waited for the storm to pass, we  practiced our riding technique and form. Ok, ok…..actually we were stuck in this position from our previous hours in the saddle…….or would you believe Jerry demoted us from riding our horses due to our silliness? Still not buying it? Fine. This was the “how to ‘go’ in the woods ride”.  Tammy was a phenomenal wrangler on this ride. We thank her for her cowgirl wisdom. *wink* Moving right along……

     

It might be an Adults-Only Week when…….

   …the staff busts out their finest duds and we start passing out the chips! Welcome to Buckhorn Saloon!

I love the jingle jangle of a cowboy’s spurs…..never a dull moment when Marshall Gerry is in town!

         But when that cow bell rings, you better be one of the first two to the stage! There’s big money at stake. And alllll you have to do is—well—whatever Cheri says! (Sounds easy right?) Now we can’t tell you what it is (you might practice—we know you people), but it’s ummmmm…..

  ….bound to make some blog-worthy photo ops (not to mention good, good laughs and memories!)  Great job you guys!

If mimicking is the highest form of flattery, then these ladies gave each other one big compliment. Best dressed award goes to Sue and Camille for sure!

        This couple also deserves an award. Marshall Gerry for taking home the buckle for the highest number of chips at the end of the night and the beautiful Miss Kalamity K for not being ashamed to to be seen with him! Ha!  What can we say, Gerry, except you scared the staff and you are truly one of a kind! (You seriously make us laugh dear friend! Now please stop borrowing Chad’s clothing….)

Your Bar Lazy J Wild West staff!

 

        Now just in case you thought things couldn’t get anymore “exciting” around here--you know--like we couldn’t have any more fun than that? Well, you’d be wrong. Thanks to the suggestion by one of our fine guests, Bar Lazy J hosted it’s first ever (that we know of) campfire game of charades! Oh and the word funny? Doesn’t even come close to what it was my friends….  

(Christina, you made it on there twice. You were just that good!) ;)

Pretty sure that night made history. That’s all I can say about that. So THANK YOU to Pete’s wonderful, wonderful parents—Mike and Stacie-- for getting it going. You guys were a treasured part of our week!

Need more proof of Adults-Only week?

A picture is worth a thousand words……

 

          And then sometimes, a “look” from your wife is worth 10,000 words…. of course in Cheri’s case, she can give the Publishing Clearing House of “looks”….

I could be mistaken, but this might be the “why are you in the pool with all your clothes on?” look.

         So, what can we say? Bring your kids for the all-time-get-outside and be-a-kid vacation of a lifetime, but then drop them off for some quality time with grandma and grandpa and head back out for our September weeks! You never know what might happen, but it’s guaranteed to be a belly-laughin’, boot-stompin’ good time!