One of our incredible guests wrote this moving piece about his experience at the ranch this summer. It perfectly captures the shyness almost everybody has when arriving at the ranch and just how quickly that melts away into a feeling of sincere closeness. We hope you enjoy!
Ranch Communion
By: Scott Cogburn
We arrived in the golden afternoon
And the cool Colorado evening
Some, even later, with travel mishaps to share
Separate cars, separate lives
One destination on our minds
That first night, dinner, “Family style”
Furtive glances, questions in our heads
“Who should we sit by?”
“Who is that over there?”
Lets just sit here and see how we fair
The first training ride the next day
“Am I ready?”
“Time to scrape the rust off!”
“I’ve never done this before,
Will I be ok?”
By the time the hayride rolled around that same night
It seemed we’d already spent many, many hours working through many emotions
From excitement to joy, from happiness to comfort, from worry to fright
As we bounced along through the hills in the back of a wagon full of hay,
Warm conversation bubbled up
And we sang and laughed with the Larsons and shared stories of the day
We woke to blue skies and crisp cool air
Riding began in earnest, as the kids go off to romp and play
Walking through pristine green meadows
Crossing cold, fast flowing, streams
The ungodly trotting tearing through unused muscles and destroying our asses
Exulting in the utter bliss of loping smooth and fast
Climbing higher and higher to the views of our dreams
Through the vistas, the bumps, the gaining or regaining of skills
Bonds began to form and laughter fills
Those awkward silences that existed before
Dinner seating turned to “wherever is fine!”
And stories of the day spill forth over delicious steaks and wine
Somewhere along the trail
In a valley, on a mountain, at dinner, or in an aspen dotted vail
We forgot about our texts, our emails, problems back home
And just….were
Enjoying that moment, that day,
The laughter, the stories
And the saddles gently sway
The patient Prince family, the garrulous chefs, the joyful staff
Unique and kind, characters all, with accents a wee plenty
Quick with sincere hospitality and a warm laugh
Whether we’re happy -go-lucky or a little grumpy
Whooping with delight or bruised from a fall that didn’t go our way
They shepherded us through each wonderful day
We departed in the cool golden morning
Of another gorgeous Colorado day
Separate cars, but shared lives
Down the winding mountain road, our paths began to branch
But the lasting memories and the heartfelt friendships we made here
Unites us as one through Cherokee Park Ranch
S.A. Cogburn 17’
