“The core of mans’ spirit comes from new experiences.” – Christopher McCandless

 

If you’re like anybody I’ve talked to this evening or over the past couple days since I’ve arrived at the ranch, the question is “How is it?”. Well, to this moment I haven’t been able to formulate the words that accurately depict “how it is” so why not corner myself into finding the words and immediately posting them on the World Wide Web?  Here we go…

 

Have you ever found yourself in a place that felt almost like a parallel universe? Where things were similar enough that it’s not completely unnerving or bizarre, but requires a pause to really soak it all up. I’ve found myself in places like this periodically throughout my life- mostly overseas in places with merging eastern and western cultures. Maybe you’ve found yourself in a similar situation when you walk into an old haunt from college that has morphed since you were a college lad (or lass). It’s the same structure and maybe the same bar and seating, but everything else seems just a bit off. It causes you to pause.

 

Ranch life is a lot like that. Yes- I am living in a town. I have a room or living space that I inhabit. I have co-workers. I’ve got bosses. I have to work, I have friends that I hang out with on occasion. See? It all seems pretty normal, right?

 

Now, let me show you that “paralleled” side to all of the above. The small town that I live in has one bar/restaurant/motel and the bartender/waitress/housekeeper knows everyone’s name and story (yes, she already knows mine, I’ve been here over 24 hours so how could she not).  The room that was provided to me DOES have a lock on the door, but it’s only able to be locked when I’m INSIDE the room. In fact, there seems to be no such thing as locked doors on the entire ranch! More on that later. My co-workers are all well-educated, well-spoken and overall very marketable people who work for minimum wage…”because it’s awesome here”. My bosses give me hugs every day and call me family. My job is to take care of horses and go on rides with guests all day. When I go to hang out with friends they seem to think that playing with crossbows is a perfect substitute for corn hole. And BABY GOATS! Oh.. the baby goats! See what I mean? Everything is just normal enough that it’s not too uncomfortable, but strange enough that it requires a pause. Lots of pause. And Smiling. Lots of that too!

 

I’ve attached some pictures to show you what I’ve been up to the past two days. It pretty well depicts the overall feel. Keep an eye out for a rainbow in one of the pictures and let me know if you can see it!