Dan the Man, His Cell Phone and THE Haircut!

Hold your horses and shut all the barn doors!

My Man Dan finally decided to join the 21st century and get a cell phone.  I don't really know why he waited for so long...  I think secretly he felt like a rebel without a cause telling people that he did not have a cell phone when they asked for his cell number.

This is not his first cell phone mind you, and he will be sure to tell you that 18 some years ago, he was so techie, that he had a BAG PHONE.  Who remembers those?  They certainly have come a long way in cell phones, haven't they?!

Anyway... so here is a funny story involving Dan the Man and his cell phone.

Let me set the scene for the preface.  You have to know the whole story.  Dan the Man and I have been married for a little over 16 years.  In those 16 years, I have ALWAYS been the barber for my man Dan.  It all started when we married and all of the sudden had 4 boys who needed haircuts and 1 husband.  Being the resourceful (or cheap) person that I am, I started cutting everyone's hair.  How hard could it be?  I had watched my sister do haircuts ever since I was probably 15 or so.

It was a something I gleefully started, but as the years wore on... the joy became less and less, especially when they wanted haircuts and I was tired from working a full day and the last thing I wanted to do was stand on my feet and mess with their sweaty heads and end up sweeping the kitchen floor and not even getting paid for it or receiving a measly tip.  I began the cherish the day each son moved out of the home... it meant one less haircut that I had to give!

Finally all the boys have moved on and are going to someone else for their haircuts!  Well, that is all but one boy.  My man Dan still remains.  He doesn't demand that I give him a haircut, he just waits until I can stand it no longer and I finally give in because he won't make an appointment somewhere else.  Egads, his own sister-in-law has probably 30+ years experience, yet will he go there?  I blame my mother-in-law for this reluctant behavior.  She use to cut his hair when he was a boy.  Danny claims his father use to cut it as well.  Then when he was in college, his cousin cut it.  I am not sure what he did before we were married, I know he had to have gone some where.

We have had several discussions about this.  They usually go something like this:
ME:  You really need a hair cut.
Dan:  I know.  When can you do it?
ME:  Not tonight, I am too tired.
Dan:  Okay, I'll wait until you have time.
ME:  Can't you please just go some where and get it cut.
Dan:  No, I don't like to.
ME (a week later):  You REALLY need a hair cut.
Repeat lines above...
ME:  If you do not get your haircut, I am not coming home.
Dan:  Fine, then I will just shave it my self.
ME:  Okay, fine!  Just cut it off.

I leave and when I come back, he has not shaven his head.  He has threaten this several times, too many times to remember, but has never once done it.  The closest he got to it was the time that he had Chris cut his hair because I wouldn't.

So the story continues with me driving home from Kearney.  I start to get bored driving all by myself so I give my man Dan a call on his cell phone to see what he is up to.

ME:  Hey.
Dan: Hey.
ME:  What are you doing?
Dan:  Not much, I am shaving my hair.
ME:  Yeah right.  What are you doing, really?
Dan:  Shaving my hair.
ME:  Oh yeah?  How are you doing that?
Dan:  With the clippers.
ME:  Oh.  And how is it going?
Dan:  Fine.
ME:  Oh.  And how do you plan on doing the back?
Dan:  I'll use my cell phone to take a picture of the back to make sure I've got it straight.  I've got to go so I can finish.  I'll call you back.
ME:  Hmmm, well, good luck with that.

I still wasn't convinced that he was actually cutting his hair.  If he was, I was a little irritated because I knew I was going to have to fix it when I got home and I really wasn't wanting to have to do that.  I was tired and getting the cold that Chris had shared over the weekend.  I just wanted to get home and relax, not fix a haircut gone bad.

As I drove on, I decided that I WOULD NOT fix the hair cut.  I WOULD NOT cave in.  I would force Dan the Man to go get his hair cut.

Then I received this picture.

I nearly swerved off the road in utter disbelief.  Oh MY GOSH, he ACTUALLY DID IT!  He ACTUALLY CUT HIS OWN HAIR.  I had to puller over so I could look at the picture and enlarge it on my screen.  Oh my goodness, WOW, he really cut a lot off the back.  I wonder if he kept getting it crocked, so he had to keep shaving his neck up higher and higher?  I can't tell from the picture if it is straight in the back or not so I pull back on the highway with mixed emotions, stunned beyond belief.   I simply can not believe that he actually went through with what, until now, for the last 16+ years, has been empty threats!

I was speechless.  And I couldn't decide if I was mad or relieved.  A little while later I got this picture with a text saying "Done taking shower now."

Ahh, My Man Dan.  Gotta love him!

Back off ladies, he is ALL Mine!

PS Honey, I am truly in awe of your barber skills, but next time could you please, Please, PLEASE just go to a barber.  Really.

Oh my gosh, I am actually RUNNING in my very first 5K race!

If you are just now reading this blog or if you have missed the last two post, stop right here and go read them.  They build up to this post.

I have to start with telling you about the drive down to Kearney.  Dan the Man had to stay home to take care of the chickens and the cattle so I went to Kearney by myself.  If Dan the Man would have been with me and especially if he had been driving, this would have never happened.

For those of you who do not know about Nebraska... it is a long ways from Western Nebraska to the other end of the state.  Our ranch is located about 4 miles from the Wyoming state line and Kearney is about 292 miles from the ranch according to Google Maps.  It takes about 5 hours to get there.  The drive can be monotonous at times, but also quite beautiful.

I left a little after noon and was in a hurry to get to Kearney.  We, the boys and Katy, had planned on going out to dinner for Chris's birthday and I didn't want to be too late getting there especially since I would be losing an hour due to the different time zone.  So, there I was, in the the middle of Nebraska, just a mile or two from the middle of no where, radio blaring, me signing along to every song, when out of no where a sheriff car comes over the hill towards me.  Ooops! My eyes drop to see what my speedometer is saying, although I didn't need to look, I had set the darn cruise control thing to 74 mph.  Never-mind that the speed limit was 65 mph.  So, I turned off the cursed speed control thingy and slowed down to the proper speed limit.  Need less to say, that did not appease the sheriff, he turned around and come promptly after me with his pretty lights flashing.

I pulled my car over onto the shoulder, turned off the radio, got my registration, insurance card and driver's license out for him and patiently awaited his presence at my window.

The following is an actual conversation between the overly excited women driving to her first 5K race and the officer who pulled her over for speeding.  The name of the officer has not been divulged for the officer's privacy:

Officer:  Ma'am, I am Officer Such-A-Nice-Guy with the Middle-of-No-Where Sheriff's Department.  The reason I am pulling you over is because you were speeding.  Can I see your registration, insurance card and driver's license.

(I had them conveniently in my hand and handed them over.)

Officer:  Thank you ma'am, I will be right back.

County Chicken Girl: Ok (what else was I going to say?  "See you later sucker!" and drive off like a bat out of hell!)

After a few minutes he returned with my documents in hand.

Officer:  I am only going to give you a warning today ma'am.  I am sure your car is fast, but you need to keep it under the speed limit.  (Did I mention my little car is a 2012 beautiful Black Mustang?)

Country Chicken Girl:  Thank you!  I really appreciate it!  I am on my way to Kearney to race in the Komen Race for the Cure tomorrow!!  It is my first 5K EVER and I am so excited!!  I am also collecting pledges for the cure.  Right now I am in 2nd place for the top individual fundraiser and I have a goal of $1000.  Would you like to make a donation???  Huh, huh, would ya, could ya? (actually I did not say that last sentence!)

Officer, laughing politely:  Well, you have fun and good luck!

I took the polite laughter as a "no" to the donation and thought I'd better not press my luck so said nothing more except for "Thank you, I will!"

I was on my way again, this time within the speed limit.  Chris called to let me know that dinner plans had changed and Katy was making us dinner, chicken tetrazzini (which btw, was delcious!) so I didn't have to "hurry" to get there.

After dinner, it was bedtime for me.  I was exhausted and knew I might have a hard time sleeping since I was so excited for the race.  And, I did.  I kept waking up in the middle of the night to check and see what time it was.  I did not want to over sleep and miss the race.

The race was to start at 7:15 so we left the house at 6:45.  Kearney is not that big of a town, so we had plenty of time to get to UNK's campus (where the race was held), find a parking place and get to the starting line.  We walked around a little before the race and looked at some of the vendor booths.  I was surprised that there were not very many vendor booths.  My mother-in-law has done the Race for the Cure in Denver and she told me that there were tons of booths.  This is the second year that Kearney has had a Race for the Cure, so I am sure it will grow in the years to come.

Katy and me before the race.  It's still dark out!

When it was time to gather at the start, I became extremely nervous, excited and cold!  I wasn't really worried about anything, the race course was pretty simple, so I didn't think I could possibly get lost.  Chris and Katy gave me words of encouragement as I went to go stand in the starting line.  A CANNON was fired to begin the race.  I think it startled at least 99% of the crowd.  BOOOOM, and just like that, I was running my first 5K race.

It was kind of crazy.  I felt like I was running in a herd of cattle being let out to pasture in the Spring.  Everyone was so excited and full of energy!  I can't really describe it.  I had to keep myself from sprinting, I knew I would be in trouble if I did not calm down and get into my rhythm and run at MY pace.  With a few prayers to God, I was able to calm down and let my legs set my pace.

I think I was pretty much smiling the whole race.  Well, if not on the outside, I WAS on the inside!  There was a water station at the half way mark.  I really wasn't thirsty, but figured the water station was part of the race experience and thirsty or not, I was going to partake!  I did not want to miss out on any aspect of my first race. I found out that it is impossible to drink out of a little plastic cup while jogging.  The water kept sloshing up in my face and going up my nose instead of down my throat.  I tossed the cup, still half full of water in the garbage can.  As I continued the run, I was contemplating if I had done the water thing correctly or not.  Maybe you are just suppose to swish it around on your mouth or something?  I really had no idea what I was  doing?!?!  Perhaps I should have done a little more reading about how to run one of these crazy things!

The one thing that I did know was that I was having fun and reaching one of my goals that I had set for myself and even if I ended up in last place, I still will have placed in the race!

There were lots of race volunteers manning the course so you knew right where you should be going and even cheerleaders along the way.  I felt like a real runner as they cheered me on!  Chris and Katy kept showing up at various corners and were taking my picture!  Awww, such sweet kids.

As I neared the finish line, I could hear the upbeat music they had cranked up loud at the finish.  I suddenly felt a burst of energy and was able to pick up my pace and as I rounded the last corner and had the finish line in sight I actually started sprinting!  I felt like I was running a million miles per hour.  I felt like an Olympian!

This is what I felt like as I ran the last bit.  I love this song!!  Without God's grace, I would have never crossed that finish line.  You might want to click on the link that takes you to YouTube so you can read the lyrics to the song.

I ended up running the race in 30:35.  Not bad for an old lady who is pretending to be a runner!  I realized after looking at the results of the race, I have a lot of room for improvement.  The fastest time in my age group (40-49) was 20:47, Stephani Olson who is 49!  Second fastest was 21:02, Deena Sughroue age 48.  I placed towards the bottom, but not at the bottom, and if I had placed at the bottom, at least I placed!  I was 19 out of 23 for my age group and 85 out of 112 (females only) and 123 out of 157 (total number or runners, including men).

I also participated in the bottled water and banana after the race.  Another vital race experience I did not want to miss out on.  Actually, it was the best tasting banana I had had in a long time.

By the time the race was over, Kara, Katy's friend (and now Skyler's friend, wink, wink), had joined up with Chris and Katy.  Kara was going to walk with Katy in the fun walk/run which wasn't going to start for a little while so we once again went around and looked at all the vendors.  It felt good to walk around after the race and by the time it was time for the walk, I had decided that I would do that with Katy and Kara.  What was another 3 miles?

There were quite a few people who were doing the walk and when that cannon went off to start the walk, the whole crowd collectively gasped because it startled them.  Wish I had a recording of it, it was pretty funny!  It took us 51 minutes to walk.

I'm having a hard time putting the emotions I felt during the race and walk down on "paper."  I will admit that I was pretty proud of myself for running the race and I also felt so incredibly blessed by the support of my friends and family in raising over $1000! My heart aches for the millions of women stricken with the disease, especially those women I know personally.  I couldn't help but get a little choked-up during the race as I passed a participant, much younger than me wearing a pink race shirt.  The pink race shirt denoted that she is a survivor.  I looked down at the pink bracelet I was wearing for a dear friend of mine who is undergoing chemo.  I thought, next year it will be an honor to run this race with her!  I hope we do it!  I just can't even imagine the pain and suffering that must come with the battle.  What strength and courage these women must have.  What an awful, awful, awful disease!  Cancer just sucks, that is all there is to it.

I also thought about how far cancer treatment and the ways of detecting it has come over the last 20 years.  WOW!  Thank God for the continuing strides being made in beating this devastating disease.  Thank God for sparing me from this disease.  I know I am just a statistic away from being stricken.  I will run again in this race...

As I was driving home, I had crazy thoughts of organizing a Western Nebraska TEAM to make a presence at the Central Nebraska Race for the Cure next year!  I was thinking we could charter a bus, which hopefully I could get donated, stay the night Friday night, race Saturday and come home Saturday late afternoon or so'ish.  I was thinking that if we (I don't know who this "we" is yet, but I'll need help organizing this thing) could get 20 people to go and we each raised $1000, that would be $20,000 for the cure!  Or if we each just rasied $500, that would be $10,000!  So who wants to go next year?!?!?

The goal for the Race for the Cure was $40,000.  According to their webpage, they raised $25,669.25.  If Western Nebraska took part, we could most certainly help meet that goal, in my opinion.

Click here for race information and the race results.

2012 Komen Central Nebraska Race for the Cure

Here are some pictures from the race.

That's me, the one in the BRIGHT pink!

Around the 2 mile mark.

My hair looks like wings!

On the home stretch now!

Kara, Kathi and Katy before the fun run/walk.

During the walk!

The end finish line!

One of the fraternities formed a tunnel for us to walk through.

Nice touch men!

Our time for the walk.

Special Mustang that was on display.

There was a all pink response vehicle that we could all sign.

Thank You for Your Support!!

Well, last week at this time I was on the road driving from Kearney back to my home sweet home at the Open A Bar 2 Ranch.

I was in Kearney for the 2012 Komen Central Nebraska Race for the Cure.

If you missed the last post, you probably should go back and read it.

Anyway, WOW, WOW, WOW... what else can I say and where do I start?


10 weeks ago I started a little running program called The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan.  I tried to do this little program last year, but with a disappointing ending because I have a bad ankle and it began bothering me to the point where I just could not run.  I was determined this time, that I would be extra careful and baby my ankle so that it would not give me trouble.  By God's grace, the ankle held up.

Let me give you a little background on my physical ability or lack there of when it comes to running.  I have never been a distance runner, only did sprints in school.  I loved to run during grade school and jr. high, but injured my ankle in high school and  just up and quit sports all together when I was a sophomore.  When I went to college, I did do a year of bodybuilding, yes that's right, you read that right, bodybuilding.  Oh, those were the days!  Anyway, uh, MANY days ago...  I have always thought of myself as somewhat athletic, but NEVER, NEVER, NEVER a distance runner.

The one thing I liked about the Couch-to-5K program is that it started out easy.  Run a little, walk a little, run a little, walk a little.  It seemed almost too easy until I started having to run much more than I was walking.  But with God's grace, again, I was running a mile before I knew it.  Then it was two miles.  I was in awe of what God was accomplishing with my nearly 50 year old body, neglected body.  When it was time to run 3 miles I decided I needed to sign up for my first 5K before I chickened out.

I knew that Katy, Chris's girlfriend in Kearney, was doing the Race for the Cure in Kearney.  I really wanted to do it with her, but was having a hard time justifying to myself that it would be okay for me to take off from my busy schedule and drive down to Kearney, a 4.5 hour drive from here and just do it.  I finally talked myself into doing it and registered on line.  I was so excited after I registered that I texted Katy to let her know I was coming down to do the race with her!

The text went something like this:
ME:  Hey Katy, guess what?  I registered for the Race for the Cure.  I am coming down on Friday!
KATY:  That's great!
ME:  I am so excited!
KATY:  Me too!  You DID sign up for the FUN run/walk right?
ME (with my jaw touching my knees):  Uh, no, I signed up for the RACE!

Well, I had already committed and wasn't going to back out now.

As part of the race, you can raise money for the cause through pledges.  You can set up your own page where people can donate.  Here is my page.  They suggested that you set a goal, so I set my goal at $100.  I posted on Facebook what I was doing and in a matter of 24 hours or so, I had met my goal.  I then raised my goal to $250.  Same thing, told people on Facebook and met that goal within a day or two.  Call me crazy, but I then upped my goal to $500!!!  Once again, met the goal.  Call me a lunatic because I then set my goal for $1000 with a couple of days left for fundraising and was suddenly one of the top 10 individual fundraisers for the race!

As the deadline for the donations neared, I feared that I would not make my goal, but thanks to some incredible friends and family that supported me I raised $1025.67 and was the 2nd top individual fundraiser for the event!  Everyone who made donations is listed on my page except for Myrna and Bruce Mitchell who gave me a check!

I am listed on this page 2012 Komen Central Nebraska Race for the Cure as the 2nd top individual fundraiser.  AND funny story about that...  the guy listed as the top individual sent me a message Friday night on Facebook and said "Congratulations on your fundraising effort for Susan G Komen. It was your effort that helped me put in a little extra time for this great cause. Hope your first 5K is fun one for you."  How cool is that! I was nipping at his heels and at one time did hold the top spot!

Well, I don't want to make this post too long, and I have other things to get done this afternoon, so I am going to have to close for now, but not before I say how truly thankful I am to each and everyone of you who donated to the Race for the Cure.  I can not tell you how much it means to me.  You made me feel so special that you wanted to support something that was dear to me.  WOW, what an encouragement.  You are ALL truly special and I pray that God will richly bless your generosity!

More about the race in posts to come.  Stay tuned.

Katy and Me before the actual race.

Boy oh Boy was I cold and nervous!!!

Picture I put on Facebook.

One of my friends asked if this was the "chicken run"!

And Chris said, "You are not bringing the chicken are you?"

I'm Alive and NEED YOUR Help!

Oh my gosh, it has been so long since I posted on my blog, I am not sure if I remember how.

Please accept my deepest apologies.  My life as the Country Chicken Girl has taken many twists and turns since I was last on here.

I hope to start my blog again... but we'll see how much time I have to devote to it.

The reason for this post is because I need your help.  To make a long story short... I have signed up to race in the 2012 Komen Race for the Cure in Central Nebraska, THIS Saturday in Kearney.  This will be my first 5K race E-V-E-R!  I have taken a huge leap of faith and have set a goal for myself to raise $1000 for the cause!  Yes, that's right, $1000!!!  That was not a typo.

I need some help from you.  Any sized donation will help me to reach my goal. $5, $10, $25... whatever you can spare would so gratefully be appreciated.

Oh and there is a catch... I have to have all the donations in by midnight on Friday, this Friday, the 28th at midnight!

Here is a link that goes directly to my pledge page.  Simply click on it, click the donate button and follow the prompts.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I will post again sharing the story of how I went from being a couch potato 9 weeks ago to running a 5K race!  But since time is of the essence on this donation thing... I must get this posted.  I also promise to post again after the race to let you know the results.

Hugs and kisses from me and Snowy!

If you are in Kearney or the surrounding area, please come cheer for me.

Snowy will be running the race with me in spirit!

I'll be the one wearing PINK!  LOL

Stiff Socks

True story I shared on Facebook...

The other day I had a pile of dirty clothes sitting on the bed.  The clothes happened to be on Dan the Man's side of the bed so he decided to fold them, thinking that they were clean.

I was in the living room minding my own business when he calls to me from the bedroom...

Dan the Man:  Are these clothes on the bed clean or dirty?

Me:  Dirty!

Dan the Man:  Oh, because I just folded over half of them and was wondering why the socks were so stiff!


LOL!  Thanks for the laugh Danny!  AND thanks for folding the laundry...

Neat Freak?

Call me weird or call me a neat freak...

But I just love the first of each month so I can switch to a nice new clean page of the calendar on the desk!  Anyone else out there with this vexation?

By the end of the month, the desk calendar has so many scribbles, rips, wrinkles, coffee stains, cat hair, paw prints, etc. that I can hardly stand it.

At least the new page is somewhat clean.  Sammi thinks she needs to break it in.  Come on April 1st so I can flip the calendar!

That is all.  THE END.

Dan the Man and the Country Chicken Girl at the Vee Bar Guest Ranch

A while back you might remember that Dan the Man and I won the KGWN Cutest Couple Contest.  If you missed it, go back to this post.

The prize for the contest was a one nights stay with dinner at the Vee Bar Guest Ranch, near Centennial, WY.

Well, on Saturday, March 17th, Dan the Man and I jumped in our pickup truck, left our ranch and headed to the Vee Bar Ranch for dinner and a quiet night away.  The weather was perfect for this time of year.  It was in the 70's here at home, which meant it would be in the high 50's to 60's in Centennial.

So after we finished the chores on Saturday morning, we headed towards Wyoming!  Mind you we are only 4 miles from the WY state line... but the road we take to Cheyenne takes us south and we stay in Nebraska for about 20 miles before we hit WY.  Our plan was to eat lunch in Cheyenne before we went on to Centennial.

Earlier in the morning, I had asked Dan the Man what he wanted to do in Cheyenne besides eat lunch.  He said he didn't care, I could do what ever I wanted!  Oh howdy, did that ever give me some ideas! So I said "ANYTHING?"  And he said, "Except spend money!"  That sure turned my smile into a frown!  What fun is shopping if you aren't allowed to spend money?  Well, I still wanted to go to BIG LOTS! and see if they had any dishes I could not leave the store without for the newly remodeled kitchen.  (Yes, a post will be coming on that.)

By the time we got to Cheyenne, it was lunch time, so we ate first.  I had always noticed a little cafe in the shopping center where BIG LOTS! and Hobby Lobby is and thought it sounded like a delightful place to eat lunch, so I suggested it to Dan the Man.  He was game because he was hungry.  It is called The Pie Lady Restaurant.  The restaurant seemed clean and the staff was friendly.  Decor was country with several vintage aprons decorating the walls.  The menu was simple, nothing extravagant, modestly priced.  Several choices for pie.  I had spinach quiche and Dan the Man had a sandwich with coleslaw and chips.  Food came, quiche was blah and Danny's sandwich wasn't anything special.  Looked like one we could have assembled at home.  Twenty some dollars later (not including tip) we decided that we probably would just have pie next time we went.  If there would be a next time.  I am sad to say that I can not recommend The Pie Lady for lunch.  I wonder what the pie taste like though?

Anyway, after lunch, we went to BIG LOTS!  I did not find any dishes for the kitchen, which was a good thing since I was not allowed to spend money! ;-)  Not only am I dying to get new dishes for the kitchen, but I would also like to get a new couch for the livingroom.  They had some at BIG LOTS! so Danny and I tried them all.  Danny complained about each one since he was not going to spend any money.  Some men are just not any fun to shop with...  Next time, I'll go with my sister!

After our exhausting shopping spree (not) we headed to Centennial.  Cnetennial is about an hour from Cheyenne.  When we got to the turn off for the ranch which is before the town of Centennial, we decided to go ahead and drive into town to check it out.  We had been there once before when we lived in Laramie, but that was over 13 years ago.  We were not surprised to see that town had not changed much.  It is very small and very quite.  We didn't see any stores or shops that I felt like I just had to go into.

We then continued past town into the Medicine Bow National Forrest.  Saw lots of hiking trails and great camping spots for the summer.  The ski area, Snowy Range Ski Area, is only about 6 miles from town.  We drove to the base of the ski area and it seemed to be pretty busy.  Looked like a nice ski area for a beginning skier or one like me, who has not skied in years.  Might have to think about going back so time and actually skiing!  Except Dan the Man has only skied once or twice in his life... not sure I could talk him into it or not.

After our trip to the mountain, we turned around and headed back down to the valley and the Vee Bar Guest Ranch.  We checked in at the Lodge and then were shown to our cabin on the river, just a short walk (on a boardwalk, now I want a boardwalk from our house to the garage!) from the lodge.  I love the sound you make when you walk on a boardwalk.  I know... call me weird.  The guy who checked us in, sorry that I didn't get his name, I think he might have said Eric, said... "That is your cabin down there, the one with the light on, #5."  Awww, how sweet was that?  They left the light on for us.  Eric, that's what I'll call him, said the cabin was unlocked, they did not lock anything up here.  He told us we could lock ourselves in, but to please not lock ourselves out.  Hmmm, I thought, I wasn't quite sure what to think about that...  especially since I am so use to locking my room when I am not staying at home, especially when I leave the room.  Oh well... I guess they must not have a problem with thief here.

Eric also showed us where the John Wayne Saloon was, we were welcome to go there and get a beer, wine, soda or beverage anytime we wanted.  The bar was self-serve, so Eric told us just to write down what we had and it would be added to our tab at the end of our stay.

We got our bag out of the truck and went to our cabin.  It was so cute, clean and cozy.  I loved it!  There were three rooms, one bedroom with two twin beds, the bathroom which even had a washer and dryer in it and the main room which was a sitting room with a queen sized bed.

Here is the queen sized bed.  It was very comfy!

Dan the Man in the sitting area reading about the ranch and it's activities.  In front of him and to his right was a gas wood stove which heats the room.  They had it turned on for us.  Very cozy!

Sitting on the tree trunk end table was this sweet card.  What a nice touch!

Here is the other side of the sitting area, there is the gas stove, and great view of the river.

There is a door just to the left of this chair that takes you out to the covered porch

which has two adirondack chairs facing the river which is just a stones throw away. 

Here is the room with the twin beds.

The bathroom, double sink, shower, small refrigerator, washer/dryer, coffee maker (important!).

Cute sign where the extra towels for the hot tub were kept in the bathroom.

Oh and there was even laundry detergent for you to use in this closet.

View of the river from our front porch.

View of our cabin from the lodge.  These cabins are duplexes, so this is actually cabin #4 and #5.

 

Hot tub which is located between the lodge and the cabins on the river.

When we first got to the lodge, there were several people in the hot tub.

I think they had just got back from skiing.

The weather was perfect for the hot tub.

After we got settled in our cabin, we decided to go for a walk around the grounds.

It was way too nice to sit inside the cabin or the lodge.

Oh, did you notice there was NO television in the cabin?

I'm not even sure that I saw one in the lodge.

No wait, I did see one... an old maybe 13 inch one that looked like it was hooked up to a VCR.

Our first stop was the barn area where they do the trail rides.

I actually had Danny talked into going on a trail ride Sunday morning after breakfast,

but unfortunately the wrangler who did the trail rides in the off season was on vacation

so we had to settle for these two horses.

Come to find out, the one horse was a roping horse

and Dan the Man had to impress his Country Chicken Girl

with his roping skills!

After Dan the Man showed the Country Chicken Girl

the stuff he was made of,

she was so impressed that she 

immediately fell in love, head or heels... again.

I forgot my tripod so I had to use whatever fence post or stump I could find.

I thought we ended up with some halfway decent pictures of ourselves.

Just past the barn, we found some of the ranch animals.

They were way more interested in their hay than in us.  Only the one

little donkey came over to have his backed scratched.

All the others totally ignored us.

The Lodge.

One of the sitting areas in the Lodge.

On the piano.

Made me laugh.

and yes, I had to play the piano, but not during dinner!

PS, the piano needed tuned.

Fireplace and sitting area in the dining room.

Oh! and lookie here...

a ranch cat!

His name is Kitty Boy and he was so very lovey-dovey and well behaved.

He only lingered around the people who wanted him around... and you know me!

Kitty Boy of Vee Bar Guest Ranch

Don't worry about having your cell phone up there...

No service.

Lots of antique decor.

Loved this piece with the dried lavender.

After our walk we went to the John Wayne Saloon to wet our whistle.

I left my camera in the cabin so I didn't get any pictures of the saloon.

There is a bar, several tables, a pool table and several board games.

Danny & I had a beer and played a game of Yahtzee!

There were some other people in the saloon while we were in there and before

we left, we stuck up a conversation.  They were there, 3 retired couples, from North Platte and 

Kearney, NE enjoying a few days skiing at the ski area and staying at the Ranch.

They had done this trip many times before and always stay at the Ranch.

We told them how we had won the contest!

They made us promise to show them the winning picture at dinner since you could

get wi-fi in the Lodge.

After our game of Yahtzee! we took some time to enjoy the deck and watch the river.

Next thing we knew this energetic door came barreling down the boardwalk from the lodge

with a stick in her mouth.  She immediately ran up to Dan the Man and dropped

the stick at his feet.  She must have sensed that Danny was a great stick thrower.

All was fun until the dog got a little aggressive and bit Danny's hand off!!!

JUST JOKING!

She really didn't bite his hand off, she didn't even bite him,

but in this picture it sure looks like she is biting his hand off.

Trigger, Vee Bar Guest Ranch dog.

Danny soon tired of playing fetch with her, even though she gave

him a pleading look with her big brown eyes

(don't feel bad Trigger, Dan the Man doesn't fall for my puppy dog look either.)

Danny told her she needed to go find some kid to play with,

so she did!

Dinner was served at 7 pm at the Lodge.

When we showed up our table was not hard to find.

Oh look, another card.  Great touch!

We even had a dinner guest...

look carefully past Danny to the left.

Yep, there was Kitty Boy peeking over the back of the couch.

Hee, hee!  So stinkin' cute.

And that is where he stayed until we were done with dinner.

Dinner was fantastic!

We started out with a trip to the soup and salad bar

Now I can't remember what the soup was, I want to say potato and cabbage, but what ever it was

it was delicious.  We both ordered Ribeye steaks which were huge and grilled perfectly and even branded with a little VeeBar steak branding iron.  Asparagus and twiced baked potaotes were the side dishes.

Danny was too full for dessert, but I didn't eat all of my steak so I would have room for dessert.

I chose Irish Creme Cheesecake, heavenly!

After dinner, we waddled back to our cabin.

The gas stove was burning and made for a romantic setting.

Morning came and my internal alarm clock went off at 6 am.

I showered and decided to go for a walk while Danny got ready.

Sunrise at the Vee Bar Guest Ranch

Wildlife I saw on my walk.  I also saw four deer, but they were too far off

in the pasture for a decent picture with my camera.

I walked past the donkeys and horses to see if they would be any more sociable in the morning.

The horses we STILL more interested in their hay than in me.

Boo hoo.

On my way back toward the cabin and lodge I was enjoying the peace and quite of my surroundings along with the smells of the river, dirt, composting leaves and pine trees.  Awww, inhale deeply and close your eyes...  can you smell it?  So fresh, clean and beautiful.  Wish I could smell that every day.

As I neared the Lodge a different fragrance filled my nose and made my mouth water... 

BACON and breakfast.

Awww... someone was up and out of bed making breakfast just for me.

Why does that make me so happy?

When I got back to the cabin, Danny was ready to head to the Lodge.

Breakfast consisted of a buffet which included cinnamon rolls (hot out of the oven and still in the pan), blueberry sweet bread, fresh fruit salad, scrambled eggs, BACON and TONS of it, tater tots, home-made salsa which was delicious, yogurt, bagels and toast.  There might have been more, but now I can't remember.  Oh and of course there was a couple of kinds of juice, hot coffee and tea.

Kitty Boy was in his usual spot on the couch and the fire was going making for a beautiful Sunday breakfast.

Too bad our stay was so short.  I could have stayed for several days and had a relaxing time fishing, hiking, sleeping, watching the river from the porch, playing board games and pool, hot tubing, reading by the fire place or by the river, eating delicious meals and enjoying a laid back lifestyle.

I hope we can go back again some day.

I highly recommend the Vee Bar Guest Ranch for any one.

So, from the bottom of our hearts, Dan the Man and his Country Chicken Girl want to thank each and everyone of you who voted for us.  We could have never won the contest without such great friends!

Thank you!

 

... and they lived happily ever after.

THE END