First Post From The Ranch

I have to go get started on dishes pretty soon here so I'm going to just post an exerpt from an email I sent to my parents just now. If "ya'll" haven't heard, I can't access my wiscmail out here so you should send me email to compulsivwriter6@airpost.net.

I'm finally getting on the internet--our server fills up fast so it'snot in service when there's a lot of ppl in the area on. Today was crazyfun--Friday and Aaron decided to give us a half day b/c we've beengetting so much done all week and it's the beggining of the first (andmaybe only) long weekend (and by long I mean longer than 1 day) of the summer. I got my own crew today, which was kind of cool. Aaron justcomes out of his office w/ the little papers w/ the groups listed onthem and the jobs written on them and starts handing them out to the guys who always lead the teams--Andy (full time fishing guide who liveshere w/ his wife Sarah year round--this is his 4th summer and he'sreally cool [not "real cool"]), Dave (Andy's best friend--first summerhere, but he just graduated w/ a construction/architecture/all aroundsuperman degree so he's amazing at everything), and Damon (the headwrangler / foreman--basically Aaron's 2nd in command--he's an amazingleader)...and Katie Moss! Oh yeah, that's me.

When we got off work at noon, I ate w/ Brady (cute wrangler--he's really sweet) Jen (other wrangler) and Dave. It was burgers, fries, churros (youknow those fried dough things covered w/ cinammon sugar), and sweet tea.Yummy.

Then some of the girls and I (Beth, Pam, Sarah, and Kate) went into Creede to San Juan Sports and I bought my Carharts ($16.50 baby--they were on sale for 30 and then they rang up wrong and the girl was like"whatever") and a Camelbak (we're going to hike to Table Rock tomorrow--five or six hours altogether and then camp on the Pallisades (cliffs) on Sunday night)--all for the low low price of $60--which is amazing!

Tonight is our first barn dance--we invited the two nearest ranches to ours so that should be fun. We went and set up the stereo system in the"new barn" (b/c it's only 5 years old) in the loft--Christmas lights, an amazing stereo w/ 5 speakers we put around the barn, and hay bales with 2x10s spread between them as benches around the sides. It's going to be a blast. Damon and Brady (who are Brothers and grew up on their ranch inWyoming and are allegedly amazing dancers) are going to give a little lesson right before nine. I have dish duty tonight after dinner w/ Liz (another housekeeper who seems really cool--she's 22...she was on my crew today and she didn't drag her heels) so we're going to try to get out of there quick.

I like it here. It's not as commercial as the Lane Guest Ranch--I think you'd get a better flavor of the "Western attitude"--I love it.It's so funny--they think I talk really fast and am a really hard worker--I think it's just that I don't have that deceptive relaxed appearance that everyone else seems to have--they manage to get tons done w/o seeming to rush. It's very deliberate.

Love "ya'll"
Katie