Call it a bucket list, a dream list, whatever, but I was able to mark one of those things "I got to do before I die" off my list. A good buddy of mine is working on a ranch in southern Colorado and he invited me to come up and hangout with him and several of his friends so I jumped at the chance. Now I will be the first to admit I am not a cowboy. However, I am not totally green to the whole concept. I have been around cattle my whole life. Both of my grandad's had cattle. I have helped my uncle and several friends with their cattle operations. I have done everything from dehorn to castrate to help pull a calf from a momma cow who was having difficulty {and no I didn't name him Norman....I named him Thunder}. Some of my childhood memories revolve around cattle. I used to spend the night with my grandparents on Friday just so I could go to the sale with my grandad on Saturday's. Sometimes I even got to bid on the cows he was buying and a few he wasn't planning on buying.....oops! I remember one time we were hauling a huge wild bull with a bad attitude to Muleshoe and he jumped out the top of the cattle trailer and my grandad said "that's good enough" and we just turned around and went back home. Where that bull is now nobody knows.


Like I said earlier, I am not a cowboy. It isn't because I don't own a single cow, a horse or even a pair of spurs. Who is to say that tomorrow I wont go out and buy a hundred head to eat my milo stalks or graze on my wheat to help make ends meet. It is simply the fact that cowboys do not deserve to be lowered to my ranking on the cowboy chart. Just like someone who owns a tractor is not necessarily a farmer. I have the utmost respect for ranchers. The things that these men and women do is amazing. I think I could compare ranching with farming to some degree with a few exceptions. A rancher/cowboy has to deal with the elements of nature, an open market of trade, be able to balance profit and loss due to increased costs of fuel, feed, labor etc., be everything from an accountant to a veterinarian to a business man. He must be willing to accept the fact that there will be good years and bad, but most of all love what he does.

Back to the list. So I headed up to Durango Colorado to hang out with my friend Matt. This ranch was heaven on earth. Josh, one of the ranch owners, took me up to a place they call Deep Creek. Josh's grandad bought this place back in the day and now it is surrounded by national forest. After doing a little bit of work, Tom, another ranch owner, ask me if I wanted to ride his horse. I answered yes before he could finish the question.
I have been going to the mountains since I can remember and I always said that it would be awesome to get to ride a horse through Gods country and to be able to do it with some good friends just made the event that much sweeter. While we were riding through aspens and pines, time stood still. No worries entered my mind. Just great thoughts, smiles and a recording of that day's events and the people who shared it with me. Hopefully I am welcomed back there someday and that day can be relived over and over just as it is in my mind. Who knows what tomorrow brings. Perhaps I will be able to cross out parachuting and bungie jumping or a hot air balloon ride. So I hope you have a list. I hope it is long and I hope you are able to mark off everyone of your adventures as I plan on doing!!