Greetings!

These past couple of days have been pretty amazing here at the ranch. Students have been doing outstanding work diving straight into work projects, horse academics, and essays all while getting to know their fellow peers and toughing through the unpredictable Colorado weather. Students have really started to push beyond their comfort zones and it is truly amazing to watch.

Today we also went on a short hike, just beyond the ranch property on the edge of the Roosevelt National Forest. The sky was clear and the wind was sweeping wildly across the meadow. Mount Meeker in all its snow capped glory towered over the valley. We gave students the opportunity to take some silent alone time to take in the views, reflect, write, and ultimately have time to be mindful and present in the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work projects are service initiatives for the students where they get to help us out here at the ranch with cleaning, cooking, and barn work. This work project was particularly exciting down at the barn as student went on an egg hunt through our towering haystacks and hang out with some of our friendly goats. As you can see the animals are loving the attention!

 

 

 

Howdy!

Today is our last full day at the ranch! It is such a bittersweet feeling. Students are excited to go home to their friends and families, but they are also trying to enjoy every last moment at the ranch. Currently, students are writing on each other’s yearbooks and finishing up academics. Yesterday the students went to tour a local college, the University of Northern Colorado. It was great to get off the mountain for a little while to see what great opportunities UNC has to offer. Not to mention, there was an endless buffet that everyone loved. Poetry Slam on Tuesday night was a huge success! Nearly every student shared a poem, and the support and encouragement in the room was incredible.

It is amazing to see how close these students have become this session, and I am sure it will be difficult to say goodbye tomorrow morning.

 

Howdy Y’all!

It’s been a great week at the ranch, and we are thrilled to have OFL High Desert here. As I’m writing this, the students are getting community service hours for helping clean our ranch, take care of our animals, cook food for dinner, and riding horses. As of today, all of the students have successfully ridden a horse. They love spending time at the barn with our animals.

We’ve also tried to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Over the weekend, we went on three hikes. Students got the opportunity to take some time to sit quietly in nature and reflect on their time here. They also got the chance to learn about the local flora and fauna of Rocky Mountain National Park from a real park Ranger. The students really enjoyed experiencing all that the great outdoors has to offer them. Best of all, we had our first snow of the season on Sunday night! We immediately stopped what we were doing to stand out on the deck to watch the snow fall. It was magical.

The students are having a great time. We’re working on academics, eating good food, and getting out of our comfort zone! Tonight we are hosting a poetry slam, and the students are so excited to share their own poems. I’m sure it will be a great night!

Right after our first hike in the forest!

The students learning about Aspen trees!

 

Posing with the beautiful Mt. Meeker

Our students have been having a blast and tonight will get to learn how to square dance!

Stay tuned for our next blog post on Monday!

Howdy everyone!

OFL High Desert arrived safely on Tuesday. Yesterday they spent the day learning about our horses, getting through some academics, and playing group games! Today, the students got another opportunity to interact with our animals, helped make food in the kitchen, and learned about the importance of Grit and Gratitude. Every chance we had, we tried to get outside to play games on the deck.

We’re so excited to have everyone here!

 

Good bye San Juan! It has been a pleasure having you at the Ranch!

 

Students on the Stanley Tour

Just laying around

Hike day!

Howdy Everyone!

OFY San Juan arrived on Tuesday, and they hit the ground running! Everyone seems excited about being in sunny Colorado!

We learned about the RMPR herd and a bit about training horses

We practiced some of what we learned

  

And we found some free time to goof around and have fun!

 

Check back tomorrow for more updates about the trip!

I cannot believe our trip is almost over. The weather is still beautiful here in Colorado and we are enjoying our time at the ranch. Today we took a field trip in the morning and arrived back just in time to do a serious and fun academic piece as a large group. We even got to dress up! After dinner we pulled those costumes back out again to dress up for our special guest. The evening was filled with laughter, dancing, and support. We cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds!