Harlie getting the ranch ready for our Thanksgiving guests!

Howdy guests and friends of Tarryall River Ranch! Did you all have a good Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful day at our Colorado dude ranch with a packed dining room of folks from near and far!  It is always a lot of fun having guests join us for our family dude ranch vacations during the summers but there is something extra special about having families and friends join our family for a big turkey Thanksgiving dinner at our dude ranch!

The festivities started around noon with Bridget’s delicious Hot Apple Cider at the picnic tables.  It was such a gorgeous day that everyone gathered outside by the picnic tables with their Hot Apple Cider.  The setting was picturesque with the warming sunshine and fantastic views of the Tarryall Mountains towering high in the distance.  A lot of our guests for Thanksgiving this year also joined us at our dude ranch last year, so it was a treat to catch up with all of them.

Full dining room!

After cider, we headed into the dining room for a mouthwatering home-cooked Thanksgiving feast.  Dinner was nothing short of Bridget’s typical extraordinary cuisine! All 60+ of us piled our plates high with juicy turkey, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn and more!  Oh, I am starting to get really hungry just thinking about it!

Everyone was so stuffed that we couldn’t just jump right into dessert, so we headed outside.  A game of kick ball was started along with horseshoes and a lot of laughing and running around at the playground.  Plus, we hitched up Bonnie and Blanche for three hayrides.  After all this activity, everyone was ready for fresh homemade pumpkin pies and cheesecakes!  Ok, I’m getting hungry again…

Having fun on the hay ride with Bonnie and Blanche!

It was truly a very happy Thanksgiving at our dude ranch and also reminded us once again how much fun it is to open our corner of the West to family and friends. We are already getting excited for the 2013 dude ranch season and to offer family dude ranch vacations to guests from around the world once again!

What did you do for Thanksgiving? We would love for you to share your stories with us!

Happy trails,

Kody