Weekend at The High Oaks Ranch: Day 1

On the last day of my vacation, I usually carry around a little bit of sadness with me. A good sadness. Is there such thing as a good sadness?  

I have always been that way.

Maybe it's because I don't want my vacation to end. Maybe it's because I had so much fun that I wish my feet would just grow roots and I never had to go back to the real world. Maybe I'm just weird. Maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

This past weekend, Clint and I packed up the truck and trailer with a couple of horses and headed down to Cranfills Gap, Texas for the High Oaks Ranch spring cattle branding and The Big Hat roping. This will be our third year to go. Each year, I feel privledged to go since the cattle branding's motto is, "No women. No dogs. No RV hook-ups." That was coined by the head honcho, Scotty Cobb himself. We broke all three of those rules. Oops...

We left town on Wednesday afternoon after we made a quick decision to leave a day early. We rushed to the cleaners to get our clothes, we rushed to pack our bags, we rushed to make sure the living quarters trailer we borrowed from a friend was full of water and propane, we rushed to get all of Blaze's things together for his weekend with Jammi, we rushed down the highway as fast as we could.... all to slow it down.

Cranfills Gap is the epitome of "God's Country". The land that the High Oaks Ranch sprawls itself out on is full of green, lush pastures, grazing cattle, creek beds and some of the prettiest Texas wildflowers I've ever seen.


It seems like all of the rain we have been getting has brought the Earth back from the brink of death. Everything is alive and green again. It sure does make up for the bare landscape we had last year.

We pulled up right before the sun dropped down over the hills to the campsite where a few of the other people had already set up camp.
Some of the people I have known and grown to love, others I was just aquaintances with, and a few I had never laid eyes on.
The chuck wagon was set up in it usual spot with the tan canvas tent covering it from the elements and the fire was giving off it's welcoming glow. The kind of welcoming that says, "Come sit and stay a while. Come tell your stories you've waited a year to tell all your buds." 

After getting all the introductions and "How are you's?" out of the way, everyone began to liven up a bit. There were a few "storytellers" in the group that took center stage as we all laughed until we cried.

When the sun went down, only the moon and the stars provided any natural light and the continual buzz of the sounds of wildlife was your soundtrack for the rest of your trip. You know, the harmony of the crickets with the occasional baratone from a bull frog kind of soundtrack.

Far away from any city lights or crowded highways, it was the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of our real lives.

We didn't have any cell phone service and I'm proud to say that I didn't miss it. I wasn't constantly checking my Facebook for status updates or texting friends about nothing. I lived those few days as if cell phones didn't exist and it gave me the time my soul needed to relax, cultivate friendships with all different walks of people, and appreciate the simple and wonderful creations we were given by God.  

Soon the homemade dice table was brought out and everyone that was brave enough put their belly up to the table with their one dollar bills in hand. I hadn't ever played dice before so I just stood back and observed, took pictures and made a mental note of the rules I could hear over the trash talking from the losers and yells from the winners.

Ahhhh... what a wonderful vacation. Too bad my feet didn't grow roots.

I managed to take a few good pictures before I retired for the night because I knew my wake-up call would come way before I was ready...

Believe it or not, this is my first click of my camera on this trip. I love everything about it. I love that I actually got my ISO and my shutter speed right to even make this picture possible. I love the worn boot and the jeans. I love that he's got his feet propped up. I love the friends gathered in the background. I just love it. Plain and simple.

Fist full of dollars



I'm pretty sure this is in between a stand off for bets.



Nothing like a nice game of dice between friends. You can see just a little
part of Trey (we call him Trey Trey), John Klam in the middle and Sean on the right.

What's he gonna roll?

Greg (left) and Sean (right)

Enjoy! More of our time at the High Oaks Ranch coming soon!

-Kaci