I could think of a million better ways to spend my summer. Three of my girlfriends were shopping in Paris at this very moment, while I sat sprawled out in the backseat of our minivan, listening to my father singing along with the Rolling Stones and Luke and my mother chatting aimlessly with Lucy, my younger sister. In all honesty, I would have rather been heading anywhere else. Of all the places to take a family vacation, my parents chose a dude ranch in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico, where, they had noted excitedly, we'd be able to ride horses and learn how to square dance. How thrilling.
We'd already driven two hundred miles that morning, and we still had another six hundred to go. We wouldn't reach the ranch until that evening, and it looked like I was going to die of boredom before then. My parents said that flying would have ruined part of the whole vacation experience. Apparently driving through desert for eleven hours and watching ungodly amounts of sand and cacti go by was something necessary I had to go through in order to fully appreciate life.
I peered out the window through my sunglasses while twirling a lock of blonde hair, daydreaming about little cafés around the corner from the Eiffel Tower and trying to figure out how I was going to survive two weeks living in a cabin with nothing outside but dirt and farm animals. Apparently this was a fully functioning cattle ranch, meaning that its purpose wasn't solely for guests and tourists, although I think that was supposed to be part of the appeal. The rest of my family seemed to be in the spirit. My dad had bought us all cowboy hats and both Lucy and my mom were sporting new western-style boots. Even Luke seemed excited about going. He'd taken vacation time off work to go with us, which I admit, was one nice thing about this trip. I'd barely seen my older brother since he'd started working after he finished college.
It wasn't long before Lucy tried to draw me into conversation. "Kira, do you think there will be any guys there?" At fifteen, my sister had a one-track mind.
I smiled. "No, it's going to be an all-female ranch," I replied back sarcastically.
She gave a long, dramatic sigh. "You know what I mean."
Luke decided to jump in. "It doesn't matter how many guys are there because if any of them so much as looks the wrong way at my baby sister, they're going to see what the inside of a horse's ass looks like."
"Luke!" my mother exclaimed while my dad laughed.
"Does that go for both sisters?" I asked, smiling.
"Darn tootin'," Luke turned and gave me a wink. He was five years older than me, and even though we were now nineteen and twenty-four, he still liked to pretend that I needed his protection -- one of his more endearing qualities...most of the time.
We drove for what seemed like an eternity, stopping only for gas, food, and the occasional "I have to pee" from Lucy, who'd gone through about five water bottles that day. We got off the freeway around seven and drove along a dirt road for a half hour. This place truly was in the middle of nowhere. The sun was setting as we pulled off the track, under an archway that had "Waterman Ranch" engraved on it.
As we drove in, the first thing I noticed was how big the place was. Huge amounts of green and brown pasture lay sprawled out around what seemed to be the main part of the ranch, where there were clusters of guest cabins in the distance and a giant house that stood in the middle of stables and corrals. Horses were out galloping in fenced areas and being herded into a large red barn by ranch hands. Groups of people that mostly looked like guests were walking into the big house, which would have looked like a mansion if it weren't made out of wood. There was an extensive porch that swept across three sides of the building, and many lingered outside sipping drinks and talking.
After parking the car and grabbing the luggage, we were led to the cabin which the five of us were going to be packed into. To my surprise, it wasn't that small. There was a decent-sized living room with a kitchen that offset it. The main room was furnished with wooden sofas and chairs, and had a fireplace with a large rug in front. In addition, there were two bedrooms. I'd be sharing a room with Lucy, and Luke would take the extra bed in my parents' room.
I put down my suitcase and walked into the bedroom. Two twin beds were placed about eight feet apart, and I chose the one on the edge of the room that sat directly next to a window. After sitting down and testing the bed, which actually felt quite comfy, I opened the window curtain and looked outside. Although it was dark, I could still see pretty well. In the distance, I saw men on horses leading cows into the stable. Others were walking toward the large house that sat in the center of the ranch, where a large amount of people were gathering. Small, colorful orbs hung in the air between the buildings now, and I realized they were paper lanterns, lit up in hues of red, green, blue and yellow.
My mom came into the room and looked out the window with me. "You know everyone gets together at that main house at night. They call it, 'The Lodge', and there's music and dancing. I think we should all head out there, it will be fun!" How a middle-aged woman who had been up since six in the morning had so much energy, I had no idea, but that was my mother.
"Tonight? Don't we need to unpack?" I asked in a voice that made it clear I was less than enthused.
"You know, I'd think after twelve hours in the car today, you'd want to walk around for a little while," she answered, smiling.
She did have a point. A half hour later, all five of us were heading into the big ranch house. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting. The house looked big from the outside, but the inside seemed huge, and as soon as we walked in, I could see why they named it, "The Lodge". It looked like the lobby of a large hunting lodge. There was one main room, completely decked out in western decor. A fiddle band played in the corner while people danced on the hardwood floors in the center of the room, and there was a bar off to the side, where ladies in cowboy hats were serving food and drinks. The walls were decorated with things like antlers and pictures of the ranch from years ago, and paper lanterns like the ones outside provided an extra bit of glow to the already bright room. I had to admit, the place had character.
Shuffling over from the bar, a tall, slightly stout man, probably in his mid-fifties, introduced himself as the owner of the ranch. "You must be the new guests...the Davis family?" His voice was deep and booming. "I'm Jack Waterman, the owner of the ranch, and we're all pleased to have you here. If there's anything at all that I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, well then you just let me know." He was wearing a white, button-down shirt, large cowboy hat, boots, and he sported a thick salt and pepper mustache. While exchanging pleasantries with my parents, he had a big grin on his face.
"These are our daughters, Kira and Lucy," my mother introduced us to Mr. Waterman, thrilled that the owner of the ranch himself was getting to know us. "And my son Luke is over at the bar. We've been driving all day from southern California, but we had to come tonight and see what we were missing here."
"Our motto here at the ranch is ride hard during the day, and dance even harder in the evening," Mr. Waterman replied proudly. The man looked tough, but once he started talking he actually came across as very sweet. "This kind of shindig goes down every night and usually lasts for awhile. It's a great way to get to know the staff and the other guests. You all make yourselves at home, and don't forget to get up early tomorrow for the trail rides."
