Working the dream life for 16+ years.
An interview with Larry and Paul Vickers about Vickers Horse River Ranch cabins for sale in beautiful Lake City Colorado.
OK. Life must go on I suppose, as lonely as it is without Jerry …
But enough about my hay stories. By now, I’m sure you’re as tired of the hayin’ as I was when we finished. How ’bout some fishing?
This isn’t exactly timely anymore, but consider it my summer fishing report for Lake City, Colorado – from the Vickers Ranch fish ponds, to their upper ranch mountain lakes, to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.
A fun time was had. No gear was broken. And a few fish were caught. But not too many.
Jim reviews safe haying practices learned while workamping as a ranch hand at Vickers ranch for hay season.
The Vickers hay Chronicles features The funny short film Hay Country! with Larry Vickers mowing the hay field and workamper Jim helping Paul get the John Deere out of the mud. Part two introduces the fifth generation of Lake City ranchers and workamper Boll Weevil. In part three, meet old Perk Vickers and find out how life on the ranch used to be.
What does a gay horse eat? Haaaay-aaaay!!!
You probably gotta hear that one to get it. Or have gay friends. But the point is, ya gotta have a good sense of humor when it comes to hayin’ because things can go wrong which may ruin your day, or entire season. And when you’re a hayin’ there are an awful lot of things that can go wrong.
We actually got all the hay in the Vickers Ranch barn a few weeks ago now. But with so much that happened to halt the hayin’ this year, its amazing we got it in at all. In fact, according to the Vickers we still finished earlier – and with more hay – than any ever before.
Collecting and stacking hay is hard work, but first it must be baled. Before that it has to be raked into windrows. But to do that it must first be mowed.
All of the above depends upon the weather. Oh, and the equipment working properly. And nobody getting hurt.
Luckily no one got hurt, which is amazing in itself. But apparently, the weather was on our side this year. Holding out just long enough for us to deal with each of the myriad mishaps…
Enjoy a slideshow of pictures from workamping at Vickers guest ranch in Lake City, CO
Autumn comes early in Lake City, CO with cool weather and the end of summer before Labor Day.
Walking into a real estate office and meeting a new agent is akin to sitting your butt down in a dentist’s chair. It’s just gonna suck, whether you’re there for a root canal or just a cleaning.
Unfortunately, dealing with certain kinds of professionals that can rip your teeth out, make you bleed, and rob you blind, just seems like an evil fact of life.*
During our travels we’ve seen tons of great properaty listings, but we’ve never walked into a real estate office to learn more. Recently though, we got up the nerve to do just that, after learning that our neighbor’s daughter works for a Lake City broker. Thinking, “how bad could it be if we have an in with a local?” we went in.
We heard there was a 40 acre property just north of town, for sale at $200k, an unheard of price here. When we got to the office, we learned the property was actually listed at $299k, which is way over our cash-only budget, but still closer to it than anything we’ve seen for that many acres of western Colorado mountain property, with water rights.
We asked the agent if we could see it anyways (not mentioning that only a winning lotto ticket would give us a chance to buy it).
“Oh sorry, you’d have to cross private property, only I can take you there,” he said.
A quick geology lesson from Jim explains the Leaverite rock formations found in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
There is one project on my list of workamping duties here at the ranch that I am particularly proud of.
Producing street signs for Vickers Ranch was the perfect opportunity to apply my expertise as a signmaker, brush up on my woodworking skills, and learn to operate a backhoe – all while getting a crash course in condominium plat regulations.
Workamping saves RVers money on road trip expenses with lots of freebies. Our July 2008 RV road trip expense report shows how.
Young couple on RV road trip sabbatical leads unusual workamping life in the Southwest Colorado wilderness.
Here’s to the roofers, framers, and ditch diggers who think they have it harder than those who sit in front of a computer for a living.
They may be right. I know because I now have experience working in both worlds.
Having toiled at a desk, driving a mouse for most of my working life, I’ve had a chance this summer to live the life of a laborer, driving everything from nails to a backhoe.
For years, as a busy desk-bound graphic designer, I often wished I was outside just digging a ditch or something. Now, workamping on a busy guest ranch has taught me to be careful what you wish for. And given me cause to reflect on the intricacies of my life on the job, whether it be behind a desk or under a truck.
This has been a rough week at the ranch. In the span of three days, two workampers quit, the chef got into an accident and might be out for the season, and some guests are being a challenge. I see the look on my boss’ face, and I can relate.
Back in the day, whenever things would get rough while we were running our old business, I would read this quote on the wall above my computer:
“I’d rather be the captain of my own dinghy than a junior officer on the Titanic.”
–Dr. James Chan, Author of “Spare Room Tycoon; The 70 lessons of sane self-employment.”
It was a constant reminder of why Jim and I were working countless 12 hour days, jumping through flames to deliver impossible client demands, and barely stopping to catch our breath to show Jerry some love. Yet, despite the endless agonies that go along with being self-employed, I’ve never been happier while making a living.
It took me a long time to figure out that I was meant to run my own business.
Since Jim got the world’s tiniest violin out and told you about his hard days here at the ranch, I’ll take this opportunity to tell you what I’ve been up to.
This summer, for me, it’s all about cleaning. I’m on the housekeeping and laundry squad. Rah! Rah! Rah!
Some days it’s just me, another workamper, and co-owner, Paulette Vickers. Mid-week, my job can be easy, and there might not be a single cabin to clean. On these slow days, I’ll go work in Paulette’s garden, which is a great change of pace, since I love playing in the dirt, and her yard is awesome.
But on the weekends, when we have to turn over nine cabins before 3pm check-in, that’s when things get really dirty, and the “all hands on deck!” call will go out for everyone to pitch in.