Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bird Killers

I have decided that this ranch is a bird killing ranch...well not really but a lot of birds die here. The reason for the death of the birds is because we have to have the windows SPOTLESS. There are two really large windows in the lodge that have to be very clean for the guests and because they are so clean the birds don't realize that it is a window, thence they fly full speed towards it and knock themselves out for good. Some are lucky enough to just get knocked out for a bit and then they can fly away again. It is quite startling when you are just sitting there in the lodge when a bird bangs against the window...but it is really funny at the same time. One time there was a humming bird that it pretty hard so I went outside to see if it was dead or not...it was just sitting there not knowing what just happened because it probably got brain damage...I think it bent it's beak as well. I nudged it with a stick to try to get it to fly off but it was still pretty dizzy. I have never seen a humming bird fly so slow. The other day a bigger bird hit the window really hard. We thought for sure it was dead but nope; it was still breathing. It was so funny watching the bird. I definitely think it had brain damage after that one. It wouldn't close it's mouth and it let my friend Janae pick it up and hold it with out any struggle at all. It was like her little pet for a bit. We call her Snow White because she always tends to the birds when they hit the window and she doesn't think it is gross to touch them with her hands. It wouldn't fly away at all. So she held it for a while and its mouth still wouldn't close. Finally, the bird pooped on her hand and flew off. What a rude thank you! I guess that's all it needed to do in order to get back into the air. It was hilarious!
Jane with her little pet bird.

Cliff Jumping!

On the 24th of July we all decided to go do something fun since we missed out on the festivities. We decided to go cliff jumping! I think cliff jumping is soooo scary. I always want to do it but then I think about it way to much and freak myself out. Well, this was a really high cliff...at least the highest I have ever been cliff jumping off of and so I was really freaked out. Anyway, I only went once because it took me the whole time we were there to finally get the courage to jump. The water was freezing!!!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Just Another Day in Paradise

This place is so amazilingly beautiful out here I just can't believe it. The other day the whole crew and family was all able to go on a horse ride clear up on this hill. It was an incredible view of the ranch and everything else. It was great fun except for one thing...allergies!!! My allergies were acting up really bad and so I wasn't able to enjoy in as much as I wanted to but that was ok. In fact, the day before, I had a really bad allergic reaction down by the pool and my eye swelled up to the size of a golf ball! It was really sad because we were going to town that night and I looked like the hunchback of Nortre Dam! So I had to wear my sunglasses every where so no one would notice. It was quite funny actually. Any ways, here are a couple of pics of our horse ride. If you look close enough you can see the Grand Tetons in the background.




Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Happy 24th!!!

Happy 24th everyone! I am sad to say that I will not even be in Utah for the celebration. Beaver has a huge celebration for the 24th and it is my favorite day of the year so I feel bad I can't be in Beaver with my family and loved ones.
Just some updates on with whats going with me here at the ranch; I am just doing the same old thing cooking, playing, going on horse rides and having a blast. The summer is flying by that I just can't believe it! I am happy though that it is going fast because then I get to see Ladd again!!! I never wrote about this but I was able to go see him over the 4th of July and it was a blast. We went swimming, went to a rodeo, went to Billy Bobs, and just spent time together. I had such a great time and I did not want to leave for anything! Anyways, sorry I don't have any pictures but maybe I can get some good ones before the summer is over. I hope everyone has a great 24th!!!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Have Fun While We Can!!!

This week we have no guests and we are taking full advantage of it! Of course there is still work to be done but we are still able to relax and have some fun of our own since we have nobody here. The other day we went down to Teton National Park and went hiking to some Hidden Falls by Jenny Lake. It was cloudy when we got there and it was perfect weather for hiking until it started pouring rain! Well, the rain made it even the more fun. It was quite the long hike and we ran quite a bit of it from tree to tree to get some shelter from the rain. Finally we got up to the Hidden Falls and the hike/jog was well worth the beauty of the falls. We had a great time! We have to have all the fun we can because after this week it is going to be full of guests for the rest of the summer. Here are a few pics of the falls and the rain.
This is all of us hiking in the rain. We are soaked!
Jenny Lake in the rain.
This is the whole Crew.
L-R: Hayden, Me, Laura, Carolyn, Janae, Lachelle, Brad.
The Hidden Falls

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Pics of the Headquarters






So this is the bunk-house. All the crew sleep here. The window on the right is where I sleep. The "cook" gets to have thier own room. The boys share a room right next to me and the rest of the girls stay upstairs. It is just one big room upstairs where most of the fun happens. As you can see, this just used to be an old barn turned into a bunk-house.












Just a different view of the bunk house.











Here is the Lodge where all the guests mingle and eat.




This is inside the Lodge.







This is where I am most of my day...in the kitchen

OUCH!!!

This is one of my many burns that I have received here at Red Hills Ranch. It's a tough and dangerous life working this job and it hurts a lot at times. This particular burn was from a pan that I was carrying. I was going through the door while carrying this pan (I was in a hurry) and there was something behind the door which made the pan fall off my hand and onto my arm! It hurt really bad. I have a few others as well: one is from just opening the oven door, another is from a skillet plug (the long metal thing that goes into the plug) and another is just from touching a hot pot. One of the things I hate cooking most is bacon and sausage. I have started wearing gloves to protect my arm from the popping grease. The frying pans don't have any lids for some reason so the grease just pops everywhere. I'm surprised grease hasn't popped in my eye yet! Anyways, regardless of the danger and pain, this job is very enjoyable and I am learning new things everyday.