Ashley Family Bonding Trip: Day 5 – Losing Members of the Clan

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Wednesday, May 28th

Previous Posts:  Day1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4

On Day 5, we all set alarms for early in the morning, as we wanted to say goodbye to Jim and Leigh before 
they started their drive back to Billings at 6am.  Risa realized she didn’t have a picture just of Dad, Jim, and I, which led to this photo:


Please ignore the crazy hair and pajamas

Although we all tried to go back to sleep after Jim and Leigh left, not all of us succeeded, so Chris and I worked out the sore spots from horseback riding the afternoon before in the hot tub for a little while.  After that, we spent most of the morning hanging around the Lodge, alternately napping and helping clean the facility.


Aunt Linda and Uncle Gene outside the Lodge


Ta da!

Our group had eight people, and the day we all left, one side of Risa’s family (the Brown’s) was flying in for their time at the lodge, and they numbered 17.*  Thus, we were happy to help turn over bedding, run the washer and dryer, and change out towels for the next group to visit.  After a smorgasbord (aka: we have tons of random leftovers, let’s eat them all!) lunch, we headed to visit another part of the Padlock empire, the Bar V Ranch. 



Even if some of the horses didn’t want to let us through.
"NONE SHALL PASS!"

Some of the buildings at the Bar V reach back to the early days of the Ranch, and it was one of Risa’s Dad’s favorite locations.  We had a wonderful time taking a look at the accommodations which reflected the aspects of early ranch life coupled with modern amenities.  You know, like indoor plumbing.








I enjoyed the buildings at the Ranch but really had an amazing time once we made it to the barn, which housed a new crop of ranch animals just starting their life journeys.  I got to pet baby cows…


Now on leashes!

…and my favorite, of course – puppies!


Can you see the maniacal gleam in my eyes?


More puppies!

We spent a little while longer poking around the Bar V but headed back to the Lodge with a spring in our step, as reports started to come in of a storm brewing.


Well, some of us had a spring in our step.

Back at the Lodge, the wind whipped around like crazy, and we ended up losing power for four-five hours or so, right as we were attempting to make chicken parmesan for dinner.  Thankfully, the stove top was a gas burner, so Chris and I browned the chicken by candle and gaslight.  Since the oven was electric, someone came up with the great idea of finishing the parm on the gas grill, which worked perfectly!

After dinner, we sat around chatting awhile, helpfully finishing off large quantities of beer and wine before they could warm up to room temperature.**  Thankfully, right before bed, the electricity was restored, so we headed to bed knowing we could set alarms and take hot showers in the morning.

Later!

Amy

* Holy crap!

 ** Everyone does their part.

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