Christmas at the Horse Ranch

I remember the Christmas when I was 15 years old. My mother, sister and I went to Arkansas with a friend to stay at her father's horse ranch. It was a long snowy ride from Iowa to Arkansas, but as we got closer, the snow let up and we were then driving on dirt roads muddied by the rain. This was actually harder to navigate on than the snow. The tires were picking up clumps of mud and throwing them on to the windshield. We didn't arrive at the ranch until 1:00 AM.
we arrived at our accommodations, a rather rustic cabin. It was heated by a wood burning stove downstairs and that floor had electricity and running water to the kitchen sink only. The upstairs where we slept required an extra layer of blankets and a lantern for light. The restroom facilities were outside in the outhouse. It was as though we had turned the clock back several decades.

As we had arrived there very early Christmas eve morning, we took a lantern upstairs and tried to get a few hours of rest. When we woke up, it was time to help with the Christmas Dinner preparations. Because I had done a little cooking, I was placed in charge of pies. Unlike how most of us use shortening to make pie crusts, we used lard. I'm sure it wasn't good for our arteries, but those were by far the best pies I have ever eaten.

After cooking, we walked over to a coniferous forest and picked out our fresh Christmas tree which we cut down and brought to the house. Then we took care of the horses and went for a short ride.

We had soup and sandwiches by the wood-burning stove for supper and then played board games in between trips to the outhouse. About mid-evening we realized it was snowing, not a blizzard like in Iowa, but a few light and fluffy flakes like in the scene on a Christmas card.

Along about 10 PM, we took the lantern and went to bed. We were very tired, but much too excited to sleep, so we spent most of the night chatting and waiting for daylight so we could use the outhouse.

We got up Christmas morning to find about two inches of snow on the ground making it look like a winter wonderland. Just like at home, we had stockings and gifts. After the unwrapping was completed, it was time for Christmas dinner including my pies which were the hit of the day. I have tried to make pies with lard at home but have never been able to replicate the pies we had on that special Christmas.

That afternoon we spent sledding and getting to know the horses. The sun sets so early in the evening, that we barely had time to play. We had a supper of sandwiches and leftovers and then played cards until we were too tired to hold our eyes open any longer. All of the fresh air that day had really worn us out. We took the lantern and went upstairs. This time we feel asleep right away.

The day after Christmas the sun shone brightly and warmly, and the snow melted rapidly. The trails were back to mud by the time we got the horses ready to ride. We explored trails all afternoon. By supper time, we were so tired we ate and went to bed.

After a good night's sleep, it was time to head home having been much enriched by our trip to the horse ranch. I have treasured these memories for years.
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