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ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY CALENDAR
Click on this link
for the current Calendar.
MEMORIAL DAY 2004 (May 31,
2004)
Lynell Arnott provided the following narrative:
"Today
at the Ranch we had a great picnic out under the trees. We had a
throw-on bar-be-que and all sorts of other good stuff. Jim and
MaryLee Wissman had some silly games for us to play; we sang some
patriotic songs and had a moment of silence in honor of the day and what
it stands for. We also had ice cream and watermelon! It doesn't get much
better than that.
There was quite a crowd of us, too - 50. Tomorrow another batch will
drive out again, but there are still visitors rolling in, so those of us
left won't be lonely.
Cowboy drove over for the day today. It was great to see him. Mickey's
daughter and son-in-law are here readying her trailer for her return.
Unfortunately, Mickey is in the hospital - has been for 10 days, so keep
her in your prayers and she loves cards and emails."
Memorial Day
picnic (Photo by Carol Wessman).
CHRISTMAS 2002
We had about 80 folks at
The Ranch Christmas dinner this year. Darrell and Pat Mauck had at least
15 of their family arrive for Sloppy Joes on Christmas Eve, a family tradition,
and then they joined us for a very pleasant meal prepared by Mike and Margie
Klick. Chicken Cordon Bleu or Ham along with Rice Pilaf and various dishes
brought by the participants. The Mauck Mob pitched in for cleanup along
with the Ranch Hands.
Darrell
directing work in the scullery.
Take a look at a variety
of photos of our Christmas dinner in the Scrapbook.
Robert is
becoming a fine coffee maker!
CHRISTMAS 2004
Thanks to Sally Stribling,
we have some photos of the Christmas Eve Dinner and snow at The Ranch.
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SOur
New Big Screen TV and the Christmas Tree with gifts ready for exchanging on
Christmas Eve
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Quartet performance
on Christmas Eve at The Ranch (L-R Dave Pierce a visitor, Jim
Wissman, Bill Giffin, and Norm Partch)
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Dinner on Christmas
Eve
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Dinner on
Christmas Day
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Snow on Christmas Eve
2004
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FALL ROUNDUP
2000
The Fall Roundup is
one of the major events at The Ranch. Over 180 campers participated
in the 2000 Roundup held from November 1-7. Dinner was served each night
and donuts/bagels and coffee were available each morning. There were craft
classes including Christmas Ornaments, Indian Maiden Dolls, Wire Angels, Painted
Bird Houses and Quilt as You Go Blocks along with a Watercolor Workshop.
Tall Tales filled the Activity Center one evening when a Story Teller spoke and
a Cowboy Poet visited to recite his original poetry. We had a raffle each
night and during the day, tours were offered such as Sitting Bull Falls, the
Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Paddlewheel Boat on the Pecos River, and a Search
for Pecos Diamonds!
The Melodrama Those Wedding Bells Shall not Ring
Out..or, The Bride Wore Green Chili Peppers was a great hit (Click
on Scrapbook for more photos). Blood
testing and 55 Alive Defensive Driving Classes were offered along with a
Health Fair presented by the Artesia Fire Chief. Horse races and games
were big hits. All this and FREE MARGARITAS!
The
Cast of the Melodrama Those Wedding Bells Shall
not Ring Out...or, The Bride Wore Green Chili Peppers
FALL ROUNDUP
2001
The 2001 Fall Roundup
at The Ranch took place from November 1 to 4. We had a
variety of activities such as blood tests on the first day, crafts, a
variety show As Good As It Gets?, raffles, games, and Charlene was our storyteller.
Tours included several of our favorite tours from last year, the
Living Desert State Park and a Diamond Patch Tour. Click
here to view more photos from Round Up 2001 at The Ranch.
Craft
classes were offered in Needle Tatting, Plastic Canvas, and Raku
Pottery. Demonstrations included Spinning and Egg Craft.
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Needle Tatting
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Plastic Canvas
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Several
vendors set up on the porch and the Too Crazy Ladies brought
their badge workshop.
Of
course, there were meals! The first night, we had a great
Potluck Dinner followed by an equally fantastic Barbeque Rib
Dinner the next night. Hobo Stew and a Chili Cookoff
followed on the next days.
Important Meal
Planning
FALL ROUNDUP 2002
If you weren't
here in November for our annual Round-Up, you missed a good time and we missed
seeing you (see photos by clicking here). There were 139 of us here so we had room for a few more fun
lovers. Put us on you schedule for next year.
We all like
winning something and many people did just that! There were 78 door prizes
given away - some from merchants in the area and some from leaseholders.
There were also 78 really nice raffle prizes donated. We bought $607 worth
of raffle tickets. So thanks to all who took part, whether donating prizes
and/or buying tickets.
There was $250
distributed in the cash raffle: $125 to the first place winner, Chris Parris;
$62.50 to the second place winner, Sandy Singley; and #37.50 to the third place
winner, Ede Troeckels. $25 was given to The Ranch.
The health fair
was fairly well attended with 48 flu shots given and 20 people had blood
laboratory work done. We were given really good prices for the various
laboratory work offered. The difference between laboratory actual cost and
amount received is used to buy equipment and test equipment for community health
fairs. The workers volunteer their time here and at community events.
A speaker from a
local funeral home was here in the afternoon with helpful information on being
prepared for emergencies while on the road. The major focus was the
paperwork needed if your traveling partner dies while you are away from our home
base. There were 30-40 people taking part in a really good question and
answer session. David Huston was a fun speaker and enjoyed by all.
We had horse
races and rubber ducky races, some crafty projects, tours to several area points
of interest, lots of good food, and three evenings of entertainment.
Cowboy poetry evening on Friday presented by some of our Ranch Hands'
talent. We had a good time on Saturday night with country, western and
southern gospel music by Chunky Click and the group, Christian Justice.
They came to use from Carlsbad. Sunday night was the last big event of the
week, the melodrama we had all looked forward to - "The Villain Wore a
Dirty Shirt" or "Always Wear Your Longjohns 'Cause They Make a Lotta
Cents." Many of our talented leaseholders and visitors provided the
entertainment. Thanks to all who were part of providing all these good
things.
The law enforcement
personnel were great! Sheriff Debra Simmonds-Amari headed up a great group
consisting of three deputies and Judge Roy Bob. Court was held several
times with any number of law-breakers being brought to justice. Fines were
collected for a number of serious infractions, such as: wearing heats or guns at
the table, spitting on walkways, or not wearing name badges. The biggest infraction
of all was insulting the Sheriff! Finally, on Sunday the Trail Boss and
Ram Rod presented a petition signed by Round-Up participants to declare the
position of Sheriff to be null and void until Round-Up 2003.
Next year, the
plan is to celebrate our 20th birthday here at The Ranch. Don't know yet
what the plan is, but let us know if you were around in the early years or have
been a leaseholder in the past. How would you like to remember your time
here or what would you share with others if you could? Start making some
plans to be here and be a part of the fun. Check out the Escapees Magazine
by summer and fall 2003 for developing plans.
SKP Hugs,
Leah Coley,
Trail Boss
Cecy Neitz, Ram Rod
ROUNDUP 2003 and 20th
BIRTHDAY
Check out the
article about Roundup 2003 prepared by Gene
Sharp. If you were not there for The Ranch's 20th birthday and 2003
Roundup, you missed a great time. Be sure to make it next year!
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Each day
at 4:30 pm we have a Happy Hour so that members and guests can get
together to discuss matters of possible interest to the folks staying
in the park. There are morning exercises and nightly games in
The Ranch House. Craft classes are held several times a
week. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years dinners are a real
hit! Members and guests gather at The Ranch House frequently for
jam sessions, to check out books and video tapes from our library, and
to just visit.
The
Genealogy Group meets every Monday at 1 pm in the Sun Room of The
Ranch House. Come join us! If you want to know what is
involved in tracing your family, we will tell you. If you are a
beginner, we will help you. If you are at the where do I
go now phase, we will give you suggestions. If you are
an expert, we hope you will give us some pointers to more easily do
our work. Come climb your family tree.
THANKSGIVING 2002
What a beautiful
day and the meal was wonderful. We had 85 folks dine with us and we all
ate our fill! Trish Teegarden and her crew cooked the turkey and dressing
for the entire meal and Karen Ogden took care of the arrangements. They
did a wonderful job. Take a look at some photos from the meal in the Scrapbook.
MESCAL
ROAST & MOUNTAIN SPIRIT DANCES
On
Saturday, May 19, 2001, over two dozen Ranch Hands attended the
Fifteenth annual celebration of the popular Friends of the
Living Desert Mescal Roast and Mountain Spirit Dances. We
were treated to a dinner of Apache Beef, Hominy with Red Chili,
Cole Slaw, Sliced Peaches, and Bread. The feast was
followed by an Apache War Dance and Spirit Dances. Sunday
morning the Mescal Pit was opened and the folks were treated to
a taste of the Mescal (Agave) that had been roasting since the
previous Thursday. Be sure to meet us at The Ranch
next year for the next Mescal Roast.
CINCO DE MAYO
We celebrated
Cinco de May on May 5th (of course!). Take a look at Gil Freeman's photos
from the potluck dinner. Click on the small, thumbnail photograph below to
enlarge then use your back button to return.
JUDY
LOY'S GRADUATION
We are all
very proud of Judy Loy for completing her Associate of Arts degree at
New Mexico State University at Carlsbad. Take a look at some of
her Commencement photos by clicking here.
WELL DRILLING
Carol Wessman sent us a couple of photos of the well drilling behind
Lot 102.
FISHING AND
YACHTING
The North Seven
Rivers runs along the western border of The Ranch. Take a look at the
photo below to get an idea of the quality of our fishing! Such smiles
could only mean a good catch.
Actually, the
North Seven Rivers only flows during heavy rainfall periods; however, fishing
is good at nearby Brantley Lake.
Ann Nechetzsky
and Pat Dolan of Lot 23 test their kayak with Commodore Carl Johnson
instructing while other leaseholders help but carefully watching.
CARLSBAD
COMMUNITY THEATRE
According
to the Carlsbad Community Theatre "A world of
entertainment! From its first production The Curious Savage
to its latest presentation Big River, Carlsbad Community
Theatre has entertained the community for 40 years with at least 4
plays each season and 25 summer Broadway musicals. Talented
troupes of local players have trod the boards from early performances
at the Elks and Woman's Club to our present location on the National
Parks Highway. Theater is as varied as the actors who perform
and the audiences who applaud. Our 40th season offers an
eclectic choice of plays to entertain and enlighten, continuing our
purpose and tradition! Come help us celebrate!"
Suggestion
- Purchase a season ticket (4 tickets) for $25 then use them for a
couple to enter for two performances. You save $3 for the 4
tickets.
CHRISTMAS ON THE PECOS
| "Passengers
aboard one of three cruising boats enjoy a tranquil 50 minutes,
floating past scenic waterfront properties imaginatively decorated to
delight, amuse and express individual interpretations of the season's
meaning." There are 12 tours nightly up the Pecos River
from the Pecos River Village starting Thanksgiving and continuing
through New Year's Eve (no cruises on Christmas Eve). The
cruises take about 50 minutes. Adult tickets are $7.00 (13 yrs
and over), children $5.00 (4 to 12 yrs),
and younger children are free. |
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Check out the Christmas
on the Pecos Website.
LOCAL TOWNS AND ACTIVITIES
The towns
of Artesia, Carlsbad, and Roswell are nearby, offering a variety of
activities. Click on the buttons below to visit the Websites of
these towns that include calendars of events, listings of services,
and other information.
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