Latigo Ranch: A place of much laughter - and really good bacon.
It seems like just a few minutes between falling asleep and having my dreams interrupted by my alarm going off. *sigh* I quickly slide the “stop alarm” key on my iPod (there are six other girls still sleeping in the bunkhouse) and flop back down on my pillow. This may seem dangerous – how easy it would be to fall back into sweet, sweet slumber! – but I know it will only be three minutes before the housekeeper’s alarm starts beeping. That’s my cue: you REALLY have to get up NOW! Yeah, that’s me: your not-much-of-a-morning-person-waitron. I roll out of bed with an annoyed groan and try to rub the sleep out of my eyes…
Not long after, I’m heading down the bunkhouse stairs. It’s mid June, but the mountain air is still cool and so clear! My walk down to the lodge is relatively short, but definitely long enough for me to soak in a little sunshine, and deeply breathe that mountain air. Soon my steps have more bounce. Ok, maybe I’m a little bit of a morning person after all. As I near the lodge I catch a scent in the air. A smile slowly spreads across my face because I know what it is: bacon. Thick, juicy, cowboy style bacon. Suddenly I am a 100% morning person. I practically dance into the kitchen…
Fast forward to lunch time: My fellow waitresses are bustling in and out of the kitchen putting the final touches on the tables as I wash dishes. The rest of the staff has already eaten, but a few remain in the back room. Suddenly there is an eruption of laughter. One of the wranglers has an adorably infectious laugh and I suddenly realize I’m grinning at the greasy pot I’m cleaning. I glance around. Looks like no one saw me smiling maniacally at a pot…
Guest lunch is nearly over now, and I’m still at my station doing dishes. As I grab a stack of dirty plates, I hear more laughing – this time it’s coming from the kitchen’s “upper deck”. The ranch’s brother/sister cook duo are smirking/cracking up over… are those mushrooms? Oh, who knows. I shake my head and chuckle to myself. Who cares if somebody sees me laughing over dirty dishes anyway? I scrub a little harder and make no efforts to conceal my crazy smile…
Soon my pile of dishes has dwindled, so I venture out into the dining room in search of tables needing to be cleared. A guest is lingering by the buffet as I enter, and we strike up a conversation. “How do you like the mountains?” “They’re beautiful! How do you like working here? It seems like the staff has so much fun! Sometimes when I walk back to my cabin I can hear you all talking and laughing in that back room. It makes me smile.” It’s spreading, that infectious laughter is…
We chat for a little longer, and then I head toward the abandoned tables (the guests have all migrated outside). Adults are talking and enjoying the view from the comfort of the porch, and the kids are running around the lawn and shouting noisily. But these sounds are often broken up by intervals of (can you guess?) noisy laughter. It’s everywhere… indoors and outdoors, over the water and through the air, in our hearts and on the wind.
Of course we staffers have our rough days, and the lack of atmosphere doesn't stop our young guests from scraping their knees, but for the most part Latigo Ranch is a place of much laughter. When you are surrounded by the beauty of the mountains (where countless wilderness activities await), and friendly people with whom to spend time, who could stay gloomy for long? Oh, and the bacon. That alone should be reason to have a 24/7 smile. Aw, shucks. I’m hungry now… Time to pack my bags and follow the sweet smell of bacon to one of the loveliest places on God’s green earth.