It's not a surprise that couples would want to have their wedding ceremonies here at Latigo Ranch; the setting is just so remarkable that it's a perfect place to have a celebration that marks the beginning of a lifetime of love.  We enjoyed the wedding last week of one of our former staff members from 2005.  She had asked Randy to speak at the service which was quite an honor for him.  He cited C.S. Lewis' comments on marriage from his book Mere Christianity, 

"Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing.  It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling.  Now no feeling can be relied upon to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all.  Whatever people say, the state called 'being in love' usually does not last.  If the old fairy tale ending, "they lived happily ever after", is taken to mean "they felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married", then it says what probably never was nor ever could be true and would be highly undesirable if it were.  Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years?  What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships?  But, of course, ceasing to be 'in love' does not mean ceasing to love.  Love is a second sense - love as distinct from 'being in love' is not merely a feeling.  It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both partners ask and receive from God.  They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other, as you can love yourself when you do not like yourself.  'Being in love' first moved them to promise fidelity; this quieter love enables them to keep the promise.  It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run; being in love was the explosion that started it."

Next weekend holds in store another wedding on the front yard of the ranch.  The aspen have turned their beautiful golden hue, and as long as the snow holds off, it will be an ideal setting for the beginning of a lifetime commitment.  Randy and I surely believe Latigo is the perfect place to be in love!

Our cattle roundup begins in less than a week, and that marks the end of the summer season for us.  We're down to 8 core staff members to help us finish out the year, and they're all eager to participate in the roundup as well.

Lisa........from Latigo........the best dude ranch in Colorado!