STGR Blog

Click the link to watch the YouTube video of the New Years Eve Fireworks 2010

We thank all our guests, for another fun filled evening.  We enjoyed ringing in the New Year amongst family and friends.  The fireworks were great, yet again and we are glad that all the guests stayed up to enjoy them.  Happy New  Year!

Jodi and Sophie (Dan & Carrie’s daughter-in-law and their granddaughter) are heading back to STGR tomorrow.  Jodi and Sophie stopped out for a short visit in August after moving back to Wisconsin with Dan & Carrie’s son Jeremy.  They will be visiting for a week this time.  Peggy (Carrie’s childhood friend), who lives visits the ranch about 4 or 5 times a year, will be out at the ranch tomorrow for another month long visit.  We welcome the girls back with open arms.  We have missed them.

For past guests that are looking for an updated picture of Sophie, we have included a shot of her in her GreenBay Packers cheerleading outfit.  She will be 9 months old on Friday. She is saying “Mama” and “Papa”(which is what we have been calling Jeremy), as well as crawling, pulling herself up and crawling up the stairs.  She can wave and do a high-five.  She is great and we can’t wait to have her back for a week long visit.

While it is nice that we don’t often have clouds, sometimes they make for great sunsets like the one we had tonight.

It has also cooled down a lot the last day or so and is only in the upper 70’s right now which is great!

About 2 years ago we had a group of ladies stay with us that were all breast cancer survivors. They wore pink the entire trip - everything was pink from socks and shoes to shirts to bandanna’s and hats. Ever since then we have created a tradition of all wearing pink shirts on Wednesday nights for dinner. If you care to join us please bring along your pink shirt!

We have so many returning guests this week that we got a large group of people wearing pink and Henry S. (5x returning guests) was nice enough to take a picture of everyone.

Well, we finally had a day off on Saturday and took advantage and went golfing at our favorite local course in Parker, Arizona - Emerald Canyon Golf Club. As of May 1st it is only $20 after 1pm for unlimited golf with a cart. It is probably the best golf deal in the entire world! as you will not find a better course for $20. If it was located anywhere near a major city it would easily be over $100 as it is just that spectacular and scenic. Trey and I ended up in a tie with 89’s and Randy and Dan are better off keeping their scores a secret!

Here are a few pics so you can see just how scenic it is. If you are interested in playing while you are in the area the only bad thing is that it is about 1.5 hours one way from the ranch.

Here are some cute little pic’s of Lilah and Ozzie snuggling together in the office today. It’s hard to believe a cat and dog can get a long so well!

Here is a new picture I took tonight of the Beavertail Cactus blooming while the sun was setting. I set up directly behind the dining room and I later realized that our new Stagecoach is hidden behind the tree so I guess I will be taking a new one soon.

Ok, I was able to take another one tonight with the Stagecoach in the frame. As you can see their is a great sunset just about

every night here at the ranch!

I took these two pictures today after we were done cleaning room #12. The first is of the new decorations and bedding we just purchased and the second is of the porch area and mountains in the distance. You’ll also notice a new swing on the left side of the picture to enjoy the mountain views throughout the day or stars at night - there are 3 new swings like this scattered around the ranch.

(I used my new wide-angle Sigma 10-20 lens again for both of these)

Just a quick note to say a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of you for making our first vacation a memorable one. We had a spectacular time, and we will be back again. Everything was perfect.

Thank you Craig , Scott, and Trey for your poems, treasure hunts, and humor. You put a smile on our faces and that’s priceless. Codi, Tanner, and I came to say bye but were saddened that we had mistimed it. Take care of yourselves as we would love to see you all again.

Carrie, attached are photos that Codi took of the elusive Desert Tortoise that Craig said you have been looking for.

Hugs to you for your contagious laughter and thank you again for everything.

Linda, Codi, & Tanner

I wanted to share some of these silhouette shots I took during a horseshoe tournament we had. While the sun was setting I took advantage of the sunset lighting and set my camera on the fastest speed which makes everything dark except the sky - the result is some pretty cool images.