Ranch Travels

This is my happy place. Ranch wife, ranch mama. Raising cows and a feral ranch baby on the shores of the Laramie River. I’ve decided that travelling with an infant is a whole new ball game, but for those of us that live in rural areas, travelling is also just a way of life. Even to take our trash to the dumpsters involves getting in a motorized vehicle or ATV and travelling. Checking mail, we must travel. Getting groceries, we must travel. A trip to get feed or hardware, we must travel. And for mail, groceries, hardware and feed stores, I’m not just talking about a 3-minute drive. It’s usually a half day trip, sometimes even a full day trip, depending on where and what we need. Coolers in the back of pickups are a very normal sight on the ranch.

Before becoming a stay-at-home mama, I had a 45-to-60-minute commute to my job in a neighboring town. This commute took me on highways, dirt roads and even past historical places and markers. I joke even to this day that I started little miss young when it came to getting used to travelling. Even on the inside, the lull of the drive would rock her to sleep. Both on my way to work and on the way home. As soon as I hit the dirt roads, she was out. She loves the ruts and washboard bumps! Now, they make her giggle until she is rocked to sleep! I used to struggle with her ultrasounds because they wanted her awake and moving, yet the drive to get to the hospital always made her sleepy. I would have to bring lemonade or lemon-flavored candies to suck on to wake her up for the tests! She loved lemon flavored anything! And she needed to be awake so she could show the doctors she was doing just fine!

To this day, she is an excellent traveler, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that! At 4 days old, we had to travel to Colorado for a doctor’s appointment for her and I was terrified about how she would do. She handled the drive perfectly! I cried and whined more than her that day. My poor husband! Being 4 days out from a c-section made for a rough drive and he got to hear all about it from the back seat driver! I think he was more excited to be home that evening than he was for anything else in the world!

Before having a baby, travelling to visit my family in my hometown would consist of throwing a bag together, tossing it in the car and 4 hours later, I was to my destination. Now, it takes packing up the entire house, fitting it into the car like a puzzle and after 5 or so hours due to stops, potty and snack breaks for us both, we finally make it to our destination. Where we then spend hours unpacking and setting everything up. The quick, simple trip is gone, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love having my little side kick while I travel, even if she does sleep 90% of the time.

Growing up, my family vacations consisted of road trips, and I think that is what fostered my love for hopping in a vehicle and heading out on an adventure. My family would pack coolers and instead of stopping at restaurants along our drive, we would stop at parks and pull-out sandwich fixins’ and have a good ol’ fashioned picnic! One of my favorite treats we would have on the drive was the trail mix and spicy pretzels my mom would make! They were both salty and yummy and were the perfect snack for any trip! Now, I get to make them for my family when we travel!

Before our little one made her appearance, my husband and I spent our first couple years together travelling to pick up auction buys across Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming and we always had a blast. It didn’t matter where we were headed or what we were picking up. We always had the best time because we were on an adventure together! My hope is as little miss grows; she appreciates the road trips that turn into life’s greatest adventures and enjoys her time spent driving to retrieve the newest auction find! I have no doubt that she will be her daddy’s right-hand gal on all his future trips! Most of our trips are only day trips as the ranch keeps us plenty busy, but we do love the chance for a getaway that takes us away overnight every once in a while! If you have tips or tricks that you use while travelling with an infant, I’d love to hear them! I’m all ears! This is the Laramie River Ranch wife, signing off…. from my happy place!

Recipes from my kitchen to yours:

Spicy Cayenne Pretzels

1 pound pretzels

1 cup canola oil

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place pretzels in a large bowl. Mix oil, cayenne pepper, garlic salt and ranch dressing packet. Pour mixture over pretzels. Stir well so all pretzels are coated. Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Enjoy!

TIP: You can use gluten free pretzels! They bake up super crunchy and super yummy!

Party Trail Mix

1 pound pretzels

3 cups corn cereal

3 cups rice cereal

3 cups wheat cereal

3 cups rye chips

1 cup mixed nuts (optional)

6 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix pretzels, cereals, rye chips and nuts in large bowl. Mix melted butter, worchestershire sauce, garlic salt and onion powder in a bowl. Pour mixture over pretzel and cereal. Stir until well coated. Place on cookie sheets. Bake for 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. Enjoy.