The ranch was bought when I was 5 years old. My family had planned a vacation to Toberua Island, in Fiji, and since my father was sick with multiple sclerosis, he could not make the family trip with us. My brother, sister and I were so upset by this, because my father had always been with us on our trips to Fiji, and the thought of going there without him was really hard on us. My dad told my mom that she should still take the three kids to Fiji, and for her to bring a friend to help out with everything and watching us. My father wanted us out of the house while tests for his MS were taking place, so we would not get too worried. We were gone for two weeks.
My father must have known that his sickness was serious, for while we were away, he began his search for different ranches in the greater rocky mountain area. He looked all over Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming, then finally stumbled on a listing for a ranch in Lander, Wyoming. The couple that owned it had it for their entire lives, but were too old to maintain it. He purchased the ranch after only seeing pictures that were sent to him in the mail. For my father, this ranch would be a way for his children to enjoy their last years with him. When the doctors told him his condition would most likely be fatal, Dad decided to work less and spend more time creating memories, for his biggest fear was that his children would not remember him.
When we got off the plane from Fiji, my dad couldnt make it to the airport to pick us up, so he sent a white limo. When we all jumped into the back of the car, the entire inside was covered with large, panoramic pictures of land. Lots of land. Hills, trees, rivers and open skies. My mom, as well as us kids, had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden, the front window where the driver seat was rolled down, and low and behold, my father was in the front seat looking back at us! He asked my mom if she liked the pictures, when she said yes, my father said, "good, cause its yours. Its all of ours!" At first my siblings and I had no idea what it was, until my dad told us it was a ranch where we could ride horses, explore, and walk for miles without stepping onto our neighbors land! For me, this was the most amazing news I had ever heard!
That summer, the entire family drove our suburban to the ranch instead of flying. It was our first roadtrip, and driving through Wyoming was not like Southern California... we would drive for hours without seeing another car, only the occasional antelope. (i called them cantelopes at the time) When we got to the ranch, there was only one cabin, but the rest of the summer was spent building our other cabins and making it a perfect little escape for everyone.
Because we did not have television, my brother, sister and I were forced to use our imaginations and rely on ourselves for entertainment. My sister would play dolls, and my brother and I would go out and search for treasures in the riverbed. Surrounding our "homestead" area were a few old dump piles (which were cleaned up later on that summer..) an old stagecoach wreck, and an indian camp. We would spend hours in the Indian camp looking for artifacts, which is where I found my first arrowhead, and my brother found a really old pipe. After finding these, we became obsessed with finding other treasures. We would even go out by ourselves, wearing irrigation boots so we could get really deep into the river, and see who could find the best treasure! I was determined.
One day, I decided to walk downstream a ways and look for bottles in along the riverbed in the mud. We had found all sorts of purple glass bottles, and old whiskey jars, so I thought that if I went further than we had ever gone before, I would find the best bottles of them all. I walked around a bend and saw what looked like an old sheepwagon. It was not standing, but there were shards of cloth, an old stove and chimney, and what was left of some wooden wheels. Jackpot! I started lifting peices of wood and metal to see what was underneath them. All of a sudden, I realized there was paper everywhere! I found sheet after sheet, only to realize they were books that had fallen apart and were ruined from the elements. I kept digging when I found one that seemed intact. It had a leather cover but I could not read the letters on the front from all the water damage. I was sooo excited! I could not read at the time so I ran home as fast as I could to show my dad what I had found.
He opened it up and started reading a line from it. He told me that I had found a really old Bible, which was amazing because most of the pages were intact! I was so excited! The best treasure found on the ranch, the old Bible! We wrapped it up in a plastic bag to protect it because my dad said that it was really special, and I would want to have it someday.
This summer, 2009 I was going through an old closet and stumbled across a plastic bag. I had not seen my Bible for years, so when I opened it up, I was so excited that I still had it! I took it out of the bag and openened the Bible up. There was a peice of yellow paper folded up in the center of it. The paper read, "I hid the Bible in this closet knowing that it would not be discovered for a while. This discovery really is an amazing treasure, one that will give you stories to tell for years. Life really is about memories and the people we share them with. Never stop searching for the greatest treasures in life. Love, Dad." Im not sure if my mom knew that note was in there. My father passed away when I was 10 years old, so to find that note 14 years after he passed away brought a lot of nostalgia. That Bible, other than my Harper Collins, is the only Bible I have ever had, even though I have never read it, it is one of the most important discoveries I have ever made.
Hill where we scattered his ashes, overlooking his favorite place in the world.
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