A typical day at the Grapevine…
Breakfast is between 7:30 and 8:30*. You order from a full menu, and you can also sign up for that evening’s activities. If going on a day ride, fix your lunch from the goodies provided and pack it in a lunch box and then in an insulated bag. Don’t forget the munchies like peanuts, or trail mix, fruit juice or cookies. Above all, don’t forget your water bottle – or two!
8:30 – Wander out to the corral and if ready, mount your horse. Ride around the arena until all your ride is mounted, and then depart. Rides leave as soon all riders are mounted – the day rides preferably leave first, as it can be a long day in the saddle!
If you have opted for the day ride, you will leave at 8:45 am, and return around 4 pm, tired but happy.
If you’re on the morning ride, you’ll return to the ranch around noon. If you wish, you can groom your horse after the ride and put him away – horsey friendships are formed here!! If you would rather not, no problem - just leave it to the wranglers. You may also choose to do the cowboy ride and check the cattle with the cowboy, offered on Mondays and Thursdays, or try your hand at team penning on Saturday mornings, or Horseback Games on Sundays.
Lunch is at 1:00 pm – a hot lunch, a full salad bar, and dessert selection, and a sandwich fixin’s table for those wishing a lighter meal. The lunch and evening menus rotate every six weeks, with the exception of steaks dinners on Thursdays and BBQ ribs on Saturdays – two perennial favorites!
2 pm – and time for the short afternoon ride, designed for those for whom three hours in the saddle is a bit much - and also for those for whom three hours in the morning is not enough! This ride generally explores Grapevine Canyon and surroundings, and returns around 3 pm.
For those who don’t ride, the afternoon is a good time for sightseeing, or spending lazy hours around the pool or hot tub, or in hiking, birdwatching, or watching movies in the video room.
5 pm – time to visit the ranch store, with its myriad goodies for yourself or friends at home, or wander to the Cook Shack bar, to enjoy a drink and some home made chips and salsa, a specialty of the ranch.
6:30 is dinner time, always a three course meal, with everything, including the breads, cooked on the ranch, served family style, and followed by the evening’s program** – or by just plain relaxing!
9 pm – the bar closes, and most people are happy to return to their accommodations and their fully stocked minibars – but many stay on, swapping tales of the day’s doings, or playing pool, darts or ping pong in the Buffalo Room.
* During the three summer months, our clock is set back one hour, in order to enjoy the cooler weather and the lovely evenings. Then breakfast is from 6:30 – 7:30, the rides leave an hour earlier, and the afternoon ride becomes an evening ride, taken after dinner to enjoy the spectacular Arizona sunsets or full-moon evenings.
* The programs vary by day – one evening there is a short talk on the history of the area, Thursday evening offers live country western music and dancing, other evenings are spent playing poker (for tokens only) or challenging each other at a game of Spoons. And of course, always there is lively conversation amongst guests who come here from all over the world.
* On Sundays we enjoy a cook out lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs, served at the cattle ranch headquarters following the morning ride and the Horseback Games - in the summer months this is a breakfast cook-out, with hot cakes, eggs, sausages and all sorts of breakfast goodies.
