Join us this week for a very special guest blogger, Cherie Hedenskog. Cherie visited The Ranch when she was five and shared her experience with her class by writing a book this past year. As we gear up for a summer and holiday season of family reunions, vacations and gatherings, Cherie’s perspective reminds us of the lasting power of travel for guests young and old. Years later, her enthusiasm for new hobbies, sights and experiences is still evident. We love helping forge unforgettable family memories. Enjoy a tour of our homestead from Cherie’s perspective.

My Journey at The Ranch at Rock Creek

written and illustrated by Cherie Hedenskog

Historic barn
The Historic Barn

Have you ever been to The Ranch at Rock Creek? Did you know that the Historic Barn was built in the 19th century? That was in the 1800’s! You will learn about the funny goats, the log cabins, the horseback riding, the fly fishing, and last but not least, the bowling.

 


Meet the Goats

Little girl petting goats
Cherie with Fruit Snack and her kids S’mores and Gummy Bear

Now, the Ranch at Rock Creek goats are awesome because this little boy named Rodee Owen named them. The goats are named S’mores, Fruit Snack and Gummy Bear… those are funny names!

Goats in a barn yard

When I was there I chased them, and they ran away, and then they chased me and I ran away – it was super fun! The goats are black and white, and spots are kind of like the spots on cows. They are amazing goats, and when you go to The Ranch at Rock Creek, you should go see them. You’ll like them, I promise!

 


Bowling in the Silver Dollar Saloon

The Ranch at Rock Creek’s bowling is the best! It is so much fun! They have bowling balls with the initials R.C. (that stands for Rock Creek). And, they have bowling shoes there and you pick your size. Then, you pick up your bowling ball. Be sure not to pick a super-duper heavy one, because you might fall down or it will be too heavy for you.

Bowling balls

The bowling alley is in the Silver Dollar Saloon, which is a bar. I went in there and I am a kid, that is crazy! The bowling alley is a four lane bowling alley. When I went they put a rubber thing that makes it so the ball doesn’t go in the gutter.

Father and daughter at bowling alley
Cherie bowling with her dad

My mommy and daddy went bowling too. I am really good at bowling but my mom and dad are a little bit better because they have had more practice than me.

Sometimes I get all the pins down, and sometimes I only get one, or two, or three pins down. It just depends on how you roll the ball and how you aim the ball. If you aim the ball right, and roll the ball right, you might hit all of the pins and that is amazing.

Bowling alley

I think that you guys will have so much fun bowling at The Ranch at Rock Creek, and there is a whole lot more to do there too!

 


Horseback Riding in the Arena

When I was there, I had so much fun on my horse Tuxedo. He was nice and he was black, all black.

Little girl on horse
Cherie riding Tuxedo

My mommy and daddy had cool horses too, but I did not pay attention to what their names were. I do remember what they look like: my moms was white and brown spotted, but she was light brown and white spotted with a white mane. She is very pretty. My dads horse is dark brown and white and has a black mane, and his horse is a boy.

A wrangler teaching a child how to tend to a horse
Adopt-a-Horse is one of the activities available for Flint’s Forest Rangers

When you go to the Ranch At Rock Creek you do not just ride in the arena, and adults can ride on the hill tops! She had a rope that was connected to Tuxedo and she walked him with me on him, and it was snowing too! The snow was falling on me, my mommy, daddy and Kari and my mommy and daddy’s horses and my horse Tuxedo.

It was fun riding a horse while it is snowing, I had the biggest smile on my face.

Horses in snowy barn yard
The Camp Roosevelt barnyard (with Historic Barn in the distance) after a fall snow

 


Log Cabins

The Ranch At Rock Creek log cabins are so cool. They are sort of like houses, which they are, but all made out of wood. My cabin was very nice. It had a sofa, a kitchen, one bed for me, a big bed for mommy and daddy and a fireplace. When you get your house, you also get a bike because you are not allowed to ride a car around. So, they give you a bike!

Little girl with bikes
Cherie with her bike in the snow

There are a lot of different rooms at the Ranch At Rock Creek, not only the one I told you about. There are 29 houses that you can chose to live in for a few weeks or less.

A ranch style living room with couch, fireplace and armchair
Cattail Cabin, where Cherie stayed

The people who work there provide cowboy and cowgirl hats and all sorts of things that you could need for the trip. The fancy way that the people who work there call the houses is “accommodations.” So, there are 29 accommodations! There are four types of accommodations: Granite Lodge Rooms, Historic Barn suites, Luxury Canvas Cabins and private homes.

A cabin surrounded by grass and trees
Bear House, another popular family accommodation

The Historic Barn was built in the 19th century–that was the 1800’s!  The 1800’s was a long time ago, right? But most of the time someone is already using one, or two, or three, or more. So, you will not be able to get all 29 options, sorry! But, you can choose any accommodation that is available.

The Ranch At Rock Creek is a five star guest ranch. That means that they are the nicest ranch ever if they have five stars.


Fly  Fishing on Rock Creek

I LOVE fly fishing at The Ranch at Rock Creek. It was so much fun! I went there with my mommy and daddy, and this guy who helped me with fishing. He was very nice. When you want to go fishing, make sure that you wear a puffy coat, jeans, a scarf, boots, a cozy hat and earmuffs because the water is super-duper cold.

Little girl holding a fish

There are seven species of fish in the creek: cutthroat, which is the one I caught, rainbow, cutbow, brown, brookie, bull and Rocky mountain.

The best thing happened when I caught a FISH. It is called a cutthroat trout. It was pretty big, about a foot apart between its head and tail fin. It was so cool catching a fish and holding one with my own two hands.

A woman casts on the banks of Blue Ribbon Rock Creek in Montana

Wow, you read all about The Ranch At Rock Creek, and now you are an expert on The Ranch At Rock Creek! You have read about the funny goats, the bowling, the horseback riding, the log cabins and the fly fishing.

 


All About the Author

The author of this blog is Cherie Hedenskog. She lives in San Diego. Her favorite color is blue, and her favorite favorite animal is a dolphin, and her favorite sport is skateboarding. She has a pet leopard gecko and his name is Xander. She is 9. When she is not writing she is with her family and the other stuff that she told you about. Good bye, see you!