Farewell from the ranch

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Jim's oldest sister lives on a ranch outside of Hot Springs, South Dakota. My sister-in-law's property has been the scene of many a family celebration over the past 20-plus years.

Last Saturday it was the spot as many extended family members as could make it gathered to celebrate the life of Granny, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to all who were there.

In between taking hundreds of photos of the family, I wandered here and there to shoot a few shots of the spot that holds so many cherished memories.

ranch life 

The expansive, history laden...

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch

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As I'd mentioned we'd hoped to, Jim and I spent Saturday afternoon at my sister's ranch, and we were delighted Brianna accepted our invitation to join us.

We rode ATVs...

Gave target practice our best shot...

Indulged in a little horseplay...

And enjoyed time with family we hadn't seen in a while...

Three things I learned from the day:

1. Allow more time next visit so we can go on an actual horseback ride after warming up the horses in the corral.

2. I'm a far better shot with a .22 than I—or anyone else—expected, especially considering I had never shot a gun of any size before. A "natural" even, according to the best ranch host ever, my nephew Coltan.

3. I'm still a big chicken when it comes to ATVs. I (reluctantly) rode with Jim to the shooting range; after target practice, I told them to enjoy their wild four-wheeling in the canyon without me and walked back to the house. Which was fine because it allowed me to add a few scenic photos to my collection of 980 photos from the day.

Today's question:

What were your picture-perfect moments from the weekend, whether you had a camera in hand to document or not?