I received a flyer in the mail a few months ago…  It was offering a Retreat of sorts (with horses, books, hiking, food and wine) at the V6 Ranch!   Hmmmmm, sounded yummy!

Except…

The hitch was that the entire Retreat theme was “Wild” – but not for what you might be thinking – it was for the book, WILD, by Cheryl Strayed.  (The movie was recently released with Reese Witherspoon.)  This weekend was for those who loved the book and wanted to hike and be out in nature to reflect.

Well… I hadn’t read the book nor seen the movie.

But, that didn’t stop me!  I WANTED IN.

So, I looked balefully at Hubby and he agreed that I should go.  Yay!  So I immediately replied to hold a spot.

… I had enough time to read the book… right?!

BARB’S WILD WEEKEND in photographs!

I’m going to tell the story in a few words and lots of photographs!

Parkfield (the earthquake capitol of the world and the home of the V6 Ranch)  is around 6 hours away from my house.  I had mentioned this trip to my neighbor (the one who now blissfully keeps Princess Llama Llama Llama) and she wanted to come… so she and I drove together.  Perfect.

(Yes, I had just finished the book in time!  Phew!)

OUR ARRIVAL

My friend and I arrived early to Parkfield and ended up wandering into the Parkfield Cafe.

Now… let me set the stage… Parkfield has a few residents and they are all family members.  The Lodge and Cafe were built by John Varian.  Barb (his wife) runs the Lodge and Cafe.  John builds every structure and runs the Ranch and the Ranch recreation (Dude Weekends, Cattle Drives, Wine Weekends, Photography Weekends…)

Parkfield is a family affair and family dogs run freely (which I loved…).  Everyone knows everyone.  No one is a stranger.

So, my friend and I figured we’d be fine entering the Cafe… eventually someone would grab us and tell us what to do next.

And that is exactly what happened!

We entered the Cafe and Barb immediately grabbed us and gave us our handmade, copper stamped and leather lanyards.  A very nice touch!  (You’ll see the lanyards around many of our necks in the photos below!)

FIRST ADVENTURE!

Our first adventure started at 3pm the day we arrived – it was a hike at the top of the Ranch…  All of us (17 new friends) piled into 4 cars and drove up the County Road to the top of the ranch.

We  fell out of our cars for the first adventure – a hike!

I was a bit nervous since I have been sick (Lyme) for a few years… but I did fine.  The hike was fairly easy and GORGEOUS.

And at the end, a lovely, thoughtful surprise!  Barb had her husband, John, and her daughter, Kathryn, drive up through the ranch to the designated point where they set up a table (pre-designed and photographed by Barb so they knew what to do) full of yummy appetizers, wine and several other beverages and fruit.  Yum!

Please note the W-I-L-D letters on the table.  Another sweet touch created by Barb.

Is there anything better than pristine ranch land?… I was enchanted.

THAT NIGHT…

We all had a glorious time getting to know each other on the hike.  We knew dinner (tasty! served at the Cafe) was at 6:30 so as soon as we got back to our rooms…

Oh!  Our room!

I need to tell you that we roomed in the Post Office.  Yup!  it was the original Post Office from when Parkfield was a Mercury Mining town.  Anyway, mules moved it from its original spot to where it now resides.  John rebuilt it and Barb and her sister decorated.

Of course, my friend kept telling ghost stories from her room through the wall into mine.  But, I fell asleep anyway – very comfortably – in the front office of the Post Office!  ;)

(The rest of the Wild group staying in the Lodge that John Built.  That isn’t its name but it might as well be…  ;)  )

BUT FIRST, THE BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION!

Now, I am not a ‘group’ kind of gal.  I tend to veer away from groups of women instead of towards.  But I gotta tell you, this was FUN!  Not only did I learn so much about my new friends via their comments regarding the book; but Barb and her mother  provided a photo journal of thought provoking questions that were beautifully projected onto the wall of the Great Room in the Lodge.

Funny, all this time I was so worried about finishing the book… and I was worried for nothing.  Not only was there no test, but no one cared who did or didn’t finish the book.  The good news was the book was very fresh for me (very fresh) so I could recall whatever they were discussing easily!

As an aside, those who had read the book AND saw the movie, had  A LOT to say about that…

*I neglected to take a photo of our ‘goodie bags’ that Barb made for us.  They were very sweet… ‘Barb’s Wild Weekend’ was stamped on the front.  Inside were lots of locally made goodies (grass fed beef jerky, handmade brittle, handmade soap, a Parkfield Cafe mug, and my favorite item:  a V6 Ranch Wild Rag!  You can see most of us wearing ours on the ride.  What I found very amusing was that Barb managed to match the correct color of wild rag to each person.  Mine was red.  Perfect!).

DAY 2:  THE MOST GLORIOUS RIDE…!

We were told we could bring our own saddles, which I did.  We could also have brought our own horses, but most of us used Ranch horses that John picked for us individually.

I forgot to mention that I had met John and Barb a few years ago when I ventured onto a Cowboy Weekend at their ranch (you can read that story linked here).  I had a wonderful time NOT taking my horse (I was the only one on that ride who didn’t bring  their own horse – and I think I was the only happy rider. ) and I learned that Ranch Horses are wonderful creatures.  They know the ropes and are very sound, secure and sensible beings.

This trip, I was given, Lucy, one of the Varian daughter’s roping horses.  She was cute, smart and short.  Yay!

I cannot begin to tell you how glorious it was to ride this ranch as if we were alone in the universe… the way California was before…  Lucy and I were a team of explorers (at least in my mind which traveled through time and dreamed the entire afternoon.  I don’t think I said much of anything to anyone on this ride.  I was in my own world.)

 

Our hosts, John and Barb Varian.

DRINKS, DUTCH OVEN DINNER, DESSERT AND A MIDNIGHT HIKE!

After this glorious ride, I was elated!  While most of us went indoors to shower and recoup, I went to the Cafe to see what was shaking!

There were a few of us in the bar part of the Cafe.  We delighted in scrumptious wine spritzers (made from a local vineyard’s wine) and great conversation.  I loved this part!  After a perfect ride, this kind of fun makes the whole day one to remember!

At 6:30, we met outside for a Dutch Oven cooked dinner and dessert.  YUM!

Fran and I turned in, but the others, led by Barb, went on a ‘full moon walk to the lake’.  I heard it was lovely!

SUNDAY’S LAST HIKE AND GOODBYES!

Sunday morning held another hearty breakfast and then we regrouped for a lovely hike on the other side of the ranch.  Just imagine riding these view on horses… which we did the day before!

 

AND THEN IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE…

After this hike, there was a little ‘goodbye’ ceremony that we had to miss because we were late getting on the road already.

Good people, new friends, fine food, superb horses, incredible views and grand contentment.

A great, great time was had by all.

SOME PICS I WANTED TO INCLUDE:

IF YOU WANT TO SPEND TIME ON THE RANCH, JUST DO IT!   This venture was all inclusive and inexpensive!

(NO AFFILIATION!)

Here is their website.

Here is the V-6 Facebook page.

Here is their contact info and upcoming events!

The V6 Ranch · VIEW MAP
70410 Parkfield Coalinga Road,
Parkfield, CA 93451
phone (805) 463-2493 or (805) 463-2421
email: v6ranch@gmail.com

Click here for webpage, click here for Facebook!

ALL PROCEEDS SUPPORT THE BUCKET FUND!

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