Hi I’m Mike, in just a few hours hundreds of subscribers just like you are going to
be right here on the ranch.
It’s a prospect that is both exciting and scary at the same time, today we look at how
we got and if we pulled it off on our Wyoming life.
Welcome back and thanks for coming along.
It has been a crazy ride the past couple of years, filled with opportunities that we never
would have dreamed of here on the ranch.
We are just a small family that lives here in northeast Wyoming, but somehow through
inviting others to explore the ranch life and escape the ordinary we have created something
that means much more than that to many people.
As if to test the theory, about a year ago we started hatching a scheme to invite YouTube
subscribers to the ranch.
In the beginning, we had no idea how to even plan an event like that.
We knew we would need help but we also knew that a lot of it would be on us, because any
help that we could get, couldn’t be here.
But we decided to dedicate our selves to doing something that we had never done before and
blazing a new path.
I’ve learned a number of things since coming to the ranch and one of them is if you take
a chance or try something new, usually its going to work out well.
It may not be perfect, you may try a new way to keep stock tanks thawed and find out that
the way you have been doing it all along might be the best way to do it, or you may make
one small change and it can pay off big.
But if you don’t try you will never know.
I got the feeling over this last weekend that many of the folks that ended up here on the
ranch felt the same way.
There was no track record saying that a trip to Wyoming was going to be fun, or even worth
their time but they took that chance too, and I thank them for it.
We put tickets on sale on the website back in November of last year, long before what
quickly became known as the ranch round up, was scheduled to happen.
We did that because we didn’t know if anyone would really be interested and if tickets
would sell.
Low and behold, we sold out in only 2 months, 200 tickets gone, and we knew that we had
to do something and make it worth it.
With the first ranch round-up now in the books, its my pleasure to invite you along, even
if you couldn’t be there and share with you what made it so special.
Prep work for the Round-up has been going on for months, but when our help hit the ground
almost 2 weeks before the event, things got really busy real fast.
Cleanup and setting up was the hardest part of getting ready for the 200 plus visitors
to the ranch.
But with help of moderators and friends of the channel who traveled early we were able
to be ready in time for the festivities to kick off in a special way with a livestream
from the Arbuckle Lodge in Gillette Wyoming where a number of our attendees were staying
while visiting the area.
That was like nothing we have ever done and looking out at subscribers during a live stream
made it even more exciting as we brought guests up and told stories never before heard on
Our Wyoming Life.
Soon though it was time for the main event.
The round-up was planned to take place at the main ranch, around the shop and the buildings,
the gardens and the barns.
We still wanted to give people the experience of being on the ranch as well, so we came
up with the idea of a hay ride across the prairie.
People parking about a quarter of a mile away, then getting on trailers with hay bales for
seats and getting a look at the ranch from a whole new perspective as they were brought
closer and closer.
In the previous week we brought home the stars of our show, Bambi and Blonde cow, whose faces
ordained the banners and they were right there to welcome each trailer full of attendees
as they rolled in.
Pigs were there as well, giving people an idea about the importance of the animals in
our lives, when it comes to the ranch, they came first and were the first thing you saw.
After disembarking the trailers, folks were on their own for a bit, before we began our
introductions.
First Dave Rush, then Matt Fencl, both moderators and folks that had been here for days and
weeks prior to the event to make sure that all when smooth.
Then it was time for my lovely bride Erin and me to welcome everyone and stand in awe
of what we saw.
The girls sold lemonade, Erin’s non profit put on a silent auction with all kinds of
cool stuff from sponsors like Michelin and Stetson and BCS Tractors to friends of Our
Wyoming Life, the Minnesota Millennial Farmer and Cody Creelman, all in all the silent auction
raised almost 2500$ dollars to help producers get their products directly to consumers who
need them.
Most importantly we had a chance to meet subscribers and bring people to the ranch, to give something
back.
We ate beef and pork raised right here on the ranch and we got to know each other in
ways we never could have without being here together, and we were even surprised by some
special guests.
Do you want to know the coolest part of the whole weekend?
Well its this, everywhere I look now, is subscribers, because they were here.
Not only did we receive some very cool gifts, like this tshirt or these knives, but I also
have been finding small notes all over the ranch.
Like this one, reminding me to wipe the calves mouths when I feed them.
Left right here in the calves food.
If I look over there, I see a group of folks standing, admiring the view, over there, Bambi
and Blonde Cow enjoying the attention.
These are memories that will be a part of the ranch forever, because not only do we
share our lives with subscribers, we also invite them to share theirs with us and events
like this are perfect example of that.
The big question at the end of the night was “are you going to do it again” and the
answer to that is a resounding yes.
We don’t have a date set yet but soon we will let you know.
Tickets don’t need to go on sale a year ahead of time because we know that you will
want to come and be a part of our Wyoming life.
More details are coming but for us, its time to get back to real life.
As the summer winds down, soon we will be working cows once again, selling calves and
preg checking but this time you will be with me in a whole new way.
Until then, I want to thank everyone who helped us pull this off, the names are almost too
many to mention but you know you are and we couldn’t have done it with out you.
Our Sponsor of the event Michelin who not only helped us by keeping ticket prices low
but also donated generously to the Edible Prairie Project.
And of course all those who took their time to attend, who traveled in some cases thousands
of miles and I hope were not disappointed.
So truly, until I see you again, hopefully in person, have a great week and thanks for
joining us in our Wyoming life.