hi I'm Mike and I'm Erin I'm Mackenzie this is Gracie's and Lincoln's behind us
he's hiding and today it's time to take a road trip on our Wyoming life as we
hit the road for a big surprise that we can't tell you where we're going or what
we're doing because these guys don't know but I'm gonna put it right down
here so that you guys know what we're doing the video will come out after
we're done you'll know before they know it's all about this right here today on
our why oming life
you've never done a road trip in the truck with the kids with the kids I'm
concerned for our sanity welcome back and thanks for joining us once again if
you're new here be sure to subscribe and make sure that you hit the like button
and of course the Belle notification so you get notified when we have new videos
coming out we're on the road today we're hitting about 220 miles heading to
Torrington Wyoming where we are going to do this that we can't tell the kids what
we're doing so this is what we're doing that's the big surprise we're gonna get
there in roughly about 3 hours and 30 minutes according to Google Maps we'll
see if that's right and along the way we're going to kind of
show you some of the sights that we're seeing and what we have to deal with
here in the vehicle with an eight-year-old a five-year-old and a
three-year-old on a road trip that could very well turn out to be a big mistake
and drinks and we have iPads with audiobooks
movies teens
phone to watch and listen to staff penis headphones
thank goodness technology and
get everybody situated and put my seatbelt on
turning around every year on the ranch for the past few years we've raised pigs
these pigs live on the ranch for about six months of the year and we usually
get piglets in August and keep them around until February then send them off
to butcher that schedule has worked for us for the past few years we get pork
back in time to have full freezers at farmers markets for our customers but
over the past couple of years we've ran into some problems with our logic turns
out people love bacon so much that the first thing we would always sell out of
was bacon each pay only gives about 20 pounds of bacon and with customers
demanding more and more of it it goes fast we sell out of bacon within a month
or two leaving us the other cuts the most popular being pork chops of which
we get about 40 pounds from each pig what we found is that raising just one
batch of piglets per year is not keeping up with demand but we don't want to get
too deep into the pig business I don't have time to actually raise pigs I have
time to finish pigs so we're quite lucky to a found Larry in Torrington who's a
pig farmer where we're just a growers Larry is definitely deep into the pig
business he has hundreds of pigs all of different stages of development
Saamy finishes themselves but we're on our way to pick up 10 pigs that are
about six weeks old they've been weaned from their mom they've had all their
shots and they're ready for a new home and that's with us but it's still a long
ways off as we head across the state of Wyoming on a beautiful Memorial Day
weekend so this is pee break number one yeah who
needs pee break number one oh and Lincoln more JUCO the farther we get
from home the more the landscape changes pasture and grazing land is replaced by
farmland cows and sheep become corn and irrigated hay fields and along the way
we pass through Fort Laramie the first town established in Wyoming in 1834 and
quickly became the biggest military outpost of the northern plains until
about 1890 now it's a tourist destination with lots to see and do none
of which we have time for today as we have to keep moving down the road one
more town to go the kids are doing great and it's not long before we roll around
a corner and we're only a few miles from our destination at Larry's the Welcome
Wagon is excited for our arrival and Dixie gives us the usual fanfare Mary
gives us a quick look around inside the Fairlane shed where piglets are born and
kept with their moms Larry lets us take a look at piglets are
only days old you know sows and their piglets are kept
individually and the metal cage that the sound lays in while nursing what isn't
there to confine her but to actually keep her from laying down on her piglets
without the cage the piglets would have nowhere safe to move when Mom lays down
and piglets could be accidentally crushed moms were also allowed to go
outside a few times a day but they spend most of their time in here
caring for their little ones our piglets are in a different area and
Larry calls them out and they come running our piglets go into a carrier
before they're given a deworming shot and loaded in the back of our truck for
the long drive home
Larry also mixes and grinds his own blend of pig feet a mixture of alfalfa
sunflowers corn and protein erin gives him a hand with the pto on the mixer and
he fills a few bags for us to take home and try out
the drive home however turns out to be more dangerous than we thought as we
head back towards the ranch that are quickly met by a weather cell that
doesn't look very inviting and we're heading right for it
rain hail and I'm pretty sure frogs rained down on us as we speed towards
home none of which bothers the kids least of
all Lincoln who sleeps right through the whole thing
soon we outrun the weather and head toward the rainbow that leads us home
as the day winds to an end there's still plenty to do the girls need to take care
of their calves and we start getting an area ready for the new piglets putting
them in the barn for now using a hog panel inside a stall to keep them in
closed and safe laying out some bedding bringing in some food and some water
it's Lincoln who remembers what comes next and he beat speeds out of the area
to avoid the racket that is on the way Lincoln okay each Pig is slowly moved
into the barn some quieter than others and when the girls get back from feeding
cows it's their turn to help
and soon enough the last piglet is brought in and put into their new home
to the best welcome but they can give
the arrival of any animal on the ranch whether a calf or a piglet or even a
baby chick is a miracle for us it's the beginning of a journey where we see this
animal through a majority of its life we care for them we worry about them and we
make them a part of the ranch which they will be forever you're gonna see more of
these pigs as we move through summer we're gonna meet new challenges the
challenges of having some are finishing finishing program and we'll learn along
the way how to make it better and how to make it work it's a challenge but we
never back down from a challenge and we'll continue to explore the ranch life
and escape the ordinary every single day thanks for coming along with us once
again please like this video if you see fit and subscribe to our Channel as
summer moves closer and closer there's a never a dull day around here on the
ranch I'll see you again on Thursday for our weekly live stream I hear the
armchair rancher will be back again until then have a great week and thanks
for joining us in our Wyoming life
you