moving west, old fashion thankfulness

Almost every culture in the world has held celebrations to pause and give thanks for Harvest. In the United Sates after winning independence, George Washington offered the date November 26th as a national Thanksgiving Day. It wasn't until 1863 after the civil war ended that Abraham Lincoln requested Thanksgiving fall on the last Thursday in November. 

Emmy and her pioneer family would have celebrated Thanksgiving on November 26, 1860, which would have been a Monday. But as luck would have it Thanksgiving this years happened to fall on the 26th!  A perfect time to do some "living history learning" for the Moving West Project. And what better place than Horse Thief Ranch 100-year-old ranch hidden deep in the Utah desert!

Over the years, there have been some updates to the 5 room ranch house so we weren't exactly staying in the 1860's.  Despite not having electricity we had indoor running water, a propane cook stove, propane mantel wicks lamps, and the advantages of 1910's construction/materials/insulation.  However, oddly enough one of Beach's favorite things was pretty dang historically accurate- the outhouse.

 Daily, there was a lot of authentic work to be done around the ranch. Horses and dogs to care for, the fires that keep us warm tended, the wicks in the lamps changed, and all the people feed.  

Beach did many chores her pioneer friend Emmy would have done: carrying wood, shoveling ash from the fireplaces, cooking, cleaning, feeding and brushing the horses, sweeping the Moab sand out of the house, and other small tasks the adults tossed her way.  The funny part about all of that work was how fun it was to do.  And then how nice working together to get things done made the end of the day feel.   

 Speaking of nice things.... One of the neatest aspects of the ranch is the wood-heated hot tub. A luxury for sure! There is also a stone pool and a huge teepee on the property.

 Between chores, we hiked, rock hounded, read, told stories, and talked.

After meals, we played games around the table with the fires blazing. After dark, we would put out snacks of popcorn, homemade cookies,  slices of left-over pie, and salt water taffy. We drank beer and hot chocolate and enjoyed the simplicity of ranch life. It was amazing!!! 

The kitchen sink was just the right size for Beach.  She must have happily done a mountain of dishes during our visit.  But on the last night at Horse Thief, Beach skipped out on the kitchen to join her dad on a rabbit hunt.  No one was too sure about how she would do after her pet rabbits were killed this last month, but she came back smiling & holding a rabbit.  She told me she asked it to tell her rabbits hello for her >sweet kid<.  

She left the skinning and gutting to the men, but she did get her papa to save her a rabbit's foot.  She even tried some rabbit meat... taste like chicken.

 

It was the perfect holiday for thankfulness and a great experience for a "history hater" to live a little bit of life way out west.

 In an almost magical moment, spent the morning helping clean the house, packed up our truck, topped off our coffee, and then we drove off from Horse Thief over a red dirt road just as it began to snow.  The juniper trees grew frosted and the towers of rocks topped with white. It was as if we were driving out of Thanksgiving and straight into a Winter Holiday.  

We have been invited back for Christmas...now that is an interesting possibility!