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A quiet mountain evening can turn fast when you live off-grid with horses at 9,300 feet in the Colorado Rockies. We start with a real update on Merlin, who’s holding steady but having more frequent spins and spills, and we talk about the seasonal grind of fly management when summer finally kicks in. Even the weather shows up with us this time, as a rainstorm rolls through while we record.

Then we shift to the best kind of tired: kids horse camp week. We break down what we actually do all day with campers, from catching and grooming horses to goat herding, riding games, and creative projects like painting horseshoes. The week builds into daily demos for parents and a Friday finale where every camper tries vaulting, gymnastics on horseback, including standing on a horse’s back with no saddle. It’s equal parts skill, trust, and courage.

We also share what’s next on the ranch: a women’s weekend horse camp planned for the last weekend of September in Eagle County (Colorado River Road, out past Dotsero), plus ideas for a Saturday night get-together and live music. Finally, Russell tells the story of running the ranch solo, building a massive log fence for mustangs, and a tense “last check” where Merlin goes down with a hoof stuck in a 20-gallon water bucket, followed by an unexpected bear sighting on the road.

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