Dan and Betty Came to Call

 Part of what we love about blogging is the community of online friends we've made.  Dan and Betty, of Dan and Betty's Place,  have been especially close because over the years we also began emailing more personal letters back and forth and Mark and I have really benefited by their prayers and wisdom. 

They emailed us quite sometime ago and asked if they could stop by the ranch for a few days on their West Coast road trip and we were more than happy to have them stay.  But it was a bit strange, because while we felt we knew them somewhat in a virtual capacity, we had never actually met them in the flesh.

Their cute little Mustang convertible next to our bunkhouse where they stayed.

Enjoying the Hot Tub

Betty and Dan at the falls

While I had a sense of Dan online, because he is the main author of their blog, I wasn't quite sure what Betty was going to be like.  Let me just tell you that she is a joy.  She has a very encouraging and bubbly personality and made conversation very easy.  She is also very courageous.  

 After we went for a horse ride she told me that it was her first trail ride since she had recovered from a very serious horse riding injury and that she had been a bit nervous, but felt like she had overcome a fear on the trail ride.  Trust me when I say she was especially brave because our horses had been running around their pen that day bucking.  I was a bit nervous myself.    Betty though is a trusting soul and got on Chica in good faith that she was a safe horse and they had a very nice ride together.  We all did.  Dan was quite the horseman and gave me a little mini lesson after the ride and I have some new things to work on too. 

We also gave them the ranch tour and fed the cattle and had lovely conversations together the whole time they were here.    They are a lovely couple and we enjoyed them and seeing the ranch and our lives through their eyes.  It was a blessing and as we continue to share our lives online, we will have a much fuller sense of who they are.  They are not just two dimensional photos and black and white text, but real people who are our friends. 

Have a great American road trip, Dan and Betty, and, hopefully, someday we will come and visit you in New Mexico.