The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Part 5 or 3b)

This last winter season was my second time as Second Chef and Operations at the Kay El Bar Guest Ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona. Before I begin this review, I’d like to refer you to my blog about people’s views on places, Ketchup on Waffles. I’m also going to write this review straight...you can decide for yourself which is good, bad, and/or ugly.

Current bias also: I’m thinking about making the Kay El Bar a possible every fall-to-spring stop. That decision does have some other reasons other than the ranch itself, but it is main part. Also, I am going to return for the third time this coming season with a promotion to Head Chef.

Jobs

I worked as the Second Chef. There is also the Head Chef, Office Manager, Operations, and Head of Operations, Wranglers, a Maintenance/Wrangler, and General Manager and Assistant General Manager jobs. There isn’t a lot of opportunities on any given year. Operations personnel do a mix of serving meals AND housekeeping.

The return rate is kind of high the last couple of seasons. One of the biggest reasons is the ownership by the Beattie family a couple of years ago.

There were people that didn’t make it through the season though. One operations person showed up while we were getting the place in shape for the season, hung out for a couple of hours, went to her call and made a phone call and drove away. one of the wranglers decided to return to college at the for the spring semester. There was a returning operations person that loved it the season before but part of that was hanging out with a couple of the people that did not return and there was also some personal problems back home. There was also the operations person that enjoyed the serving but absolutely hated the housekeeping duties.

The Place

The Kay El Bar Guest Ranch has been in the “dude” business since 1926. Before that it was a working ranch...the Kay El part is from Katherine Lowdermilk. Most of the main buildings are adobe. Last year during the summer, the Beattie’s contracted an extensive remodeling project, especially the patio area and BBQ pits. The old adobe walls were re-coated and the dining room was also completely redone.

The Management

{Joe, owner, and Dee, GM on right, with Reba getting ready for 2008 Opening Day}

Joe and Teri Beattie live in Brea, California with their two teenage daughters. It’s approximately a five hour drive from Orange County, but one or the other makes the trip and stays a few days at a time. The daughters make it whenever school is out. They are in very frequent contact, by phone and email whenever they are back home.

Onsite, is Dee Steed, the GM as of last season. He’s the real deal cowhand. In May of this year, True West Magazine published an article about Dee. Like any real cowboy, if you give him a fair’s day work, he will be more than fair with you.

The Horses

The Kay El Bar did some thinning over the summer of ’08. There were some horses that just were not getting ridden that often. There was also the business deal with the Lake Mancos Ranch in Colorado. The Kay El Bar stabled and cared for several of the Lake Mancos horses during the season, this summer Lake Mancos is caring for many of the Kay El Bar horses. My favorites are still Nip and Preacher. I also really liked Tank, one of the Lake Mancos’ horses. I rode Tank in the local Gold Rush parade this season. Tank is in the above photo.

Day Off

{Alyson, assistant GM, and Teri, owner, and I ran a charity race in Scottsdale}

On your full day off, you might be the only one from the ranch itself with that day off. Finding things to do on your own is not terribly difficult. If you want, you can ride all day. Many of us picked up friends in town or at the other ranches. Phoenix metro area is not far away. If you don’t drive there is the Wickenburg Connector bus and for $3 you can get there. Many staff members went Tucson or Prescott. A few went to the Grand Canyon, but that’s more of a drive there - take a look - drive back one day thing. You can also explore the desert or hike up Vulture’s Peak.

Wickenburg

Wickenburg is an average size city that shrinks during the summer. There are a lot of snowbirds in the area. Those retirees from the northern states escaping winter return north for the summer months. There is another guest ranch called the Flying E, there is also the ranch resort Rancho de los Caballeros. If you follow that link, it takes you to the CoolWorks page for los Cab. There is a library in town, a small performance theater, and a small movie theater.

Room and Board

{A little kitchen fun as Teri, owner, turns Mindy, Head of Ops, into a sundae.}

Like many guest ranches, employees are offered FREE room and board for the season. At the Kay El Bar his season, a few of stayed right on the ranch. There were also two homes rented in town for the season. Everyone had their own room, most shared a bath. Free local phone and free satellite televison were also included. This season Joe purchased a wireless internet card for staff use. For food there is a separate staff breakfast. For lunch you eat with the guests. For dinner, you’re encouraged to eat with the guests, but you can eat in a separate staff area. Same food.

There might be a small change this next season with the dinner. If those staff wanting to eat dinner, but not with the guests, it might be offered at a slightly different time.