Every morning, Pete's daughter, Kristin, and Ray, cook a hot breakfast to order. You can go all-cowboy and get eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, along with cold fruit, cereal, juice, coffee and tea. And each morning features a different special of house — breakfast burritos, chorizo (a Mexican sausage), Eggs Rawah, omlets, and so on. By about third day, we realize we can not eat everything they have to offer, and slow down considerably on beefy breakfasts. It is already too late. We have each gained at least 10 delightful pounds.

After eating at main lodge, we gather at stables to get a refresher course on horsemanship basics. My one and only riding lesson was when I was 11 at Girl Scout camp, so I am happy to be reminded of how to walk around a 1,200 lb animal and how these particular horses like to be handled. We all are assigned a horse for week. Jasper is my horse, a reddish Appaloosa, who had been Pete's horse when he rode more often. A few years back, Jasper lost an eye to cancer. The wranglers worked with him, and he returned to regular service. Universally, wranglers thought he is among best horses at ranch.

We go for a short meadow ride where we see two huge moose lying in field. Moose can easily weigh more than a ton and stand more than eight feet high. We arre awed and reminded that we are 60 miles from nearest town, out in wilds of northwestern Colorado. A wave of respect and humility moves through group.

Lunches are most casual of three meals. A buffet of soups, sandwiches and salads are placed on a sideboard and we tend to ourselves. For those who have gone on an all day ride, a cold lunch buffet appears after breakfast where we make our lunches for long days.

After lunch, we ride out to Lily Pond, an easy afternoon hike as well. We are reward with peaceful surroundings, and a stunning view of Laramie River Valley. We return around 4 p.m., giving us plenty of time to soak our city-slicker behinds in hot tub, catch a quick nap, and dress for appetizers and conversation at 5:30 p.m. The dinner bell rings at 6:30, and we line tables in Main Lodge for a family-style dinner. Pete tells us that ranch has arranged top-flight entertainment for following evenings, and we should enjoy Monday evening, as it is our only evening free.

We collapse into our king-sized bed with crisp white sheets and slept like out-of-shape cowboy wannabees that we are.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to never be on a nose-to-tail ride entire week. Our riding groups are usually 4-8 people, just enough to have wonderful conversation, but not too crowded. Every day we ride with different guests and wranglers, and get to know everyone. There is never any pressure to ride or do anything at all, so Bob takes morning off, and I ride Skyline Ride. What amazing views of valley, 240 acres ranch owns and millions of acres of Rawah Wilderness, and Roosevelt National Forest . A well-maintained dirt road leads to ranch, making access easy in any type of car.

All week, we encounter absolutely bizarre weather for August in Colorado — frequent daily showers. On a typical Colorado day, you get a 20-minute shower, a thunder and lightning storm around 4 p.m. But we have spring like rains all week. At a time when everything should be brown and readying for autumn, crazy mountain flowers are still blooming all over place and grassy meadows ache in green. It is wonderful, and worth all ponchos, soaking hats and gloves and mud.

When we discover at lunch that one of our riding options is to skip a trail ride and get a riding lesson, we leap at chance. Another wrangler, Annie, shows me correct way to ride when horse is trotting, something called "posting." It turns out that in my one riding lesson, oh so many years ago, I had learned incorrectly. She is such an incredibly talented teacher, and she gives us simple pointers that make rest of week go much more smoothly. I highly recommend taking a lesson ride early in week.

It's Wednesday: We Must Be Rafting!

Read this entire feature FREE with photos at: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/cabinweb/ranches/colorado/rawah/rawah.html

By Cymber Quinn, Hawaii Correspondent, Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com

I won't go in to extensive details about what we saw on tour, as superlatives will sound ridiculous. Friends of mine at home, prior to my departure, recommended Hearst Castle as "worth seeing." I realize now that their understated approach to suggesting we make a stop there on our jaunt along coast was due not to their being unimpressed, but rather, to their inability to describe splendor and beauty of this place.

As we wandered through buildings, past marble and carved walnut and gold inlay, we had progressively less ability to express our wonder. The beauty of final stop, indoor swimming pool tiled in lapis lazuli blue and gold tiles - not gold color, but actual gold - left me overcome. I really thought I was going to cry.

Back at visitor's center, I contemplated taking next tour back up hill. Instead, we opted for 40 minute IMAX movie about building of Hearst Castle. (The movie is included in Experience Tour. If you choose a different tour, it's separate, but worth it.) The film contains some footage of Hearst and his architect, Julia Morgan, at site while castle is under construction, as well as a number of clips of Hearst's many famous guests. There are some stunning aerial shots of site, which give visitors a chance to grasp size of compound as well as magnificence of its location.

At campground that night, we had new neighbors who were compelled to share with us (and most of campground) their love of rather obscene rap music. Meanwhile, neighbors opposite were burning what must have mean a tire as it was putting out so much smoke as to obscure sight, but not muffle sound of rap-loving campers. I was unperturbed. I put in earplugs (I never travel without them) and dreamed myself a guest at "Castle in Sky."

When I woke up in middle of night, I stepped out of tent to sound of ocean and sight of stars.

Hearst Castle is CRAZY BUSY! Go first thing in morning if you want to avoid crowds. We left a busy but not too crowded visitor's center at 11 a.m. and returned to a mob at 1 p.m.

You can buy tickets in advance online at Hearst Castle Web site. There are plenty of ticket windows at Visitor's Center, but lines get long QUICK and if you've purchased your tickets in advance, you'll have more time to enjoy your visit.

In addition to campground, there are plenty of little hotels just down road in Cambria. Reservations, even for camping, are recommended, though we were able to get a tent site upon arrival.

We spent about five hours, all told, up on hill. That's movie, tour, some time at Visitor's Center, and a coffee break on patio. We're real dawdlers, though; you could probably get your money's worth in about 3 hours.

The Hearst Castle Evening Tour program begins a new season each September. Visitors to Castle are able to experience evening reflections from 1930s heyday era. . Read this entire feature FREE with photos at: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/globe02/usa02/CA/hearst/hearst.html

By Pam, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent at www.jetsettersmagazine.com