We got in around 4pm, and decided to drink a couple of beers outside this abandoned school house, which we eventually broke into, which my aunt caught us doing as she was driving in from town. Big laughs, even though my aunt thought we were crazy. The next day we were up at dawn for breakfast, rounding up cattle at seven, and branding at nine. The whole branding process is pretty interesting. The calfs are first lassoed by people on horseback, then drug out of the holding pen. Awaiting the calfs are two wrestlers (bad-a country folk), who wrestle the cow and hold it down while it is branded/castrated. This whole process takes about a minute total, so it goes really fast. We were sort of wimps about wrestling the calfs for branding, especially Ruben, us being vegetarians (or at least semi-vegetarian) and all. But it was still a fun morning. The ranchers all get pretty riled up for that stuff.
Here is my cousin Alana roping cattle...most of the guys on the ranch can't do this.
