The Ranch Christmas Party, Part One & Two, 99-word stories

The Carrot Ranch September 19, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about mud on the tires. The tires can be from any conveyance or serve as an analogy. How did they get muddy and why? What impact does mud on the tires have on the story (plot) or characters (motivation)? Go where the prompt leads! Submit by September 24, 2022.

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The Ranch Christmas Party-Part One

Montana winters are brutal, but this one started out like a lamb—until today. The road to Dearborn Ranch swerved sharply to the right. I hugged the curve. The mud on the tires of my red Chevy Sprint spattered the windows. The swarm of snowflakes caught in the glare of the headlights blinded me. Winter had finally arrived.

The ranch Christmas party featured Angus flat iron steaks, baked potatoes, and freshly baked bread and desserts from the Hutterite colony down the road. Drinks were on the house. This was when the city girl got to mingle with real cowboys!  

Part Two…

My thoughts were on the party, and not the road. Now, the snow blew sideways against the car. It was then, the biggest deer I’d ever seen in my life walked across the road! I slowed to a stop. The animal was huge. The bottom of his belly almost touched the hood of my car. Then, he was gone.

I arrived without a scratch. The first thing I did was retell my adventure on the road. The cowboys hooted with laughter.

“Colleen, that wasn’t a deer. With that size, it had to be an elk,” the ranch boss said.

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Some of the best stories come from our own experiences. This is a bots (based on a true story) story. We all laughed so hard at my “deer” story. LOL!

Many years ago, I worked in Great Falls, Montana as a bookkeeper and Administrative Assistant to D. Michael Curran, an oilman and rancher. At the time he owned 86,000 acres and ran about 1800+ head of Black Angus cattle. It was the experience of a lifetime.

Every Christmas the ranch held a Christmas party. My husband and I always attended. I was “the city girl” to most of the cowboys because I worked in the office in Great Falls. I learned so much about cattle and farming… Who would have thought?

Here’s some information about ELK.