Well, now, isn’t blogging a great idea for our C9R official website! A place where you can read about the Ranch and ask questions, voice comments and learn all about Cloud 9 Ranch through narrative media. You are about to experience the very first blogs on our Cloud 9 Ranch Club’s official website. Our goal as “blog authors” is to give you different perspectives of Cloud 9 Ranch, the heart and soul of every aspect of what it means to be a Cloud 9 Ranch Club (the “Ranch”) owner and member. Different perspectives are given best by people with varied outlooks, dreams and expectations of ownership afforded to them as Ranch owners. The authors of the first blogs are from separate categories of membership. Let me be very quick to state here that Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc. does not “categorize” ownership into a specific member type. We all have the same ownership privileges; we all follow the same rules and regulations that come along with that right of ownership. But, as a Ranch owner/member, you will quickly become classified by other owner/members as one of four different categories. The membership vernacular goes something like this:
Weekenders: Members who live in close proximity to the Ranch complex; they enjoy the Ranch for day trips and bring lots of guests to ride ATV trails. After riding the ATVs, some favorites on the Ranch for this group is eating ice cream and pizza, taking a dip in the pool and spending lots of money at the Gatehouse, Gas Station, Restaurant and Trading Post right here on the Ranch. These weekend warriors spend an estimated 60 day trips or better on the Ranch every year, not to mention weekend camping trips for year round fishing, hunting during season, horseback riding, and lets not forget riding the ATV trails. If they have a camper, which many don’t, it is normally kept in a Ranch compound for use on holidays and long weekends.
Vacationers: Members who come to the Ranch for vacations and holiday weekends, spending less than thirty days a year enjoying the Ranch. They spend lots of money when here and are a vital part of the Ranch’s existence. They spend their vacations from the real world riding the ATV trails, cookouts, fishing, hunting, sitting around campfires, horseback riding, renewing friendships, and living the Ranch life any way they choose for the limited time they have. These members are notorious for donating time, money and stuff to the Ranch. Many keep their campers in a compound for use only here on the Ranch, while others haul them to and from their home. This group brings guests that turn into members more than any other group. It’s just not easy to find places like the Ranch anymore, and theVacationers are ambassadors-at-large for the rest of us.
Part-timers: Members who are usually fulltime RV-ers who come to the Ranch and spend anywhere from 3 to 8 months a year, usually during the peak season (April through October), then are off to warmer climates like Arizona, Florida, Texas or back home to family and friends they haven’t seen all spring and summer. They refer to the Ranch as their “Home Away From Home.“ These members are the major peak season volunteers who keep the spring and summer fun at its peak for the rest of the members. They bring new games and activities with them from other places they travel. This group plays a major role in seasonal committees, play lot of cards in the Clubhouse, Bingo, pool tournaments, keeping the Craft House up and running, and joining in with riding the ATV trails with the weekenders and vacationers when they have time.
Full-timers: Members who have basically made Cloud 9 Ranch their home. This is a small majority of members that you might as well say live on and for the Ranch. Some work on the Ranch as employees; others are fulltime volunteers; others just enjoy the RV-life, the fishing, hunting, trail riding year round and never get the urge to leave and find greener pastures. They weather the cold, snow, storms, floods, heat and, oh, yes, the moonlit nights and glorious sunshiny days year round. Some have homes they maintain in other states and go to them occasionally, but for the most part their campers never leave the Ranch. They move their campers monthly to other campsites as required by the rules, and have to follow all the rules pertaining to pad usage. They bring in the largest percentage of usage revenues, probably more than the other three categories combined. They have made a choice in life that the Ranch is where they want to spend all the “days of their lives.” With a little tongue-in-cheek pun intended with that last phrase, the Full-timers do have a reputation for a soap opera way of life if you listen to the Weekenders, the Vacationers and the Part-timers. To some they are heroes, to others villains; but no matter how you may perceive them, just as the other three categories, each is a vital organ to the body of the Ranch as a whole.
Each category has a few sub-categories, and they are: Elected Officers of Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc., Management of Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc., and Hourly Employees of Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc. All four categories above have at least one of the sub-categories in them.
So, you see, the Ranch means many things to all its member/owners. To some it’s a short drive to spend a day of fun in the sun, snow or mud (depending on the season); for others it’s a place to get away for a week or two, to others it’s their livelihood and to others a seasonal refuge from the cold or heat. I now call it Home Sweet Home. All of the above have a pride of ownership in a world set apart from the hustle and bustle of everyday life outside the rock archway up on U.S. Highway 160 in Southern Missouri, nestled in the Ozarks between two small towns (West Plains to the East and Gainesville to the West).
Okay, I’ll go ahead and admit it: This blog author is a Full-timer. It happened to us back in July 2007, when my husband and I both took an early retirement and came up to spend time with my husband’s brother and his wife, who were Part-timer/Full-timers, depending on how the wind blew. We immediately could not believe what we were experiencing here on the Ranch. We purchased a membership, then a camper within a week span of time. Our camper is a vintage one, but was for sale here on the Ranch, so we paid for it and had it pulled to a pad on July 31, 2007. We still to this day do not have a truck to pull our camper, so it has to stay here on the Ranch. I cannot bear to leave it, so it has never been back in a compound since the day we bought it. We have a home in Northern Mississippi, 15 minutes from Memphis TN, and have to take an occasional 72-hour leave to check on our property. But we can’t leave this Ranch without having severe pangs of withdrawal from the Ranch way of life.
It was our dream to be fulltime RV-ers just over a year ago, not having any idea that it would come true so soon. But it did and we are as happy as we have ever been with our old used camper. We sit outside at night and listen to the frogs and crickets (and whatever other critters that are out there). We watch deer graze in our front yard, we even have skunks come up and sniff our legs (stay very still if this happens to you). Hummingbirds, finches, cardinals, and those big old black crows and acrobatic squirrels are daily visitors to our feeders. We take rides and watch sunsets from the Stable overlook or Lonnie’s Lookout, or drive down to sit and listen to the ever-flowing bubbling springs that feed the mountain stream at Springs Falls or Wilder and Fogey campgrounds. We sit outside in the morning with our coffee and smell bacon cooking across the way. We plan our days around the weather forecast. We fish and watch Blue Heron swoop down and catch them with ease. If we‘re lucky, we can catch a glimpse of a bald eagle flying overhead. We sit by campfires with friends and discuss our families and Ranch politics and, yes, we even work on the Ranch. My husband is a Ranger and I do a myriad of volunteering. (I’m sure you’ll hear more from me on some of the upcoming projects for next season).
On a personal note, I am thankful and honored for the opportunity to share from my perspectives on what Ranch ownership is all about. Be assured that it is my profound belief that each member of the Ranch is just as important as the next. I have a saying that I plagiarized from the movie, “We Are Marshall.” Mine is: WE ARE C9R!!! Together, we all make this Ranch a heaven on earth for everyone that comes down that long-winding road. I like to think of the Ranch as a place where Mother Nature was introduced to the Heavens above, right up here on Cloud 9.
Now, it’s time to hear from some of you. If you have any questions or comments you’d like to pose to a Cloud 9 Ranch Full-timer, I’ll be glad to respond, answer or find you an answer if I don’t know it.
Weekenders: Members who live in close proximity to the Ranch complex; they enjoy the Ranch for day trips and bring lots of guests to ride ATV trails. After riding the ATVs, some favorites on the Ranch for this group is eating ice cream and pizza, taking a dip in the pool and spending lots of money at the Gatehouse, Gas Station, Restaurant and Trading Post right here on the Ranch. These weekend warriors spend an estimated 60 day trips or better on the Ranch every year, not to mention weekend camping trips for year round fishing, hunting during season, horseback riding, and lets not forget riding the ATV trails. If they have a camper, which many don’t, it is normally kept in a Ranch compound for use on holidays and long weekends.
Vacationers: Members who come to the Ranch for vacations and holiday weekends, spending less than thirty days a year enjoying the Ranch. They spend lots of money when here and are a vital part of the Ranch’s existence. They spend their vacations from the real world riding the ATV trails, cookouts, fishing, hunting, sitting around campfires, horseback riding, renewing friendships, and living the Ranch life any way they choose for the limited time they have. These members are notorious for donating time, money and stuff to the Ranch. Many keep their campers in a compound for use only here on the Ranch, while others haul them to and from their home. This group brings guests that turn into members more than any other group. It’s just not easy to find places like the Ranch anymore, and theVacationers are ambassadors-at-large for the rest of us.
Part-timers: Members who are usually fulltime RV-ers who come to the Ranch and spend anywhere from 3 to 8 months a year, usually during the peak season (April through October), then are off to warmer climates like Arizona, Florida, Texas or back home to family and friends they haven’t seen all spring and summer. They refer to the Ranch as their “Home Away From Home.“ These members are the major peak season volunteers who keep the spring and summer fun at its peak for the rest of the members. They bring new games and activities with them from other places they travel. This group plays a major role in seasonal committees, play lot of cards in the Clubhouse, Bingo, pool tournaments, keeping the Craft House up and running, and joining in with riding the ATV trails with the weekenders and vacationers when they have time.
Full-timers: Members who have basically made Cloud 9 Ranch their home. This is a small majority of members that you might as well say live on and for the Ranch. Some work on the Ranch as employees; others are fulltime volunteers; others just enjoy the RV-life, the fishing, hunting, trail riding year round and never get the urge to leave and find greener pastures. They weather the cold, snow, storms, floods, heat and, oh, yes, the moonlit nights and glorious sunshiny days year round. Some have homes they maintain in other states and go to them occasionally, but for the most part their campers never leave the Ranch. They move their campers monthly to other campsites as required by the rules, and have to follow all the rules pertaining to pad usage. They bring in the largest percentage of usage revenues, probably more than the other three categories combined. They have made a choice in life that the Ranch is where they want to spend all the “days of their lives.” With a little tongue-in-cheek pun intended with that last phrase, the Full-timers do have a reputation for a soap opera way of life if you listen to the Weekenders, the Vacationers and the Part-timers. To some they are heroes, to others villains; but no matter how you may perceive them, just as the other three categories, each is a vital organ to the body of the Ranch as a whole.
Each category has a few sub-categories, and they are: Elected Officers of Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc., Management of Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc., and Hourly Employees of Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc. All four categories above have at least one of the sub-categories in them.
So, you see, the Ranch means many things to all its member/owners. To some it’s a short drive to spend a day of fun in the sun, snow or mud (depending on the season); for others it’s a place to get away for a week or two, to others it’s their livelihood and to others a seasonal refuge from the cold or heat. I now call it Home Sweet Home. All of the above have a pride of ownership in a world set apart from the hustle and bustle of everyday life outside the rock archway up on U.S. Highway 160 in Southern Missouri, nestled in the Ozarks between two small towns (West Plains to the East and Gainesville to the West).
Okay, I’ll go ahead and admit it: This blog author is a Full-timer. It happened to us back in July 2007, when my husband and I both took an early retirement and came up to spend time with my husband’s brother and his wife, who were Part-timer/Full-timers, depending on how the wind blew. We immediately could not believe what we were experiencing here on the Ranch. We purchased a membership, then a camper within a week span of time. Our camper is a vintage one, but was for sale here on the Ranch, so we paid for it and had it pulled to a pad on July 31, 2007. We still to this day do not have a truck to pull our camper, so it has to stay here on the Ranch. I cannot bear to leave it, so it has never been back in a compound since the day we bought it. We have a home in Northern Mississippi, 15 minutes from Memphis TN, and have to take an occasional 72-hour leave to check on our property. But we can’t leave this Ranch without having severe pangs of withdrawal from the Ranch way of life.
It was our dream to be fulltime RV-ers just over a year ago, not having any idea that it would come true so soon. But it did and we are as happy as we have ever been with our old used camper. We sit outside at night and listen to the frogs and crickets (and whatever other critters that are out there). We watch deer graze in our front yard, we even have skunks come up and sniff our legs (stay very still if this happens to you). Hummingbirds, finches, cardinals, and those big old black crows and acrobatic squirrels are daily visitors to our feeders. We take rides and watch sunsets from the Stable overlook or Lonnie’s Lookout, or drive down to sit and listen to the ever-flowing bubbling springs that feed the mountain stream at Springs Falls or Wilder and Fogey campgrounds. We sit outside in the morning with our coffee and smell bacon cooking across the way. We plan our days around the weather forecast. We fish and watch Blue Heron swoop down and catch them with ease. If we‘re lucky, we can catch a glimpse of a bald eagle flying overhead. We sit by campfires with friends and discuss our families and Ranch politics and, yes, we even work on the Ranch. My husband is a Ranger and I do a myriad of volunteering. (I’m sure you’ll hear more from me on some of the upcoming projects for next season).
On a personal note, I am thankful and honored for the opportunity to share from my perspectives on what Ranch ownership is all about. Be assured that it is my profound belief that each member of the Ranch is just as important as the next. I have a saying that I plagiarized from the movie, “We Are Marshall.” Mine is: WE ARE C9R!!! Together, we all make this Ranch a heaven on earth for everyone that comes down that long-winding road. I like to think of the Ranch as a place where Mother Nature was introduced to the Heavens above, right up here on Cloud 9.
Now, it’s time to hear from some of you. If you have any questions or comments you’d like to pose to a Cloud 9 Ranch Full-timer, I’ll be glad to respond, answer or find you an answer if I don’t know it.
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