You may be asking yourself, “what can I do for Mother’s Day” something that will be fun for all of us and make it a day to remember for Mom. Last year around this time I wrote you a story telling you “Your Mom is bored with Brunch”, well she still is. Why not plan something really great to let your Mom know how much you love her and have some family fun doing it. I suggest going to the Westgate River Ranch & Rodeo located in River Ranch, Florida, just an hour south of Orlando.
There may be a lot of locations that have something similar but I have yet to find one that has it all like this place does. Now you may say to yourself this is some “cheesy” Dude Ranch well I can tell you first hand it is not. Westgate River Ranch transports you back to the “Old Florida” days when the state was home to cowboys and cattle ranchers. Now Texans don’t get upset but Florida actually served as the original birthplace of the American cowboy. Seminole Indians, Spanish colonist and American settlers called “Crackers” herded cattle in Florida. The phrase “cracker” came from the crack of the 10 to 12 foot long leather bullwhips they used to drive the herds across the marshes and woodlands of Florida. A portion of the 1,300-mile Florida Trail winds its way through the pine- palmetto flatwoods and oak hammocks of Westgate River Ranch.
Westgate River Ranch lies on 1,700 beautiful acres and is surrounded on all sides by 400,000 acres of state and federally protected wetlands. In addition to its various types of accommodations it has a lot of fun activities that I know your Mom will love. Horseback riding, golf, nature hikes, trap and skeet shooting, hayrides, fishing, airboat and swamp buggy rides and mechanical bull rides. Every Saturday night they host a Championship Rodeo that offers trick riding, calf roping, barrel racing and of course everyone’s favorite, bull riding. Now I have been to a lot or Rodeo’s and I was somewhat skeptical, but it was awesome and the cowboys are top-notch.
So let’s talk about this “Glamping” thing also known as “glamorous camping”. Imagine you are watching one of those old safari movies they always had those amazing tent’s with furniture, linens and china, I always wondered how they pulled that off, well that is what Glamping is like.
The camping sites are set on platforms in a beautiful wooded area with spacious, fully-furnished, air-conditioned canvas tents, yes, I said air-conditioned. You have a key to your own private bathroom facility with hot shower and a personal “Glamping Concierge”. Your Concierge will show up each morning with hot coffee, tea, juice and pastries and set them on the front porch, along with lighting your campfire each night and firewood delivery. Now instead of working hard around the campsite you can take that time to bond with your family and spend some unplugged time with your Mom. My next Adventure at Westgate River Ranch is authentic “Luxe Teepees”. They are themed “Native American” style with double-sided stone rock hearth fireplace, leather chairs, porcelain cast iron claw bathtub and more. I know that is not how it was in the Wild West but I like this much better, I will be staying in the Roaming Buffalo Teepee. Spending some time at Westgate River Ranch will not only be fun and relaxing, it will be a Mother’s Day she will never forget. www.westgateriverranch.com
