ACSA member Mack Pryor has invited us to spend the weekend at his ranch again on the Nueces River!  It's got a ranch house on the river that'll sleep up to 16 people, & there is plenty of space for tents too.  You also may come out for the day only.  It's about 100 miles southwest of SA near La Pryor. 

From Mack: The house has the usual amenities including A.C., except only drink the bottled water & watch out for bugs. There are 4, 1 bed, bedrooms & a large bunkroom(part of the main house) with 8 beds. 2 baths in the house & one in the barn.

Swimming, kayaking, fishing, & tubing is what we will do during the hot part of the day. When it is cool, we can hike or mountain bike & look for arrow heads or petrified wood. Or just drive around & look at the place. Or fly a kite.  I have an ATV that holds several people. You can shoot at targets or try to kill a hog or rabbit. If the telescope is in operation we will be able to use it if the stars are out.

I have a sit on top & a sit inside kayak at the ranch.  There is a large lake on the river where people can swim & practice kayaking.  We should have miles of river just to ourselves.  You can also bring a ski boat.

Sometimes guests leave a tip on the bed to thank the lady that does this for her work preparing for & cleaning up after guests. But that is strictly a gratuity; I pay her regular wages for this.

**Beds in the house will be determined chronologically by RSVP's indicating you want one of the beds.  Please indicate in your RSVP if you will be staying overnight, and which night or both.  Otherwise, bring your tent.  It should be really nice camping weather.  Also, please indicate if you'll be there for the day only.  If you don't indicate that you're staying overnight and want a bed, you won't be counted towards one of the beds.  Check my RSVP comments to see who'll have a bed.  We can put cots in the house too, and there are a couple of couches.  There is also plenty of space for a lot of tents.**

The house has a fully equipped kitchen, you'll need to bring all of your own food & beverages.  There is also a good taco place nearby in La Pryor.  Everyone usually ends up doing a little potluck sharing of meals.  We'll shoot for about 7:30pm Saturday evening for a potluck dinner.  If you'd like to participate, list in your RSVP comments what you will be bringing so we don't have a lot of duplicates.  Do not drink any of the water from the faucets, including the kitchen.  The water comes directly from the river and is not treated.

There will be a few extra kayaks, but bring your own & any extras you might have if you can.

Children 5 and up only.  You may bring a dog, but it must remain under control because of the livestock.

Everyone visiting the ranch must sign a liability waiver. 

Update from Mack:  I do not feel comfortable personally accepting money for accommodations. Money to go to my employees would be nice. On one of the first trips, there tips were so humiliatingly small I added some $1’s and $5’s and pretended it  came from the guests. There is a little house and yard cleanup to do; but not much, since everyone is scrupulous about tidying up. I think that those who use a bed should pay some amount of gratuity to the lady who cleans the house. 

Then there is the gas for the ATV, Jet Ski, and perhaps outboard.  I don’t think it amounts to more than $50-$100. If I can get the boats to the long lake at the south end of the ranch, we could take really long rides. How about if I pay for gassing the Jet Ski at the camp house, and asking those who plan to do more than a short ride to pitch in about $5 so we can gas up at the landing. The ATV is not such a gas guzzler. 

The only real expense the ranch incurs is due to abuse of the ATV and Jet Ski. You know that I had to eat almost $4,000 in repairs for wanton injury of the Jet Ski. Fixing the transmission of the Polaris ATV because of improper shifting also ran to about $1,000. Don’t shift the ATV unless the engine is idling and don’t take the Jet Ski places it could suck up weeds or gravel. I think this is so plain that someone who ignores the basic rules should have to bear the burden of repairs. 

But let’s not forget that we are at the ranch to have fun; rowdy fun, for those so inclined. I suspect that the main appeal of the ranch to AC members is that they are at liberty. Yell, fire off weapons, get drunk and go naked; get lost or get hurt; there is room at the ranch to do all of this without disturbing bird watchers and scrabble players or attracting the attention of park rangers.

If you consider the number of people that have come to these events, it is extraordinary that there have been so few, and so trivial, causes for complaint. It is to your credit that the membership consists of mature, polite, individuals who are a pleasure to have as guests. I have more fun than anyone. The Jet Ski incident did not occur during an event and the individual who was responsible was not, I think, ever a member. The Polaris frequently gets rough treatment; it would have needed an overhaul even if there have never been a club event at the ranch. The business about the tips must have been largely an oversight that was corrected at subsequent events.