Gifts from the Marlboro Ranch (Summer '09)

One of the most asked question after we got back from the ranch was..."So apart from cigarettes, what else did you guys get from from Ranch?". Well, we expected free cigarettes (which we have generously donated to some of Kevin's friends), a cowboy hat and boots (cos we had to give our hat size and shoe size a few weeks before we left for the ranch). Little did we know that there were many many other gifts waiting for us at the Ranch. Oh before I forget, contrary to popular belief, no, there is no free flow of cigarettes at the ranch. Each person is given 5 packs (see pic below) and they could redeem another extra pack at the Saloon or Livery. So each person gets 6 packs. I think that is MORE than enough for a 4 days 3 nights trip. If that's not enough for you, I think you seriously need to seek some professional help.

Here is a photo of some of the gifts that we got the moment we arrived. Many people in various forums commented that we should not ruin the 'surprise' by revealing the gifts that we get. Well, I don't know about you but I am generally a curious person and I would want to know what I will be getting before arriving at the Ranch. So, if you don't want to ruin that surprise, stop reading now. For the rest of you, here are all the gifts that you will be getting from the Ranch.

First up is head gear. We received the black caps with the Crazy Mountain Ranch logo about two weeks prior to the trip. It came with the plane tickets and other travel documents. It was really handy at the airport, it helped us pick out all the other people from the crowd, who were also going to the Ranch. The other is of course the cowboy hat. I'm not familiar with 'cowboy apparel', but from what I read, it's a pretty decent hat. The style is called Cowboy (Model #0575) and it's made by Stetson. The quality is also pretty good, it's a 5X felt quality. I also found out online that those hats don't come cheap. It was going for about $170 a piece!! Since they already sent us a cowboy hat measuring tape one month prior to the trip, the hat fits pretty good most of the time. If it doesn't fit, you can always exchange it for another size at the Activity Barn. Another cool thing about the cowboy hats is that they have people who can shape the hats for you. Kevin got his hat shaped to the style of how Garth Brooks would wear his hat and I got mine shaped to a more feminine style (something like what Shania Twain or Faith Hill would wear).

We've got the cowboy hat, of course we would need cowboy boots too! We each got a very nice pair of cowboy boots by Resistol Ranch. I am not sure what the style is but the Ladies Model # is M0504 and Men is M0016. I have never owned or worn a pair of cowboy boots before but I must say that they are very very comfortable. I wore it for the Scenic Horseback Ride as well as to the Street Party and every Evening/Night activity. Really comfortable. A little note to all city kids (like me), cowboy boots works great on the dance floor! Seriously, you can just slide all over the place with ease :P Maybe I should start wearing cowboy boots out clubbing!

The winner of the trip (that's me!) will also receive a Samsung S760 7.2MP digital camera. It comes with a 1GB memory card, camera case, rechargeable batteries and a battery charger. I have not tried using it (since we brought our trusty Nikon S610), but from the review I read online, it looks like a pretty decent camera. My sister Ashley is pretty excited cos we told her that she can have it! :D

We each also received a hard cover "Morning Fires, Evening Lights - The Marlboro Country Cookbook" book. I flipped through it real fast the other day and it's loaded with lots of recipes. You can expect me to try some of them and share it here really soon!! Of course, we also both got a nice red bandanna. All cowboys (cowgirls too!) need a red bandanna :P Moving on...

They also gave us two really nice and heavy ashtrays with the Crazy Mountain Ranch logo on it and also two Portable Litter Device (PLD). I initially didn't know what it was, I thought its some sort of lighter or something. Kevin had to explain to me that it's used to store cigarette butts and ash when they is no ashtray around. Now I know :P

It was good of them to also include two nice water bottles as part of the gifts. It came in handy for people who wanted to bring water for their activities and stuff. The two cans you see in front of the water bottles is a poker set (minus the chips). There is a deck of cards, dice and a booklet, teaching you how to play poker. Nice!

We also got a pair of Bolle sunglasses each. It is the Coachwhip model with Soft Black TNS Lenses. Looks pretty cool actually but we both brought our own sunglasses, so we didn't really test them out. It's currently still in the box, together with the microfiber carrying case and sunglasses strap. I don't think they are cheap sunglasses, I checked the RRP online and it was almost $100!!

This is a very nice gift. It's a Swiss Army Dual Time Travel Alarm Clock by Victorinox ( Model: 24731). It looks like a pocket watch and the black cover doubles up as a stand. It's basically a clock and the second time zone can be set on the outer ring. You can also find the 24 hour military time imprinted on the inner ring on the dial. I believe it retails for about $80 each.

We were also given three types of luggage each. The huge roller travelling bag was sent to us about 2 weeks before we left for the trip. It's a really nice bag - huge with lots of pockets. We were also given a backpack each. Also really nice with lots of pockets and anti slip straps. The small black bag in front is a waist pouch with a tiny compass and thermometer. You can slip it on your belt and take it with you when you go for your activities. Really good for carrying your camera, keys or cigarettes (if you smoke).

You must be thinking...wow, so many things! Well, there is more! We were also given one red t shirt (for the group picture) and two different jackets each (one lightweight and one heavier jacket). The heavier jacket is actually an original Oilskin Coat by Outback Trading Co. Ltd (Style #: 6085). Oilskin Coats are traditionally worn by cowboys or ranchers, becos it is waterproof and really heavy duty. The coat is black in color and has corduroy trims. Very very nice for guys but I think it's a tad bit too masculine for the ladies. Oh well, its a nice coat none the less. They also added a Crazy Mountain Ranch pin at the collar of the coat...nice! :D

The other jacket is a Columbia nylon lightweight waterproof jacket (Model: Canyon Creek II). I just love this jacket. It's really comfortable and I like the color combination (the picture doesn't do justice). It also comes with an attached hood.

Marlboro also wants you to take home as many memories of the ranch as possible with you. Hence, they also gave us two leather photo albums (pre loaded with a few photos of the ranch) and two leather address books. They also pre printed our names and contact details on little stickers, so that we can exchange them with our new friends that we made at the ranch. How cool is that?

The last thing that we got were Zippo lighters. We were given a few feedback forms to fill in during the last night and when we handed them in together with our room key on the last day, we got the Zippos as a token of appreciation for filling out those forms. Boy, so apart from getting a free trip to the Crazy Mountain Ranch, we also came back to loads of gifts from Marlboro! Great activities, great ranch staff, great gifts and great food...hmm, great food. Wanna know what Marlboro fed us throughout the 4 days and 3 nights? That will be coming up in the next post! Stay tuned :P

* Click here to be directed back to the Crazy Mountain Ranch Homepage. You can check out other ranch related posts as well as look at photos from the ranch during our Summer 2009 trip!