The staycation that didn't go as planned

 Danni and Paul arrived from rainy Oregon a few days after Halloween.

Since they brought their weather with them, we spent the first few days of their visit indoors, 

in costume, eating a lot.

 Between storms, Tall Paul and I tackled the broken barn door.

 It was a two-person, three-donkey job.

 The donkeys were assigned to the entertainment crew...

 ...and did a very fine job.

 Alan: That's a good look on you.

 The weather improved considerably by Sunday, and we were able to leave the ranch

and go hiking at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

 If you're ever in New Mexico, add this place to your "must visit" list.

 It's about half way between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

 The hike to the top of the slot canyon trail was strenuous

but worth every breathless moment.

 This is Alan being very mad. 

He knows the only way out of the pen is to get into the horse trailer.

The plan was for Danni and Paul to help me take all three donkeys to the vet

for their annual checkups. 

 We finally got everybody in the trailer at the same time, and then the phone rang ...

our vet had to cancel the appointment because of an emergency at the clinic.

Oh well. I'll reschedule when the next houseguest comes to visit,

since "loading three donkeys into the trailer" is another of those two-person jobs.

 The canceled vet visit gave us time to paint, which isn't necessarily a two-person job, 

but it sure goes faster and is a helluva lot more fun when help is available.

Smooch (Conehead) supervised from the couch.

Eating, fixing, hiking, trailering and painting were secondary to the main purpose 

of Danni and Paul's visit, which was to keep me company on Election Day.

We didn't have any specific plans for the day and decided early on that 

it would best be spent in festive celebration until the news coverage began 

and the results started coming in.

 We spent the morning in the corral, playing Cinderella.

 Lucy was dismayed when the ruby slippers didn't fit her dainty hooves.

 They fit somebody else, though.

Danni might have a second career as a Playboy Donkey.

 Lucy led the first ever 7MSN Election Day parade,

which was followed by a round of peppermint adult beverages.

And that's about where the celebration ended. 

We watched the news coverage, mostly in stunned silence, 

then Danni and Paul headed back to Oregon the next morning.