When Omi and Papa died, passing the ranch to us, a decade went by before we began the process of developing and building. In the fall of 2020, we began to formulate our plans for the property. We started by excavating the old cabin by the road, which was originally an old bait store, and adding a new fence and gate across the front of the property. Although two wells existed already on the property, a new water well was drilled and a new pump house constructed. An upgraded electrical pole was added in anticipation of the need for more electricity.

We worked with a building planner to establish the initial overall plan for our family camp. The property was then surveyed, measured, cleared and marked for the placement of our internal road and the five buildings.

In January of 2021, in the middle of the world’s pandemic, the magic began at our ranch. Once the foundations were poured, construction hurried along through the spring of 2021. Three sleeping cabins, a building we call the “Kitchen,” and a garage were constructed by the summer of 2021. After the septic system was in place, our internal road was developed, scraped, and finished off with crushed granite. Two RV pads and hook-ups were included.

Since the completion of the buildings that summer, we have enjoyed family time at the ranch, cousin camps for our grands, Spring Break with the family, weekend getaways and our Kelley Christmas. We’ve continued to work on additional projects including concrete flatwork, irrigation, grass and landscaping, our covered fire pit, preserving our old historic water well and adding a game room in our garage.

Our family loves Blue Truck Ranch and we knew others would love it, too. We figured folks would enjoy having their own family camp, Thanksgiving getaway, staff retreat, friends weekend, cousin camp or a special Highland Lakes vacation right here on our six acres. And so, in the Spring of 2023 our family decided to offer our property as a short-term rental for visitors to the Inks Lake area. – God has indeed richly blessed us, K. and A. Kelley