Ree and her husband, Ladd, are busy, to say the least. Ree's got her cookbooks, her magazine, her collection at Walmart, her cooking show, and plenty of other things (Dahlias! Sofia! The dogs!) keeping her occupied. And of course Ladd has the ranch to worry about: He works until very early in the morning (four in the morning in the summer time!) until late afternoon. That keeps both Ladd and Ree pretty close to home most days, so it's a fairly rare occasion when the two of them are able to sneak away from their responsibilities for a special date night.
When they do have a Friday or Saturday evening that frees up these days, they still like to make time for each other. They used to do this once a month when the kids were little, and now that all the kids are grown, they want to keep the tradition going. So do they opt for a fancy dinner somewhere? A trip to Tulsa to see a movie? A romantic stroll around downtown Pawhuska? Nope, nope, and nope! These days, when Ree and Ladd get away for a date night, their favorite thing to do is pretty simple: They go for a drive.
"At the risk of sounding like an old married couple," Ree says. "We love to take drives together." A long ride in Ladd's pickup turns out to be the perfect opportunity talk about the ranch, the family, and anything/everything else that's on their minds. "There's something about the peace of the pickup," Ree says. "That diesel engine is like background music, and we are focused only on each other. No laptops, devices, TV's...it's such a great time to catch up."
But where do they drive? "Honestly, it's different every time," Ree explains. "Sometimes we stay on the county roads and check on fences or cattle; other times we'll drive east to Pawhuska or west to Ponca City, stopping to get a convenience store Dr Pepper when we get there. Other times Ladd will drive into this pasture or that, to show me an area of a creek that I may not have seen before, or--again--to check on a cow or a fence."
Basically, where the drive takes them is of secondary importance! The point is to get away, just the two of them, without having to veer too far from home. Ree jokes that they can solve all the world's problems during their casual evening drives. "Now that we're empty nesters, it's not like we don't have lots of time alone at home already. But there's something about the safety and sanctity of the pickup that sparks the very best conversations," Ree says. (And a bonus: Fuel is the only expense for this type of date!)
Next time you and your beloved want to have some time alone, give Ree and Ladd's date night activity a try and go for a long drive. Better yet, grab a few Dr Peppers for the road!
Kelsey Hurwitz is the associate features editor for The Pioneer Woman Magazine. When she's not writing about ranch life, home decor and food, she can be found knitting and catching up on her favorite reality TV shows.
