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Q: What have you been doing since your return?
A: Going from a Texas lifestyle to my job right away was pretty tough, but I'm back in the swing of things now and I coach and teach. I coach two different sports at the high school level and a couple of running clubs. It was really cool on the show, you got up in the morning and you knew what your job [would be] during the day. It was a lot more relaxing. You just chilled with your horse the whole day. There was something cool about that; no cell phones and no phone calls was a big thing for me. Just being able to get out there and enjoy nature and notice things you never noticed before.
Q: What do you miss most about the ranch?
A: When I transitioned back into the real world, I was struggling just to eat and sleep and not freak out when the doorbell would ring. I started to miss my horse on the show. I created this bond with Hammer when I was on the show. When I got back to Colorado, I felt like I was homesick, even though I was home. I just missed Hammer so much. I started calling around, I figured out where Hammer was and started negotiating the transaction to bring him to Colorado. I promised him I would do that before I left. Ended up driving to Oklahoma City and picked Hammer up. Here I am with Hammer. We hang out a lot. We talk, get the harmonica out, and play when we ride.
Q: What was the biggest change?
A: When I got back to Denver and Evergreen, it was quite a shock. The lights were a big thing for me. Just traffic, coming back from the airport and having my wife drive me home. I didn't sleep really well for the first three weeks. I was on a wooden bed on the ranch and after a while I got used to that, the constant flipping over from side to side. You'd have body parts go to sleep and you'd flip over. Then a half an hour later, that body part falls asleep so you'd flip back over. When I got back to Evergreen it was a problem to sleep on a nice comfy mattress again, so I ended up sleeping on the floor for a few nights. The diet was much more enjoyable. I lost I think 15 pounds on the show, but it didn't take me long to get that back.
Q: What did you learn about life in 1867?
A: The 1867 experience, as far as that went, I got a lot out of it. I wish I would've been there from the beginning of the project and not been the new guy coming in later. I would've learned a lot more and [been] there for the classes. I've been brushing up on that part of it. I've bought a lot of books since I've been back and I am just learning the history, getting into the western part of it and the outlaws and the cowboys.
Q: What were the worst moments on the ranch for you?
A: There was a time where I ripped my underwear out and happened to be skinny-dipping at the time. I guess the end of the show, how it ended up with the Cookes, could have been a lot better. I wish we could have gotten a couple more days on the ranch. That would have been fun, because we were kind of in a good place to enjoy the last couple of days after the cattle drive.
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