It was a magical experience.

I don't know about you, but growing up in Colorado sometimes meant not experiencing the western things that fell into the touristy bucket - like the Sand Dunes or Buffalo Bill's grave or cowboy dinners around the chuck wagon.

So this was my first ever dinner sleigh ride.

It was a journey to get there: two bus rides just to get to the sleigh - a huge, festive red sleigh big enough for 24 plus the driver, Cowboy Buck, pulled by two massive draft horses. Like, the Budweiser horses. They stand 9 feet tall and weigh 2,000 pounds each, and they were born to pull heavy loads.

We snuggled under thick blankets and slid through a silent white meadow, a former lettuce farm. The tracks of a herd of elk spotted the snow, and a lone coyote howled somewhere in the hills. The moon was full and lit up the meadow like daylight. It was magical. By the time we arrived at the old farm homestead, we were already transported to another time.

The dining hall was warm and cozy. A cowgirl with a guitar sang to us. A pot of hearty beef and barley soup was waiting, with warm buttermilk biscuits and hot cocoa - and a shot of peppermint schnapps to warm up the adults.

My boys ate like they hadn't been fed all day.

Yes, there was a full steak dinner served, and apple pie a la mode, but it's that beef and barley cowboy soup I'm still thinking about.

Tomorrow, I'm going to make this recipe from my new favorite cookbook: Sunday Soups. Suzie the Foodie, I'll let you know how it turns out!