Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Monday, June 16. 2014

What is a dude? - and dude ranches


Pic above is Eaton's Ranch in Wyoming, a place my Mom loved.


Lots of places to explore on this planet, but we do love dude ranches. What is a dude? - How the strange history of the ‘dude’ helps throw a light on why the West still feels like the real America


Dude ranches might be a bit phony compared to real ones, but if you don't have a friend with a real ranch in Wyoming or somewhere, they are great fun. We recommend dude ranch holidays in the American West. It sure beats DisneyWorld.


Yes, at least one wrangler always has a rifle. Horrors!

Posted by Bird Dog in Our Essays, Travelogues and Travel Ideas at 16:51 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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We love dude ranches in our family, and old line places like Eaton and HF Bar in eastern Wyomng are certainly outstanding. My personal favorite though is Rainbow Trout Ranch in Antonito, Co. which is in some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. Great fishing, hiking and riding, yes, in all these places (and sporting clays shooting in many!) but the southern Colorado topography is just spectacular.
#1 MTF on 2014-06-16 18:48 (Reply)
On a fishing trip to Montana I took a day off for a horseback tour of a large cattle ranch. Because I could ride well the owners accepted my offer of a day of volunteer work -- moving cattle, etc. Cow ponies are astonishingly well trained workers.

Rode within a few feet of a newborn fawn while mom tried to decoy us away with a fake leg injury. Studiously ignored the bright, kelly green marijuana field ... .

Great experience, but from the owners I received neither a nickel nor a dime.
#2 Frigate on 2014-06-16 20:49 (Reply)
Looks great. Tho Iceland also has wonderful horses and spectacular landscapes to ride, hike, climb and swim in. And is FAR cheaper, if you go in spring or fall. Great Icelandic fish, lamb, cooked to perfection too (new Nordic cuisine is yummy). Those Icelandic horses are amazingly strong and sweet tempered and friendly as golden retrievers. 1 for every 4 Icelanders. I guess the Vikings didn't tolerate weak or bad-tempered horses when they brought them over a thousand years ago. Quite different from many of the temperamental critters I've ridden in England and Argentina....
#3 Retriever on 2014-07-11 16:44 (Reply)

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