blog @ covered wagon ranch

How would you like to be sitting around the campfire one evening and taking in this view with your dinner? Well, Brinie, Rob, JT, Kenny and Erin had the pleasure of a most incredible pack trip this summer. Brinie and Rob were celebrating their honeymoon (hope you guys don’t mind the P.R.!!) and had a most enchanting trip.

The trip started out at Red Canyon where the wildflowers were just spectacular. It was a long, but beautiful day. Camp was set up and the views were amazing.

Now this next picture isn’t quite in focus, but I think that’s because JT’s hands were shaking he was so excited! And he knew if he didn’t have a picture of this we would have never believed them! For some reason, about 200 head of elk decided to walk into the camping area and start to graze! They didn’t seem to be too bothered with the horses, the camp and the people. Now I wish I had been there!

They camped therefor two nights, and then headed out on Day 3 over Snowslide and Monument Mountain, a 10,000 ft mountain top where the views are spectacular. However, you need to know that there is one spot on this ride that is not for the faint of heart!

But the trip is worth it (or so they say. I, personally, have a fear of heights and haven’t had the gumption to get over Monument Mountain. And the computer wouldn’t even download the scariest part!! Now what does that tell you?

Thanks to Erin, super wrangler, our horse “Commanche”  has found a new job at the ranch.  Erin came strolling up to the Friday night BBQ a few weeks ago with Unicorn in hand. It was a big hit at the ranch.

Although Robby, Matt, Dan and Tracey have been to the ranch several times, they must admit they never saw a Unicorn here before. It was a magical night.

So for those of you who think that Montana Dude Horses at a Dude Ranch are boring, we’re here to tell you that it gets pretty exciting here at the Covered Wagon Ranch !

Debi

PS I’m politely ignoring the fact that I’ve been extremely delinquent in writing We’re so busy this summer and having so much fun I hardly have time to write! I have so much to share: the Grizzlies that Steve and Sheila saw for the very first time, the Rodeo on Fourth of July, the amazing rides we’re getting in this summer, new trails: such as “Boones Wander”, and the list goes on. I promise to sit down on this computer and make time!

Look who decided to crash our dinner at the ranch! Right after dinner was finished, our guests went outside to enjoy the evening, only to find this yearling moose prancing right down the front of the lodge! We couldn’t have planned it any better.

Everybody just sat on the porch and enjoyed the show! Several days later, as we got ready for our cookout, a mama moose and her brand new baby were munching on leaves across the way! Wildlife activity has been great. Lots of elk, elk calves, some black bears and even some grizzlies with cubs!

The season has gotten off to a great start! Our Head Chef Tim and our Breakfast Cook Cami Jo have been expanding the waist size on our guests! Josh, a 10 year old grandson of Andy and Elizabeth from Georgia, has really been enjoying the food. When he got home he asked his mom why she didn’t serve him his biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, eggs, etc . His mom served him a pop tart and said “welcome home son”!!

We’ll keep you posted on ranch activities as the season goes on. So far, off to a great start!

Welcome to our Country!! Meet Anya and Zoriana, both joining us this summer as house staff. Their home country is the Ukraine and we’re very excited to have them become part of our Covered Wagon Family this year. It was a long journey to get here, traveling at least a good 24 hours. Only to find that they had a seven hour layover in Minneapolis! They finally arrived after midnight on Friday evening.

After a night’s stay at the Wingate in Bozeman (thanks Brandon!) I picked them up and drove them to the ranch in a snowstorm!! They were quite impressed. I promised them there were actually mountains all around us, even thought we couldn’t see them. They said the temperature was somewhere around 90 degrees in their country!

Anya (on the left), 22, has a degree in Art and is going to school for architecture. I’m sure J.T. will fill her in with all the joys of being an architect! And Zoriana (on the right), 19, is studying Economics. And I’ll be more than happy to share the joys of owning a business. They are part of an International Work Study Program and their English is quite good. Much better than my Ukranian, I must admit. I had to Google it to find out where it was. Geography is not one of my stronger suits!

During the ride to the ranch, I got to learn quite a bit about these two. They are lovely. This is the first time Anya has been to the States, and her dream is to draw horses and eventually get to Chicago and listen to some great jazz. Zoriana (which means “Star” in her language) actually worked in North Carolina last year in an ice cream shoppe. She calls herself the “ice queen”!! However, I asked her why she didn’t return there this year and she informed me that her boss died of a heart attack while she was there. I immediately told her I would not be her boss this year and turfed that responsibility on to somebody else at the ranch-and it wasn’t J.T.!!

During their tour of the ranch we stopped at the corrals and they got to pet the horses for the first time in their life. They were thrilled and a little intimidated. Rumor has it that Boone and Lee are taking them for their first horseback ride and lesson today! Zoriana also told me that she’s afraid of dogs. Now really, how could you be afraid of Doc??? We’re going to have to de-sensitive her while she is here.

We made our way back to the lodge and got them settled in to their crew quarters. It didn’t take long for them to get settled in to the American Cowgirl way of life. They are ready to start work! You will definitely enjoy meeting them this summer and we all look forward to learning more about where they live! Please welcome our two “Wild And Crazy Cowgirls”!!

For those of you who know me and my horses, I can’t stand to see a horse laying flat out in the pasture. Many a time I’ve been known to run out there with my cell phone in hand and ready to press the button to call my vet, only to find that the horse stands up seconds before I get there! Well, thanks to Horse & Rider Magazine, I now have second thoughts before I run out there to disturb them! Here’s an article I read from the March 2010 Issue:

HORSES ‘N ZZZZZZ’s

“While we need about eight hours of sleep a night to be at our best, our equine counterparts sleep just three to four hours a day in short bits at a time. Plus, they spend most of that sleep time standing up. How do they do this? With an internal “stay apparatus” of tendons and ligaments that allows them to lock their front legs while relaxing one hind leg and rotating their hips, so they can snooze without keeling over.

But to get that quality REM sleep, horses must lie down-either stretched out flat on the ground or partially upright with their legs tucked underneath them. And, believe it or not, many researchers report that horses do, in fact, dream. In REM sleep, their eyes move rapidly back and forth, and sometimes they grunt, twitch their ears, and even move their feet. Makes you wonder what dreams those may be, doesn’t it?”

So, next time I see them laying flat out on the ground, I’ll think twice before I rush to wake them out of a deep sleep. RIGHT……….

On our way up to feed the horses today, we run into a herd of deer!

Well, typical Montana Easter and Spring Time in the Rockies. JT and I headed up to Raspberry Butte today to feed the horses. First we spot a Golden Eagle on a telephone pole, then we see two Sandhill Cranes along the drive, and as we turn the corner to head up to the ranch we spot this herd of deer.

First step is to drive the flatbed up to where the horses are hanging out.

We head up the hill and can see that these guys (and gals) are just about out of hay. We feed them about once every three days now, as the pasture has been grazed down. Next step is to get the bale off the truck.

Not such an easy task. The horses are hungry and need to stay clear while JT puts the chain around the 1500 lb bale of grass/alfalfa mix and I drive the truck forward!

Rolling the Bale out to form the feed line

Now we’re talking!! First bale rolled out. Second one will be easier now that everybody is being fed!

Now that the feed line is out there, everybody is jockeying for position:

Now McCrae is saying “am I missing something????”

McCrae hasn't quite figured out what's going on-but he soon learns!!

Now everybody is happy!!

Everybody is a happy camper.

And of course, now that the feeding is done, the storm starts to lift. Soon it will be blue sky again! Happy Easter to everyone,

debi and jt