My Dude Ranch Days...

***

One of the things I always wanted to do when i was in college was to go off and work on a Dude Ranch.  I had been around horses most of my life working in barns and on farms.  After I graduated College I set out for Jackson Hole WY where i had snatched a job on Spotted Horse Ranch in the valley.  The Guest and Horses made the whole experience for me.  It's a time in my life I will never forget. 

***

The porch off the main cabin
looking out on Hoback River

***

Ninety-seven percent of the county of Jackson is preserved, making it one of the last bastions of the Wild-West. The best way to experience the vastness of Wyoming is on the back of a good horse. Laid-back dude ranches in Jackson Hole have been hosting greenhorns since Teddy Roosevelt's time. The Spotted Horse Guest Ranch, sixteen miles south of historic, trendy Jackson, is far enough away from the summer crowds that you can get a taste of how it was here in the 1930s when the ranch was officially homesteaded and enjoy nearby attractions on day trips.

***

***

Horse Trails

***
I did two trail rides a day for guest.  One in the morning and then afternoon.  The Cliff rides were my favorite for the view.  We would stop in the afternoon and set up lunch for the guest and tie the horses up.  I wish everyone could experience something like this.  It really makes you feel truly American and truly John Wayne, both equally satisfying.

Daily rides at the ranch range from two-hour jaunts through aspen groves spiked with Indian paintbrush to day-rides on miles of trails that switch back up to soul-stirring vistas of the 150,000-acre Bridger-Teton National Forest surrounding the ranch. Extended rides with stays at overnight tent camps are available for people.

***

Over-night Camp set up.  About

a 2 hour trail ride.

***

From the Men at Hunting Camp

in the Fall.

***

Bringing the Horses in Over the Bridge

for the Morning.

***