For almost my entire life, my family has been visiting dude ranches over summer vacation. For one week a year, all of us cousins come together, lope on horses, miserably fail at line dances, and enjoy a lifestyle that’s very different from our own.
My family is from the suburbs of Chicago, an environment that shares few similarities to Colorado. As I write this, I’m looking over mountains. I just watched my parents ride away atop horses, moving past cottages and the patio house. Later, I’ll take part in the end-of-week rodeo; I’ll be the slowest rider in my family navigating through barrels. I’ve always been the slowest rider of my cousins (I’m only admitting that because I know they don’t read these articles). But I don’t really mind lagging behind my family, I like seeing all of them together.
My cousins, and my family as a whole, are at their happiest at the ranch. The youngest member of our family takes weekly riding lessons and likes showing off her skills. My oldest cousin doesn’t, but likes showing off in general. My brother enjoys lighting the competitive fire in the two of them. The cousin closest to my age and I like taking cute pictures in western dresses, posing with our horses.
If you don’t know much about ranches, I love talking about them. For one week, you live in a cabin. Meals take place, at most ranches, in the ranch house, where all the guests gather together to enjoy wonderful food. Somehow, every ranch I’ve visited has offered daily fresh baked cookies.
During the days, you’re assigned a horse to ride. If you don’t like riding, ranches offer plenty of other activities. This year, my family is at C Lazy U Ranch, near Granby. They offer trap-shooting, hiking, yoga, a ropes course, ranger tours, and more. There are groups for kids, teens, and adults, and adult rides are organized by skill level. Lots of my best memories are from kids groups at the ranch my cousins & I grew up attending.
Rides are guided by wranglers, mostly young adults with lots of experience riding. Wranglers, I’ve found, can be the best part of a trail ride, and I’ve never met a wrangler who wasn’t dedicated, professional, and skilled. The wranglers I know are all so passionate it seems infectious.
Honestly, the only real negative I can think of about ranches is how dirty you inevitably get. Dirt coats your boots (and your face). Dust clots your hair. Mud is everywhere (EVERYWHERE) and there is no way to avoid stepping in horse poop. Sometimes I think the part of the day I most look forward to is finally getting to shower and get ready for dinner.
It was my grandparents who first brought my family to ranches. Long before I was born, my mom and uncle went to a dude ranch every summer. I guess it was those memories that brought my family to Tumbling River Ranch when I was maybe seven years old. I could tell stories about our time there for years. Sitting on the porch of my grandparents cottage, eating chocolate that seemed very expensive to me. Sitting in the chicken coop. My first rodeo. The games counselors taught us, the time we spent with kids we don’t know anymore and never will again.
We’d been talking about going back to a ranch for years, but last year we finally did. It was just as special as I’ve always remembered it being. As this week comes to a close, I’m trying to remind myself how lucky I’ve been to experience this kind of life at all. This time with my family, time with the horses (Cinnamon, Gus, Lola & Roe), time in nature, it all defines me. I’m growing up, and, not to get too sappy, these trips to the ranches are such a connection to my childhood they all make me want to cry. Someday my cousins aren’t going to be the kids going fly-fishing anymore. Someday I’m not going to be a little girl playing Pass the Stick (a ranch classic & personal favorite).
I admit that this article was written mostly for myself. I’ve been thinking about it all week. But I hope you’ve found some value in what I’ve written. I hope you see the love and joy that ranches have given my family. I hope that you can experience it yourself, through a dude ranch or anything else.
