Join us this summer in Wyoming for a true Old West Cowboy Adventure!

July 20 – July 27, 2014
Cost - $1,950

Take a deep breath--the air is crisp and the aroma of cowboy coffee starts your day. Then you realize your dream -- its morning in Wyoming! You are on the vacation of a lifetime -- it is not dream! -- You will enjoy pristine outdoor living in unspoiled solitude while magnificent mountain scenery surrounds you.

• Ride the magnificent high country of the Wyoming Rocky Mountains
• Participate in real cattle work – round-up, driving, sorting, roping
• Visit historical sites – Custer Battlefield, Fort Kearny, King Saddle Museum
  

Join us for six days at the historic Willow Creek Ranch at the Hole-in-the-Wall http://willowcreekranch.com/ in the Northeast Wyoming Big Horn Mountains and Red Wall Country near Kaycee, Wyoming.

We’ll be riding in one of the more remote regions of America, where elk bugle, deer and antelope play and an occasional moose stands belly deep in a mountain lake. You'll ride high into the majestic mountain back country and into the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. You'll meander along snow-fed streams through deep rock canyons, soft, green forests and flower-filled meadows.

Daily Itinerary:

Sunday afternoon we’ll arrive at the ranch, settle into our cabins and bunk house rooms and get acquainted with our new surroundings with a short ride around the headquarters area before dinner.

Our delicious and hearty meals will be prepared and served by the ranch’s excellent cooks.  In the evenings we will have dinner at the ranch or in camp as the sky fills with a billion stars and coyotes sing in the distance.  After dinner, cowboy poetry and stories around the campfire provide the evening's entertainment.

Monday morning we’ll take a ride up onto the unique terrain of the famed Red Wall for a magnificent view of the wide open spaces of this beautiful 60,000 acre working ranch.  After lunch at the ranch headquarters we’ll work some cattle in the log corrals and pastures nearby.  Working cattle from your horse will really help you develop light responses from your horse for stops, turns, lateral work, backing and gait transitions.

Tuesday we’ll get an early start and ride out from ranch headquarters for a full day ride down Buffalo Creek Canyon.  You’ll be amazed at the geological formations and landscape of this deep rock canyon.  We’ll pass by original homesteader cabins and stop for lunch and a swim at a beautiful, natural waterfall pool.  Along the ride we’ll stop to see the art work of petroglyphs painted and carved into protected spots in the canyon wall by ancient inhabitants of this area.  We’ll camp for the night at the site of Butch Cassidy’s hide-out at the Hole-in-the-Wall.  After dinner with stories around the campfire of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch, this is a rare opportunity to experience western outlaw history.

Wednesday we’ll have a full day ride along the Outlaw Trail to the Red Wall then along the expansive, rolling plains at the foot of the 300 foot high, sheer red rock wall.

Thursday we’ll give the horses a rest day while we go sightseeing by vehicle in the area to see Custer Battlefield, http://www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm, Fort Phil Kearny http://philkearny.vcn.com/index.html , the Don King saddle museum http://www.kingropes.com/museum.htm along with some other interesting sites of western history and cowboy culture.  We’ll visit Sheridan Wyoming also for some great, high quality western shopping and dining.

Friday morning we’ll ride out from ranch headquarters for a full day ride to the ranch’s 17,000 acre high mountain grazing land.  On the high pasture we’ll check on and maybe move some of the cattle that are grazing there. Elevation in this area ranges from 6,500 feet to over 8,000 feet.  It is rough, rugged terrain with areas of forest and large canyons.  Temperatures are typically about 10 degrees cooler up there than on the lower plains of the main ranch. While we are riding our camp and tents will be set up by the ranch staff and an excellent meal will be prepared for us.  We’ll camp out in the high country that night and enjoy a beautiful ride back to the ranch headquarters on Saturday.

Sunday morning we bid farewell to our ranch staff friends, load our horses and head back to Georgia with many great memories and photos of our Old West Cowboy Adventure!

General Information

Cost of this adventure is $1,950 per person. This fee includes Ed’s assistance during the ride as well as on the drive to and from Wyoming, the ranch host fee and meals from Sunday night through the next Sunday morning except lunch and dinner on Thursday, which will be on your own during our sightseeing and shopping day.

This is not a “Sunday ride in the park”. You and your horse should be conditioned and prepared to ride all day in all types of terrain. We’ll take lots of breaks to rest the horses when we’re climbing, along with a long lunch break at midday on the ride. We’ll go mostly at a walk and trot. Those who want to canter will split off from the group in good areas to canter then wait for the rest of the group to catch up.

This adventure is not a dull "Nose-to-Tail" ride. This is big, open country with plenty of room to ride, a horseman's paradise. What a great opportunity to spend some quality bonding and training time with your horse! You’ll be amazed at how cross-country hauling and six days riding on the plains, in the mountains and working cattle from horseback will improve your horse, making him calmer, braver, smarter and more athletic. You will greatly improve your riding skills, communication and partnership with your horse.

If you want to experience real cowboy life the way it was 120 years ago in the Rocky Mountain west and you and your horse are up for the challenge then this adventure will be a dream come true.

We look forward to riding the high country of the old west with you this summer.

Join us for the adventure of a lifetime!