Home
On The
Rang e
Dude ranches are a uniquely American
experience, and increasingly popular.
illy Crystal may
have just dis-
covered dude
ranching but ranch vacations
have been around for over a
century. City slickers and their
country cousins are flocking
in ever-growing numbers to
dude ranches where they can
live out their cowboy dreams
with touches of modern lux-
ury. Git along, little dogies!
The history of ranch vaca-
tions dates to the days of
Teddy Roosevelt's Rough
Riders in the late 1800s. Legend has
it that three brothers — Howard, Willis
and Alden Eaton — established a hay
and horse ranch near Medora, North
Dakota, in 1879. Visitors from the East
began helping out on the ranch. In
time, one guest asked if he could pay
room and board so he could stay on
and the dude ranch industry was
born.
Other dude ranches fol-
lowed and in 1926, the
Dude Ranchers' Asso-
ciation, headquartered in
LaPorte, Colorado, was
established. Run by Amey
22 STYLE
Grubbs, the association represents 101
members throughout the Rocky
Mountain states. Other ranches are rep-
resented by such organizations as the
Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch
Association, the British Columbia
Guest Ranch Association,
and the American Wil-
derness Experience.
Just what is a
"dude" exactly?
According to
Lawrence B.
Smith, author of
Dude Ranches and
Ponies, "Dude was applied
Dude ranches
feature a num-
ber of outdoor
activities, from
rides and
picnics in
the mountains
to white water
rafting.
to an outsider, city per-
son, or tenderfoot;
one who came from
another element of
society and locality; in
short, a stranger as far
as the West and its
ways were concerned.
As dude was applied
to a male, so the word dudeen was
made to fit the female, and the busi-
ness of catering to them was called
dude ranching."
Kim Pelton, program director for the
American Wilderness Experience, which
represents 54 summer dude ranches in
IL LU STRATI ONS BY J ASON L EVINSON. PHOTOS BY ALLAN FR YHLE.
BY CAROL SORGEN