If a hearty breakfast is the best way to start the day, then the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s 10th annual Cowboy Days festival should get off to a good start. Held in Las Cruces, New Mexico at one of the West's premier museums celebrating farming and ranching, Cowboy Days is set for March 14-15 from 10- 5 ($2 entry).
For many, however, the fun begins at 8 A.M. each day with the cowboy breakfast. A chuck wagon cook will create an authentic cowboy breakfast featuring Dutch oven favorites such as biscuits and gravy, and eggs and bacon (tickets $9 in advance, $10 on the day). Cowboy Days admission is included in the price of the breakfast tickets.
The festival includes live western music, living history fun, and arts and crafts show and a Charreada (Mexican style rodeo), horsemanship demonstrations, rides, and more. Cowboy Days also marks the opening of an extensive new exhibit at the museum. “A Most Terrible Wonder: Firearms from 1600 to 1900” features dozens of guns from the museum’s collections.
For more information, please call 575/ 522-4100 or click here.
Our recent conversation with Arizona's Russell True, new President of the Dude Ranchers' Association (DRA) and co-owner of White Stallion Ranch, included some good thoughts about the challenges facing dude ranches and their visitors in a tough economy. "We have to remind people that when you buy a ranch package, there are few to no add-ons," says True. "If you compare a dude ranch to another resort, it’s apple to oranges: we’re all-inclusive and a very good value."
But besides value, there's another good reason to choose a dude ranch now, he continues. "Families need ranches because we create opportunities for real family time and some of our best family memories," he contends. "You’re getting real experiences—not manufactured amusement park stuff," True adds. "And we love what we do: it’s not just a job for any of us," he notes.
The dude ranch is a uniquely American-born institution, and the first introduction to the West for some. Some ranches got their start at the turn of the century, so there’s history, culture, and tradition here, too.
"The Chinese word for crisis also means 'dangerous opportunity'," says True. "As ranchers, we’re must be more open minded, versatile, and adjust and adapt while protecting and expanding our future." No problem, says True. "Ranchers are flexible-we’ll get better at our jobs. And there’ll be more of us standing at the end of all this." And blue skies will return.
Springtime in Arizona is, well, right about now. I just talked to Russell True, of Tucson’s White Stallion Ranch, and the way he describes the view from his window makes me want to jump on a flight south.
“It’s pretty well perfect today,” says True, “about 85° outside.” He’s sitting in the same office his parents used. “We’ve been ranching here 44 years,” says True, and he and his brother have continued the dude ranch tradition started by their parents in the 1940s. Gazing out his glass south wall, True notes, he looks at Panther and Safford Peaks, part of the Tucson Mountains, and it’s classic rugged Arizona—a lush and green desert in this season.
“People forget how green this desert can be in spring,” True says with a laugh, “but it really is.”
Across a couple miles of the 3,000-acre ranch, True can see Saguaro National Park, with the Catalina Mountains to the east. “We’re on five square miles of undisturbed desert, part of which is right up against the park,” he explains. It's an authentic cattle ranch, but with lots of amenities that guests love. “My parents sacrificed to grow the ranch and create a strong foundation,” True notes, “and my brother and I have had the good fortune to add to and upgrade the ranch.”
The ranch offers comfortable accommodations, from single rooms to suites with whirlpool bath and fireplaces, all done in a Southwestern motif. Amenities include a fitness center, heated pool, hot tub, movie theater, sauna, sports court with full court basketball, volleyball, badminton and paddle tennis, tennis court, shuffleboard, and a recreation room. In addition to horseback riding, they offer several guided hikes each week and evening programs.
All that they offer is part of what sets them apart. “We believe we’re the best value in the business,” claims True, “with our diversity of offerings, quality of rooms, and prices, we’re a super value.”
And there’s no better time to check out White Stallion Ranch than now.
Getting away is more important than ever these days (who isn't stressed out right about now?). But with high gas prices and a challenging economy, families are having a harder time figuring out how to work a vacation into the budget. Road trips may be the quintessential American vacation, but staying in one place— that offers a variety of activities in one location—means big savings and less stress.
A dude ranch vacation can be the perfect value vacation. Five reasons should convince you:
1) A dude ranch is all-inclusive. Meals, lodging, activities are all included—unlike a cruise, where everything from soda pop to port fees and land excursions cost extra.
2) You know where the kids are at all times (they're having a blast—and supervised), and you generally aren't spending extra on babysitting.
3) Considering all the facilities and activities open to your use, a dude ranch gives you more bang for your buck.
4) Go during the shoulder season (often June and October at mountain ranches) or low season (summer at the desert ranches) and you can often find discounted rates.
5) All the memories you'll make as a family: priceless.
Randy George, owner of Latigo Ranch in Colorado's Grand County, put it best. "An all-inclusive dude ranch vacation requires no intricate planning, keeps every member of the family happy with a wide variety of activities, and lets people experience a real slice of the American West - all in line with a budget, with no extras or hidden surprises."
To find a value ranch, click on Ranchweb.com.
My pal Jane C. sent me a hopeful note about the travel industry recently. She contends that, despite the difficult economy, women are continuing to travel. And April M. Merenda, President and Co-Founder of Gutsy Women Travel, says, "Gutsy women from all walks of life are braving the current situation and still determined to travel."
A key travel industry executive who has a good feel for this market, Ms. Merenda says that many women — especially teachers and mother/daughters and girlfriends— are deciding that no matter what shape the economy is in, they need a break and plan to take one, certain that they'll return revitalized and ready to tackle life's challenges with renewed energy.
Ms. Merenda believes that her company's success is due in part to the fact that women still view travel as a necessity—not a luxury—and many save up for their dream trips. Ms. Merenda's company has found success with competitively priced single supplements and also has introduced a 'guaranteed share' program which is designed for the many women who travel solo, but worry about whether they can afford high single supplement charges. Gutsy Women relies on repeat business (some 60%) and word-of-mouth compliments from past passengers has proved to be the company's biggest marketing tool.
Sounds like a few of those ideas just might work down on the ranch.
