Cowboy luxury

Our few days at the Bar W Ranch in Whitefish, Montana offered surprising experiences at every turn. First was the lodge. This wasn't a rustic mountain lodge, by any means. It was originally a luxurious home, nestled on a 100 acre state of the art Arabian horse ranch, with its own private lake that backed up to a 3200 acre state park, and thousands of national forest acreage just a trailer ride away. We had the master suite with a Jacuzzi tub that overlooked the pastures, pine forests ... ...

We were blessed with blue skies, as I mounted “The Kid,” a 10-year-old black Quarter Horse Thoroughbred Cross. The Kid was a great partner for my ride. Tawn, of Canyon Trail Rides, guided me on his horse Wiggy. Tawn said that a lot of people get nervous as they begin their descent into the canyon, because of the drop off on the other side of the trail. I felt safe on The Kid, as he had ridden this trail a thousand times and was probably more sure-footed than I would have been on foot. What makes ... ...

As we rode, Pat told me all about the Native Americans, outlaws and Morman pioneers who rode through and settled Capitol Reef, called “Land of the Sleeping Rainbow.” The colors of the rocks and cliffs here are striking. We rode to petroglyphs created by the Fremont people, ancient Native Americans who lived in the area. Pioneers saw it fit to sign in here too and Pat told some stories from their journals. Surrounded by tall canyons on each ride of us, we were riding through a spot where people ... ...