Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bed or on the floor, paying $25 per month for the right to do chores—the dude ranch-
ing industry was born.
The brutal winter of 1886-1887 changed dude ranching from a practicality to a
necessity: The Eatons lost all but 150 of their 1,500 cattle to the cold and snow. The
paying guests kept the Eatons afloat.
In 1904, the Eaton brothers bought 7,000 acres of land on the northeastern slope
of the Big Horn Mountains. They announced to their friends that they'd be taking a
year off to build structures on the ranch: cabins, barns, and a dining hall. Some 70
dudes showed up anyway and for about $100 apiece built many of the cabins that
stand today. Although Howard and Willis remained lifelong bachelors, Alden mar-
ried and set into motion the family that would run the ranch for more than a century.
His great-great-grandson, Jeff Way, is the ranch general manager today, and like his
family before him, he and his own family welcome guests every summer.
Not much has changed since 1903. Days start early with the thunder of horses
being brought down from night pasture. The clanging of an old locomotive wheel
signals the start of hearty meals served family style in the old dining hall. There are
still Saturday-night cookouts and Western dances, picnics, softball games, rodeos,
and more riding than the horsiest Easterner could ever dream of.
The dude season at
Eatons
(800/210-1049,
www.eatonsranch.com
)
runs late
May-September, and the ranch can accommodate 125 guests in 47 cabins and three
suites in the main ranch house. Depending on the dates and cabin selected, adult
nightly rates for a six-night stay range $195-250, children 6-18 are $165-195 per
night, and children under 6 are $145-165 per night. Rates include transportation to
and from Sheridan, accommodations, all meals, and riding.
Located on the eastern flank of the Big Horns, the tiny town of Big Horn (population 490,
elevation 4,081 feet) packs a lot of punch. The town was initially settled by upper-class
ranchers and European aristocrats; among them was the Moncreiffe family, who raised prize
sheep in the region. Although the town never officially incorporated, at one time the pop-
ulation purportedly passed 1,000 but rapidly dwindled in 1893 when the railroad came to
Sheridan, nine miles northeast. Still, with its heritage of gentleman ranchers and a signi-
