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Although the modern dude ranch is still a work in progress, it has never lost its roots. today, horses and cowboys have become a style of dude ranch vacation that appeals to all ages, preferences and budgets.
It was the automobile that helped reshape dude ranches into the resort-style destinations they have become today. Throughout the fifties and sixties, holidaymakers took to the highways in cars and motor homes. Motels sprung up at every corner and dude ranches expanded their amenities to include swimming pools, tennis courts and spas as much as they did hayrides, square dances, BBQs and sing along. As a result, the term dude ranch has come to mean a variety of experience.
Photo courtesy of Goosewing Ranch
But the popularity of a dude ranch vacation goes back to the late 1880s when the spirit of the Wild West was firmly entrenched in the American and European psyche. The industrial revolution was beginning to restructuring the landscapes of the East Coast and Europe and as a consequence, wealthy foreigners and Eastern industrialists, including Theodore Roosevelt, came to the West – and its dude ranches, for the abundant wildlife and magnificent unspoiled scenery.
Photo courtesy of Gernonimo Guest Ranch
Although the expanding railroad did much to bring visitors west, it was really the lore and romance of a cowboy life that captured most people’s hearts. Writers such as Zane Grey and Mary O’Hara fuelled the public imagination; painters like Remington and Russell captivated the mythology with vivid imagery, and then with the unprecedented success of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, people arrived in droves, intent to experience for themselves the thrill of an open frontier.
The popularity for ranch holidays increased dramatically in the 1920s and ‘30s and paying guests became a way for ranchers to supplement their income. Their unique style of hospitality – sharing their homes, riding horses, herding cattle, hunting and fishing had become a benchmark for all dude ranch experiences. Their remote locations also led to creative socializing such as costume parties and contests; social interaction became as important as the riding and created lifelong friendships between guest and staff. Today, many of these qualities are integral to a dude ranch vacation.
Although horses and the wide open range continue to be at their core, dude ranch vacations now promise to deliver a whole lot more.
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