"Ride the Range in the West"
by Julie Newberg
Reprinted from "Off the Beaten Path"
Column of Summer Vacation Guide
June 4, 2001
Dude ranch guests still saddle up and ride into the wilderness, but these days they might end the day with a session of tai chi or a relaxing massage.
Horses are the "mane" attraction, but some places are offering a variety of activities for guests. At Wind Walker Guest Ranch in Utah, there's a sweat lodge along with meditation and stress-release training.
Owner Loretta Johnson was inspired by her daughter's response to natural therapies after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and living beyond the doctor's expectations. "She's a living miracle," Johnson said. Now Johnson shares some of those techniques with her guests.
"We find that the people who come don't really know about this kind of stuff," she said. "They love it. They can go out and be on horses all day and be rough and tough and pamper themselves at night."
Guests of the ranch may ride through 2.0 miles of mountains in the Manti- LaSal National Forest or sign up for a fly-fishing clinic or women's retreat.
Each season brings new life to the land, from winter when guests can cross country ski and join in an old-fashioned Christmas, to summer when families come to play and learn about the horses.
"There are incredible colors in the fall," Johnson said.
Although Johnson has only been open for a year and a half, she joins a conglomeration of about 300 guest ranches across the country, said Jim Futterer, co-executive director of The Dude Ranchers' Association in Fort Collins, Colo. Ranches became popular in the 1880s when people traveled to a friend's property in the West to experience the beauty of the land. Staying for the summer was common since travel was tough in those days. Guests started paying after they began to feel like they were imposing on. their hosts", Futterer said.
"Many fell in love with the freedom, the clean air," he added. Other ranches began taking in guests as a way to pay for expanding generations to stay on the family land. Dude ranches have remained a popular vacation getaway for generations with many visitors returning to the same ranch year after year. Letting go of stress is one benefit of staying at a ranch, Futterer said.
"You see an actual decompression take place," he said. "You see them unwind, just like a spring."
AN AUTHENTIC REVITALIZED YOU!
“We experienced a sensation of deep relaxation,
the excitement of an invigorating dude ranch with spa offerings, the aha
of looking through a renewed spirit, and the feeling of being welcomed
home. Thank you.”
– Julie & Scott Newlands, NC
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11550 Pigeon Hollow Rd. Spring City, Utah 84662
(888) 606-9463 or (435) 462-0282
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