Just back from real Cowboy Country

[Green River Powell aka RonC]

My wife and I just returned from a motorcycle trip north from the Foothills area west of Denver where we live, to Steamboat Springs and the Yampa River region. It was just a little, 3-day, 700 mile tour of the region.

Steamboat Springs is pleasant enough for a ski and touring town, but it was the surrounding region that gave the sense of being in Cowboy Country.

Passing the cattle and horse ranches, we saw the usual pickup trucks, but several times there were men and women on horses rounding up cattle. Some wore cowboy hats and some just had on the typical visor baseball type cap (definitely not worn backwards or sideways ). All wore bluejeans. None had firearms visible.

We had breakfast in small town cafes, usually with the locals. The rancher types came in with rough looking bluejeans and boots that looked more Wellington-like, Ropers or work boots. Only at night did we see any in pointy cowboy boots.

I had to wonder what they would think of us "simulation" cowboys acting out our visions of the old-time cowboys. Would they get a kick out our activity? Would they laugh and think it silly. Would they even care at all?

There were lots of photos around at the old cafes. From the look of the photos of Steamboat Springs from the late 1880s through the early 20th century I would think that the town in those days would have looked just like the little towns today, like Yampa, Phippsburg, Oak Creek, Toponas, Walden, Rand - a sprinkling of houses, a general store, and lots of cattle and hay.

With an average of 331 inches of snow a year, you had to be a tough hombre to live and work in Steamboat Springs at the turn of the century! You have to be a tough hombre to economically survive in the ranching business even now.

My favorite area up there is North Park, like the famous South Park, a high mountain plateau (about 9500 ft for South Park, surrounded by 12-13,000 ft mountains) of 7500 ft surrounded by 10-11,000 ft peaks. Beautiful! Magnificent!

Ron

[GunClick Rick]

 wore what ya could to be comfy while workin,but fancy up when ya go a dancin,gotta have pointy s-kickers to cut the rug with,everbody got a pocket knife and things stay civil,cousin Rick always had the pick up with back up while walkin the grounds and if the police showed up he rang the bell,the pool table top gamblin devices folded up and stashed in the closet,the dancin girls (what dancin girls)   But the heat never showed up as long as the sherriff was havin a good time.. Frog legs,mud bugs,and mountain oyster fry for ordavors Agggh the good ole days!

[Green River Powell aka RonC]

wore what ya could to be comfy while workin,but fancy up when ya go a dancin,gotta have pointy s-kickers to cut the rug with,everbody got a pocket knife and things stay civil,cousin Rick always had the pick up with back up while walkin the grounds and if the police showed up he rang the bell,the pool table top gamblin devices folded up and stashed in the closet,the dancin girls (what dancin girls)   But the heat never showed up as long as the sherriff was havin a good time.. Frog legs,mud bugs,and mountain oyster fry for ordavors Agggh the good ole days!

Would  you be so kind as to send the address of the location with the dancing girls?

Thanks, With Great Anticipation,
Ron

[Delmonico]

Well I don't know about there in Colarado but the working cowboys around here think the sport is interesting for the most part.  Of course there are some of them that also do it.

[Green River Powell aka RonC]

Well I don't know about there in Colarado but the working cowboys around here think the sport is interesting for the most part.  Of course there are some of them that also do it.

That's good to know.

Thanks,
Ron

[Delmonico]

Well most of them have Saddle-lite TV and have watched Down Range TV.

[Green River Powell aka RonC]

Well most of them have Saddle-lite TV and have watched Down Range TV.

Now that you mention it, some of the middle-aged folks in the small ranch towns seem to have spent too much time watching satellite TV. They were suffering from Donlap's disease where the belly done lap over the belt.

Ron

[GunClick Rick]

Granpa always said," A man has to have a good shed over his tool"

[Green River Powell aka RonC]