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Bitterroot Ranch
1480 East Fork Rd
Dubois, Wyoming 82513
800.545.0019
307.455.3363
Fax: 307.455.2354

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FRANÇAIS
Vacances à Cheval

DEUTSCH
Reiterreisen

Approved by the Certified Horsemanship Association.

Approved by the
British Horse Society
for riding holidays.

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Licensed Permittee of the
Shoshone National Forest.

BITTERROOT RANCH

NEWS FROM THE RANCH

Winter at the Bitterroot

View the current newsletter below

The ranch newsletters are quick little vignettes about life through all seasons, at the end of a long dirt road in the upper reaches of the East Fork Valley of western Wyoming, updates about the horses, dogs, and the rest of the ranch animals, and news about Bayard, Mel, Richard and Hadley.

They are an amusing glimpse into life on the ranch, usually written during the quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) days without guests between October and April.

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Horses at the Bitterroot Ranch

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Here are archived copies of our previous newsletters (or just scroll down):

2011
2010
2009
2007 to 2008
2003 to 2006

November 2011

The last two cows and their calves finally came home a month after we first started gathering. The weather continued fairly warm through most of October and missing cows trickled out of the forest. We also tried long horse and 4 wheeler rides outside our permit area and found a few. The end count was 3 missing calves presumed dead, which is much better than the last few years. The Fish and Wildlife Service removed two wolves that had killed a calf of neighbor John Finley's in April and this, together with the problem ones taken out last year has made all the difference.

In spite of the fact that 3 male grizzlies were released up our valley in May, we had little problem with bears this summer. We were aware of their presence, but with the sheep, llamas and poultry now barricaded into electrified fortresses and the cows mostly in the forest, there is little to attract them here since they rarely attack horses. Lauren, a wonderful guest from Colorado, who stayed in June, returned in September with Azule, a charming grey/white llama, so that Tardy Girl is no longer on her own with the sheep; daughter Fluff-puff was killed by a grizzly last year.

We are settling into our winter routine curled up by our wood burning stove, thinking ahead to next year and hoping to share good times with many of you again. Remember if you book before the end of the year, you receive a 20% discount.

April 2011

Synchronized calving is a defense mechanism for prey species, such as the wildebeest in East Africa. The peak calving time for elk here is Memorial Day week-end. The ranch is lucky enough to be surrounded by elk calving grounds, which makes for fascinating rides during this time. We frequently come across new born babies and their concerned mothers. Last year we rode up on a grizzly sow and cub. Luckily they were even more scared of us than we were of them and quickly made themselves scarce. We have now started foaling during this time. After losing a foal to a grizzly last year in early May we are hoping the bears will be otherwise occupied.

Wyoming Game and Fish personnel
with a tranquilized grizzly
on the ranch.

All in all, this is an exciting time to visit the ranch, and a lovely time too, with the trees bursting into leaf and the wildflowers beginning to bloom. We have had a particularly cold winter with more precipitation than normal, so the phlox and larkspur should be stunning then. There is plenty of space left and with a 20% discount we hope that some of you will come to share this unique experience.

February 2011
Like most of the country, the weather has been strange this winter at the ranch. While we have enjoyed some beautiful, sunny days, we have also hit temperatures as low as -40 degrees . It is hard for both humans and animals to cope with such variation! Mel and Bayard are spending the month of February on a riding safari in India. In their absence, Richard and Hadley have been taking care of the ranch.

	We have some exciting electronic innovations to report this winter. Hadley has started a ranch blog entitled Bitterroot Ranch Blog: Hadley's Adventures. Through the blog, she is reporting on daily events at the ranch and the farm, as well as posting photographs. Reading it is a great way to keep up with ranch activity and the Fox family, both human and animal members! You can access the blog through this link: www.bitterrootranchblog.com. We encourage you to subscribe to the blog to receive email updates whenever Hadley makes a new post. We also invite you to "friend" Bitterroot Ranch on Facebook, another great way to keep in touch.

We look forward to this coming spring, when we hope to ride with many of you again! The Fox Family -- Bayard and Mel, Richard and Hadley

December 2010

Wishing you a Happy New Year and more good times in 2011!

Enjoy this short film which was taken at the ranch last summer.

The Fox Family -- Bayard and Mel, Richard and Hadley

November 2010

Winter arrived all of a sudden last week after a long, glorious Indian summer, which was much appreciated by participants in the cattle roundup. We had quite an international crew (Australia, England, Scotland and France) as well as our core of trusty cowhands who keep coming back. The wolves made the gather more difficult by chasing all the cows onto the Indian Reservation, but in the end we were missing just one cow and four calves, who were probably killed.

We were rather under siege from predators this year and two grizzlies were trapped by the Game & Fish after they had killed a foal, a llama and three sheep. The poultry are now all fenced in permanently, due to numerous losses last winter from coyotes and bobcats.

We are again offering a 20% discount if you book for 2011 before the end of the year. Some weeks are already quite full including the July 1 cattle drive and September 24 roundup. We had another great summer with inspiring clinicians, fun on the trails, good food and fellowship and fantastic fishing. Hopefully we will ride with many of you again in 2011.

April 2010

We have had a trying time with predators over the past few weeks. A bobcat killed two sheep and since they were beginning to lamb we decided to send them and the llamas down to join the cows on our farm near Riverton. It then moved onto the poultry and made its way through various peacocks, guineas and chickens before we were finally able to trap it.

There has also been a very bold and wily coyote hanging around and it slaughtered 4 geese one morning. It has so far eluded all efforts to dispose of it and now we are afraid to let any of the poultry out. A project for next summer will be to build a predator proof run for them.

The winter has been dry, but cold. We finally got a little bit of snow and the next day these grizzly tracks were all over the barnyard. Living here certainly has its own set of challenges!

Spring has not quite sprung, but it will soon be time to start thinking about the summer. The cows have almost finished calving and the first foals will arrive in a few weeks. We look forward to seeing many of you in the months ahead.

March 2010

The latest arrivals at the Bitterroot include a small herd of Navajo-Churro sheep. They have quite strong characters and terrified the poor llamas when they first arrived. They were used to a guard llama and were bound and determined to attach themselves to our resident pair, who wanted nothing to do with them and were galloping all over the corral trying to get away. Finally the bemused sheep got tired and they are all slowly adjusting to life together. The sheep have the most beautiful wool in all sorts of different shades and we are hoping to produce saddle blankets for ourselves and for sale.

For the last couple of years we have lacked a good bull to use on our Scottish Highland cows. We decided to take the plunge and attend the auction at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. To our delight we were able to acquire the intermediate champion Highland bull, who not only has an impressive pedigree and great conformation, but is also incredibly gentle.

January 2010

October 2009

After a very long two weeks we have finally been able to ship our cattle to the lower ranch and the calves to market, but not before the loaded trucks had to be hauled out of the mud with a grader! The first part of roundup week was positively balmy, which made riding a pleasure, but the cows were difficult to flush out of the cover. It then suddenly turned very cold and we couldn't find them as they hunkered down in thick brush and woods. We kept searching after the guests had left and it was only the continuing snow storms that finally brought them out of the forest. Incredibly, all but two calves made it back to the ranch; a long lost bull we hadn't seen all summer turned up one snowy day in the stack yard. We then faced the problem of feeding them all and had to make numerous trips with a truck and trailer to collect the two and a half tons of hay they consumed daily.

We had a rewarding summer with a good staff and greatly appreciated all the lovely people who came to ride with us. Please note the 20% discount on next year's rates for deposits received in 2009.

April 2009

Driving cattle on the Bitterroot Ranch RFD TV has just aired a film produced by Best of America by Horseback featuring the Bitterroot cattle drive into the National Forest last July. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response to this magnificent country and that people realize we are caring custodians of it. This year we will be going all the way into the East Fork Basin with the cows. It will be a long, hard day and if there are any of you out there who would like to help, your presence would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately the wolves have historically denned in this area and will have hungry young pups in July. The arrival of all these cows will be an unexpected treat for them so much of our time and energy that month will be devoted to riding through the herd, trying to make sure not too many get eaten. We saw two wolves by our house a couple of weeks ago and at first glance mistook the big, black one for a moose. They are certainly a most formidable predator.

The Bitterroot Ranch We are feeling rather under siege here with three sheep being taken from their pen by coyotes and the first bear of the season checking things out around the barn. On a lighter note, the blue birds are back, the ground squirrels are emerging from hibernation and the green grass is shooting up after all the spring moisture.

The Fox Family -- Bayard and Mel, Richard and Hadley

March 2009

Horseback riding in Sri Lanka Bayard and Mel have just returned from another fascinating, beautifully organized riding holiday in India, which has long been one of our favorite destinations. We then went on to Sri Lanka. Though a little country, it has tremendous diversity with Buddhist temples, cave paintings, great wildlife and unspoiled beaches all within a few hours drive. Richard and Hadley were with us and continued on to Thailand for a belated honeymoon.

Bayard, Mel, Hadley and Richard in their Dover riding gear It is now back to work at the ranch! The cows have mostly finished calving, the mares will start foaling in six weeks or so and the farming activity is about to begin.

In order to try to help you a little during this time of financial hardship, we are offering a 10% discount in July and August with an additional 5% off for former guests. We are also offering a 50% discount off of our regular price for children under 16.

The Fox Family -- Bayard and Mel, Richard and Hadley

January 2009

Wishing you a prosperous and happy 2009!

New Years Day

From all of us here at the Bitterroot.

The Fox Family -- Bayard and Mel, Richard and Hadley

Browse the 2007 - 2008 News From the Ranch newsletter archives

Browse the 2003 - 2006 News From the Ranch newsletter archives

Visit our sister company, Equitours, for worldwide horseback riding vacations.

BITTERROOT RANCH

NEWS FROM THE RANCH

November 2011

April 2011

February 2011

December 2010

November 2010

April 2010

March 2010