THE FIRST DUDE RANCH IN THE U.S. (2024)

By Guest, Kate Wyland

When my husband and I won a dude ranch vacation fromthe Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction we had no idea we would be staying at theoldest dude ranch in the US. And I never expected our trip would be theinspiration for my novel WYOMING ESCAPE.

The Eaton Brothers

Eaton Ranch inWolf, Wyoming, is considered the original Western dude ranch. In 1879, theEaton Brothers, Howard, Alden and Willis, moved from Pittsburgh to a cattleranch near Medora, North Dakota. Soon many of their friends discovered thepeace and beauty of their new home, came to visit, and ended up staying for longperiods. One visitor finally suggested the brothers charge room and board sothe guests could linger without guilt. The Eatons hoped that would discouragevisitors, but just the opposite happened. They inadvertently created a new,profitable side business.

In 1904, looking for more scenic riding for theirguests, the brothers moved their enterprise to northeastern Wyoming at the footof the Big Horn Mountains. A few miles outside Sheridan, the 7000 acre ranchboasted wonderful rolling hills to ride and hike, wooded streams to fish in,and challenging trails into the mountains. While their main focus remainedcattle, the success of their dude operation attracted the attention of otherranchers. Soon dude ranches began springing up all over the West.

“Roughing It WithComfort” was the theme from the earliest days as is demonstrated by this 1915booklet advertising the ranch.

“ROUGHING IT WITH COMFORT” hasbeen well applied to the conditions to be found at Eatons' Ranch in Wyoming;…let no one mistake the meaning of this message or read into it any thought ofultrafashionable hotel life set amidst the western hills and plains.

Eatons' Ranch is a real western ranch, open to visitors for ashort period each year…

The Wyoming Ranch

In addition to riding, hiking and fishing, the ranchoffered a variety of other activities, including tennis and baseball, as wellas typical ranch work. It also was especially cognizant of the ladies andprovided for their comfort. Their primary focus was (and still is) familyactivities. The kids had a great time and many stayed by themselves, supervisedby the Eatons.

Howard Eaton also led multi-week horseback campingtrips through Yellowstone and Glacier Parks and to the Custer Battlefield andCrow Indian Reservation. These expeditions for “lovers of vigorous outdoorlife” featured camping in teepee shaped tents and covered twelve to twentymiles per day.

The charges in 1915 are fun to see. Visitors couldstay a week with full riding privileges for only $30. If they wanted a tent, itwas $25. The trips to Yellowstone and Glacier Point cost $125-$150.

Kate, a friend, and Kate's husband at Eaton Ranch

One hundred thirty-four years later, the Eatonfamily still welcomes guests to its ranch and, as in the early days, mostpeople return year after year for a truly unique experience. Our week-long staythere was so delightful that I wanted keep its memory alive, so I used it asthe inspiration for WYOMING ESCAPE. None of the characters or events is basedon reality, but some of the scenery and attitudes are. If you’d like moreinformation about the modern day Eaton Ranch go to: http://eatonsranch.com/

If you’d like to see my take on a dude ranch, here’san excerpt from WYOMING ESCAPE.

One dead body isfrightening enough, but a second one, plus a dirty cop, sends Mikela Richardsfleeing for her life. She finds a safe hiding place on a Wyoming Dude ranch,where she tries to discover if the murders are connected to the mysteriouscomputer memory stick she found in her car. But her fragile feeling of safetyis disturbed by a compelling Marine, home on leave.

Back from Afghanistan to heal both physically andemotionally, Shawn Saunders recognizes the type of fear in Mikela's eyes---it'sone of the things he's come home to forget. In spite of their reservations,neither can resist the pull of their attraction.

Mikela's eyes widened as they continued down thetwo-lane road heading toward a range of tall, tree-covered mountains. Where theheck were they going? She'd assumed the ranch was close to town. She hadn'tcounted on being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

She had a hard time concentrating on what the olderwoman was telling her, particularly after Harry turned onto a wide dirt roadthat paralleled the mountains. No structures of any kind intruded here, onlyfences with acres of green, open land on either side. Occasional rockformations and groups of trees were the tallest things in the area. It had beenone thing to enjoy the scenery from the safety of the bus. It was quite anotherto contemplate living in all that nothingness.

She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry. Nowonder the previous cook had gotten drunk. How could anyone live in such anisolated place? And how safe would she be?

Harry finally slowed and pulled through a largegateway made of logs. A wrought iron sign on top proclaimed Triple H Ranch.

“Almost home now. Only two miles to the guestcomplex. What do you think?”

The dirt driveway paralleled a wooded stream on theright, while open, hilly pastures stretched on the other side. Again rockyareas were sprinkled throughout the grassy fields. Mikela managed to get hertongue working.

“It's beautiful, but so far away from everything.”

“True we’re a ways out, but we’ve got family livingon the ranch. My son, Jeff, and his crew live in the big house, fairly close tothe dude quarters. I’ve a cabin near him and my sister-in-law has a place downthe side road. So we’re not that isolated.”

Not isolated? Mikela almost snorted. She'd beenaround most of the world—Europe, Asia, Africa. The only place she'd ever seenas lonely as this part of Wyoming was Australia. Not that she'd traveled in theOutback—her mother had no interest in anything outside a city and her dad hadbeen occupied with business meetings. But she had seen it as they flew over.

Apparently unaware of her new cook’s reaction, Harrywaved towards the fields. “We're mainly a working cattle ranch, which Jeffruns. The dude stuff is secondary. We keep things simple—few organized activities,no schedules beyond meal times and when the horses are available. You can hike,fish and swim here or golf nearby. Mostly, our guests ride in the hills andkick back.”

Kate Wyland, Author

Eaton Ranch photos:Library of Congress, Eatons’ ranch, Wolf, Wyoming .(1915)