We’ve been known to do some pretty good cattle drives in the Spring, sometimes pushing more than a thousand head into the “Backbone of the Earth,” as the Blackfeet people referred to that grass rich country of the Front Range of the Rockies in and adjacent to Glacier National Park. Some country it is! And if one has the opportunity to move those cattle horseback up into that country, that’s like adding sweet cream to your coffee. It’s even better! We’ll be doing exactly that in late July and early August this coming summer. In the past we’ve done most of our cattle intensive adventure weeks in the Spring or Fall, when the weather is cooler and easier on the livestock. They’re like any critter, including us, as they’ll be in the shade during the day, and waiting for the cool evening and night to move about and feed.

The purpose of the week we have planned is not to move the cattle any long distance. They’re vulnerable to hard activity in warm weather. We’ll be pushing smaller bunches short distances to fresh grass and water, adding salt blocks, branding any late calves, and getting em’ mothered back up. Some of the cattle will have moved on their own to adjoining property and leases and will need to be gathered up and moved as well. By the 1st of August and after sixty days of grazing the herds will need to be given some eyes on observation at a minimum and handled if necessary. That’s where you come in! We’ll have some fun for sure but we’ll need to get the job done. Plan on some long days in the saddle but keep in mind, you’ll be riding in some of the finest country you’ll ever see!

In addition to the work we’ll be doing with the cattle that are away from the closer ranch property we will be spending a day gathering in the low country and vaccinating and branding those cattle. Plan on working on the ground and horseback as the calves are separated into smaller pens where they’ll be headed and heeled both on horseback and with a rope in the hands of guests on the ground. It does take the right horse and rider to rope horseback but If you are so inclined, with practice, you may get lucky! Our week will most likely follow the “ride the higher country” on day one and work the cattle the day after. We’ll be on at least two big ranches during the week so every day will be loaded with new cattle and country.

Like all our adventure trips, our guests will be staying in our cabins at the ranch and we’ll eat all our meals in the main lodge on the property. You will eat “superbly well,” as so many of our past guests will attest to. The morning and evening meals prepared by the ladies at Bear Creek Ranch have become legend. Read those Trip Advisor reviews. We pack lunches in saddle bags and eat a “bit more normally during the lunch hour, with the cows!

I want to emphasize that the “Cowboying the Front Range” week is meant to be fun, sometimes serious, always instructive, and a huge part of the western way of life in Montana. Also, your eyes will never stray far from the mountain peaks, the gentler foothills, and the rolling prairie that you’ll be part of for the week you’re here. I know you won’t learn or experience everything you’ll want to in a week. I didn’t. But you will leave here with some of the greatest memories you’ll ever have.

Time permitting, we’ll be knocking off earlier on Thursday and attending the Brash Rodeo that night. You will love it!

P.S.: The Cowboying the Front Range week begins on a Sunday. Guests who are flying in will be picked up at the Kalispell Airport in the early afternoon. After arriving, everyone will be shown to their cabin and will settle in. We do a welcome clinic in the late afternoon and match up riders to a horse and saddle. Dinner in the lodge is combined with lots of “visiting” and a rundown of Monday’s activities. Sleep well!