Your hosts will be sons of the pioneers, fourth or fifth generation Montanans who will guide and instruct you on every aspect of operating, living on, and enjoying a 700 cow, 15,000 acre cattle ranch. This is not a tourist mill. The maximum number of guests booked is four per week. You will receive personalized instruction of everything from saddling and caring for your own horse to keeping your rod tip up when playing a rainbow trout in fast water.
While many travelers are satisfied with illusory depictions of life in the West in the form of 'dude' ranches with swimming pools and plodding trail rides, this ranch provides the adventurous traveler the opportunity to experience the real West on a Working cattle ranch. Steeped in the tradition of the old West yet progressive and innovative so to remain economically viable in the fast-paced times of computers and FAX machines. The ranch has roots extending far into the past, settled by Jefferson and Anthony Sharp in 1873.

WRMT04
Rates include lodging and meals, activities
7 days/ 6 nights  $1,675
Dates 2007:
 05/14-05/20   05/28-06/03   08/20-08/26

Ranch Weeks
7 days/6 nights  $ 1,450
Dates 2007:
05/04-05/10    05/07-05/13    06/18-06/24
07/09-07/15    07/23-07/29    08/06-08/12
09/10-09/16    09/24-09/30

Meeting:   Townsend
Airport:      Bozeman
Transfer:   no charge from Bozeman on Sunday at 12 noon
Level:        Intermediate+
Max Riders: 12     -  Ranch weeks 6
Min Age:  18 yrs
Note:         50% deposit required

Round Up  weeks:

Intermediate or better riders required.
Three actual cattle drives per year. 18 years of age and older.
We will take a maximum of 12 people per drive.

We always move significant groups of cattle, either from winter feed grounds to summer grazing pastures, or from one summer grazing area to another.
The late May drive and June drive take cows with calves that have just been branded from the foothills pastures close to the ranch (elevation 4000 feet) to mountain pastures (5000 to 6000 feet elevation). The August drive is a pasture change drive moving cattle to our high mountain pastures (6000 to 7500 feet elevation).
We will move approximately 600 pairs (cow/calf) of cattle to summer grazing areas. In order for a small group of riders to successfully move this amount of cattle the entire herd will be separated into manageable groups of 200 to 300 pairs. As a result guests may travel over similar routes during the course of the week while trailing cattle 30 to 40 miles every drive.
On every drive guests will return to the ranch at night. Morning and evening meals will be served at the ranch, lunches will be served along the trail. Accommodations at the ranch will be our guest cabins and tents. Since the days will involve long hours of riding, showers, bathrooms and electricity are welcome amenities that allow guests to use computers, cell phones, recharge and download digital cameras, send e-mails, etc. There will also be laundry facilities available for guests to launder their clothes if they wish. We will have campfires at night and informational and entertainment programs.
There will be a horse safety briefing on the first morning or on Monday evening when the horses are matched to the riders. The horses we provide will be in good condition, reliable and familiar with mountain terrain. An EMT will accompany every drive and all wranglers will carry current first aid cards. We want to emphasize that this is a real cattle drive moving cattle that need to be moved and NOT a drive made up for tourists.

Lodging
Accommodations are western style, quiet, clean and comfortable. However… most guests don’t spend a lot of time indoors in this beautiful area. We have four guest rooms that have been redecorated, all different, bunk beds with a double bed on the bottom and a single bed on the top, western style. We also have a one bedroom "bunkhouse" that has a bathroom, kitchen, satellite dish, tv, etc. that the guests congregate in at night to play cards, watch TV and DVDs, etc.  Each guest can have a private room if requested.

Meals
Our days begin early with a hearty breakfast and almost always include a picnic lunch somewhere near a mountain stream. Dinners are generally at the home ranch but often times we have barbecues at one of the mountain cabins. Special menus are available on request. You will find that the crisp mountain air will not only rejuvenate your appetite but also your soul.

History:  Anthony's stepson Claude Flynn then started cutting grass hay with horse drawn mowers, baling it with a stationary baler and hauling it with wagons to the railroad for transport. Electricity reached the ranch in 1940 which led to refrigeration replacing the 'icebox'. As the ranch has evolved over the years with the passing of generations and the additions of property and improvements, it has in essence become bigger than the sum of its parts. Those of us following in the footsteps of the pioneers have truly large boots to fill.

CAPACITY  12