As the last of the postcards are trickling in, I am reminded of the things I saw and experienced on your ranch. The gorgeous mountains, the views from the top of the world, the rugged wild life… I have not developed all of my film, but the pictures I have developed - as beautiful as they are - don’t quite capture what I saw and felt.

I am forever indebted to my husband for arranging the trip, and to you for having such a wonderful idea and putting it together so well, for letting me experience the ranch life - to actually become a part of your life - for a week. It had long been a dream of mine - one that I wondered if I would ever experience - to ride and actually take a role in Montana ranch life.

The horseback rides - everyone of them - were absolutely wonderful, whether we saw bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and mule deer - or just rode in quiet adoration of our horse and the nature surrounding us. I felt time and time again like a kid at Christmas, whether I was driving the horses in in the morning, feeding Norman his bottle, driving the cattle to the upper ranch, helping with the branding, or exploring the 1880’s various buildings. The horses were great-not the typical nose-to-tail trail type, but horses that knew what to do, how to listen to the riders, how to be independent of the other horses, how to behave.

It was fun how on each trail ride, each of us got to be the leader for parts of the ride. By the middle of the week, we’d found that our horses were really quite amazing in their trail skills, each talking the lead at some point throughout each trail ride, and were able to handle all sorts of terrain without any trouble at all-something they of course knew all along!

Then there was the dinner, where you sat and ate with us, discussing with us your plans for the ranch, our plans for our vacation-the next day, the rest of the week-the rest of our lives, what your life was like on the ranch, and - of course - some politics and religion, too.

I had such a wonderful time at your ranch! The things I felt and saw are forever etched in my mind and heart. You made me feel so welcome and comfortable - I was so sad to actually have to leave. Again, I sincerely thank you for putting together such a wonderful place and allowing me to be a part of it, if for only a week.

May your business continue to grow - only as big as you want it to - and may all of your guests have as wonderful of an experience as I had.

Fondly,

Judy C.