As the cold winter was rapidly approaching, we were desperately looking for work and shelter for us and the horses. A ranch job seemed like the best bet especially in the cattle towns of Wyoming. But this work is very hard to come by since everyone already has their ranch hands and when extra help was needed, they gathered up a few day-working cowboys in town. But we happened to get a job with plans for building a barn. So we brought our truck and trailer from Montana to build the structure. The ranch was so far behind in moving cattle around, the barn was never built.

Dane did many jobs on the ranch. A cowboy’s work is not just the glamour of riding the open range. What riding there was, was extremely exhausting. It soon became apparent why the ranch kept 11 horses for 2 or 3 people. A horse needed time to recuperate after a day of plunging up and down the steep dry gulches and leaping around the scrub and brush chasing cows. Fixing fence, construction, plumbing, running the haying equipment, feeding the cattle the huge round bales, giving medicine to the cows and calves, and repairing the many pieces of machinery were a few of the jobs that kept Dane occupied from sunup to dark. Days off did not exist. The ranch manager decreased his own duties while increasing Dane’s.

One of the more memorable events was “Cow Camp”. As the grass was being eaten up and the winter’s snows were starting to fall, it was time to bring the cattle down to the main ranch. There were only three permanent ranch hands including Dane working this vast ranch. But the wives were right there to help. On the big drives, branding, and pregnancy checks, the manager went to town and hired a group of cowboys. They knew their job well but were not dependable to work full time. Most of them had a big desire for alcohol. There were several days of gathering cattle before the big drive to the main ranch. All the women who were not riding cooked up lots of "vittles" for the hungry cowboys and dinnertime was full of interesting tales.

The cattle drives were the best part of the Wyoming experience. Six of us positioned ourselves around the herd of 300 to 500 Red Angus and moved them across the plains and Badlands to another pasture. Since we were new, we often had to ride “drag” and eat the most dust at the tail end. The country was starkly beautiful with its dramatic red rock formations and endless vistas across the sage and sandstone.

Winter was cold and Dane enjoyed every opportunity to work in the shop. That was, after feeding all the cows. First Dane would saddle up, grab his dog and gather all the calves into the corrals where he feed them. It was his job to check every calf for illness and grain them.

Wyoming Cowboy



A ranch-hand's humble abode....

In the Bad Lands




Red Angus cattle drive

Then calving season came and Dane was elected to watch about 300 heifers ready to give birth. This was basically sleeping in the calving shed and getting up all through the night checking cows. With the subzero temperatures, the tractors and machinery were always braking down. Many nights, Dane would be working until very late at night on the tractors.

No matter what the next trail stop brings us, we will never forget the life we lived for awhile on the Wyoming cattle ranch.