The Powder River Cattle Drive - The Vacation of a Lifetime

A Week in Big Sky Country

Muffled voices broke the silence of the Montana dawn. Groaning, I rolled onto my stomach, peeled back the flap of our tent, and found myself staring at two pairs of scuffed cowboy boots. I looked up, squinting in the early morning light, to see two cowboys with rugged, sun-tanned faces and Stetsons perched on their heads. One held a battered tin coffee pot, the other a supply of Styrofoam cups.

“Mornin’, would you like some coffee?” the wrangler with the coffee pot asked cheerfully.

This put a whole new twist on the term “room service”.

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“Cowboy coffee” delivered to our tent at the crack of dawn, was how each day began on the Powder River Cattle Drive* in Montana.

This was no “city slicker” or “dude ranch” vacation. Ben and I were experienced riders who wanted to sleep under the stars, spend all day in the saddle, and brave the elements. We wanted the real deal – or as close to it as possible. And we found it in the Powder River Cattle Drive.

We spent the first night in a hotel in Billings. The next day, a bus took us to our starting point. After a few hours, it turned off the highway into open grassland. It bumped along, following tire tracks etched in red dirt. Heat shimmered in waves on an endless sea of burnt-yellow prairie grass. Then, like a mirage, a huge, red and white striped tent rose from the ground.

“We’re home!” shouted one of our cowboy guides. That tent became our dining room, dance hall, and gathering spot when we weren’t riding.

“ACCOMMODATIONS”

Behind the cook tent, rows of small tepees dotted the ground, set against a background of sagebrush-covered hills. One of those tents became our “room” for the week.

Outdoor, solar-heated shower stalls and “porta-potties” set up further down the field rounded out the accommodations. (Full disclosure: This was the only thing I didn’t much care for during the trip).

HUMAN AND EQUINE PARTNERS

Once settled, we met our guide, Steve, and our equine partners. Steve was a rancher who looked a lot like Jack in the Heartland series: gray mustache, checkered shirt, jeans, a belt with a big buckle, cowboy boots, and of course, a Stetson hat.

Ben was partnered with a big bay gelding named Gringo. My horse was a curious, energetic, sorrel quarter horse named Spider.

We headed out for a short ride to get acquainted with our horses but the next morning was when the adventure began.

Ben, Gringo, Spider and me

DAY 2-6:

The horses were set free to graze and roam the plains at night. After breakfast, three cowboys rode off to herd them back to camp.

We watched the wranglers disappear into the horizon, then waited until we saw a long line of dust snake its way across the sun-scorched land. As it got closer, the dust cloud morphed into a herd of horses with flying manes and thundering hooves. The wranglers rode hard, pushing them into the pen with reins in one hand and a lariat in the other.

The horses took turns at the water trough, then we groomed them, saddled them, and were ready for a day in big sky country. Three covered wagons pulled by teams of stocky horses rumbling out of camp signaled the beginning of the ride.

We rode from morning until late afternoon, stopping only for a picnic lunch loaded onto the chuckwagons. The weather was beautiful, the scenery spectacular, and the company the best you could ask for.

Our guide gave us lessons in ranching and the history of Montana. He taught us that a rattlesnake hisses to warn us of its presence in the tall grass. If we heard it, we were to move our horse away from the sound and point in the direction of the hiss to alert other riders.

We returned to camp at the end of each day hot, tired, and happy. After a shower and dinner, there was music and dancing in the red and white striped tent. By 10 pm, we were happy to crawl into our sleeping bags and get a good night's sleep before doing it all again the next day. For that entire week we were hot, dusty and didn’t see the inside of a building. And it was the best vacation we ever had.

*Sadly, the last edition of the Powder River Cattle Drive took place in 2011.