We've Moved The Blog

Dear Subscribers,
In order to better facilitate our traffic and our standing on the web, we've moved our blog to our website:
www.coveredwagonranch.blog
My apologies for the inconvenience. Please enter the new site and re-subscribe to our service. Thank you,
Debi and JT

Is It Really April 23rd in Montana

Well, I've been trying to cut down on my posts as the new blog gets transferred to our website, but I couldn't resist. It was 80 degrees here yesterday. Today-not so much! More to come,
debi

Moving To The Website

Well, crew, don't get mad but we're going to be moving the blog, which means you'll have to re-subscribe. I can hear it already. Groan. Ugh. Why. Well, it's exciting news. We're moving the blog to the Covered Wagon website, which will increase our traffic to our site and move us up the Google list. I'm learning lots from this new company we switched the website to: they are called Insideout Solutions. Don't do anything yet until I tell you to, but I hope you come along.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we got 18 INCHES of new snow the other day!!! Making it very difficult to move around. Things are really busy right now. JT and Dave are working fast and furious to finish all the changes. Jeremy and Darlene will be moving up to the ranch the week of May 4, and we'll be gathering the crew from the mountain on May 16th.

So be patient with me. Life is very busy and very exciting right now, and get ready to hang on for the ride :-)
debi

Another Addition To The Family!

We've added another gelding to the herd today-his name is Chief (previously Scout, but already have Scout in our herd and don' think it's fair to have two of the same name!). He's a 3 year old gelding, a Bay Appaloosa with a White Blanket, and a real beauty. This season Jeremy will be starting a few colts for our guests as part of our entertainment, so we thought we would give him a challenge! Chief is very friendly, stands 15 hands and came from a private owner in Western Montana. His owner had him since a weanling and she said he was just too tall for her when he grew up! He's getting used to life on Love Lane right now, and flirting with all the mares. Enjoy the photo and video, and tell me what you think! debi

Where's Waldo

I know, I know, I haven't been good about writing! It is really busy right now! We only have 1 1/2 months before crew comes in and we get ready to open on June 1st! It is way too exciting and there are so many fun things going on. However, the ranch just got a FOOT of snow today and it's still snowing.

Meanwhile, NOT back at the ranch, Sarah (previous wrangler, current "cabin mate", incredible fence mender, terrific friend and now traveling companion) and I, and my infamous Jack Russell TERROR called "Francois Pierre" or "Spud" as my husband loves to call him (!) are traveling around warm, sunny New Mexico for a few days. We took a road trip to help her move some things, and it's been fantastic. We put over 1600 miles in the car in just two days. It's a great 71 degrees down here. I'm not sure we'll head back to Montana tomorrow with all that snow! So here's how my little 13 year old puppy likes to travel in the car (but of course I can't seem to figure out how to lay these pictures out properly...Sarah, where are you?????)

So we head back north tomorrow and should be home by Wednesday. Do you think the snow will melt by then?

debi

Spring Time in The Rockies

This is Sis

This is Lilly

Ha! Here are some photos of Jeremy working our fillies the other day. They are both turning three this spring. Nice weather, huh? The very exciting news is that these two gals have just learned how to ride. It only took him an hour apiece to work them and be able to ride them. Amazing what a talent can do, isn't it? Now if I can just learn to stay on somebody's back-that would be amazing :-)

Hope the rest of the country is enjoying the new flowers popping up! See you soon,

Debi

The Weather In Montana

Since everybody asks us "what's the weather like out there?" I thought I would pass along a quick shot of the ranch today. The temperature has been running in the 20's during the day and down to single digits at night, and there's quite a bit of snow! JT and Dave are working on the shop, putting in a new laundry room, a small apartment for Debi and JT, and a gift shop. More on that later. Enjoy the picture! brrrrr

Love Lane Photos

Since I couldn't figure out how to successfully put all these pictures together, here are some photos of Love Lane as well!

Back In The Saddle Again!

Wow! I think I finally caught up with my paperwork (except, of course, filing my taxes!). I'm ready to rock and roll. But first, I promised Alan I would write a little about where the horses stay. It's three locations: the Covered Wagon Ranch during our season, which is June through September,then on to winter pasture at Raspberry Butte Ranch, in Big Timber, and, for a select few, some stay at our home in Bozeman. Even though Satin, Oprah, Nina, Rebel, Alfie, Blue and Lido work as dude horses in the summer, we winter them at our home. They were personal horses before Jerry and I bought the ranch.

Raspberry Butte Ranch is where JT and I will eventually live, but it's hard to give up our home in Bozeman at the moment. Besides, with real estate where it is, who would buy it anyway? In 2005 we built an indoor riding arena, which allows the horses to be worked during the winter. We usually have Jeremy work the younger horses or those that could use a little more "saddle time" as they get started. Once the season is over, Jeremy and Darlene live in the ranch house that's on the property, and JT and I keep a small apartment in the arena, as we travel back and forth from Bozeman. Our home in Bozeman is about an hour from the CWR. Raspberry Butte Ranch in 1 and 1/2 hours from Bozeman to the north east, and is 2 and 1/2 hours from CWR.

When the horses are at the Covered Wagon Ranch, we have limited corral space. You may or may not know this, but we don't own the land down the canyon. The Covered Wagon is on leased land from the Forest Service, and it only sits on 18 acres. For those horses that are not being worked that week, we put them up on the 2000 acre grazing permit we have with the Forest Service, which starts up the hill behind the ranch. That's why we wrangle them up the mountain on Saturday night and bring the ones we need back down on Monday morning.

So, that's how we keep our horses. Make sense, Alan?? :-)

A Little About Myself

I was supposed to be a boy in my family. I came from a mother who was Polish, and her family had 18 children in it. That's not a misprint. My father was second generation Italian. He really wanted a boy. First child was a girl. Having high hopes for their second child, unfortunately I turned out to be female and was dubbed with a middle name of Victoria. My fathers name was Victor. Do we get the picture? Last child was another girl, but since he was so disappointed with two girls already, it was no big deal. I was supposed to be a boy. I was my father's son.

I was supposed to have children, and I couldn't. Which is probably why I have so many animals. All the kids I couldn't have. So what this meant for this strong Italian father was that it was the end of the Naccarto name. Forever. So, since I was supposed to be a boy, I decided, on my own, that I would retain the family name and carry it on forever. Except I couldn't have children. It was the end of the Naccarto name.

I was supposed to be on vacation. We left last Tuesday, for two weeks in Belize. Warm sun. R&R before we head back and start our annual trek to open the ranch this summer. Except the minute I walked into the condo, I received a call from my sister to tell me my Dad just passed away. I left the following day to attend to family business and my father's funeral.

Why do I write all this? Probably just a very reflective mood about my life. Just wanted to let you all know that I didn't forget all of you and there was a good reason why I wasn't writing on the blog. This experience reminds me of the ranch. There are trails that you take that lead you to one final destination, and others that can take you all around the country. You never know where the trail is going to take you, and you rely on your guide to lead you through it. Isn't that a lot like life? Have you ever thought about that? It is also said that if you fall off the horse you have to immediately get back on, and keep on going. Just to let you know that I'm back in the saddle and ready to ride again. Thanks for listening,
debi

Sheep Wagons

I found this neat blog the other day and it gave a blog on the history of the sheepwagon. For those of you who were at the ranch this past summer, you saw two of these wagons on the ranch. We added them for crew quarters. The one pictured here is historic and restored by Anvil Ironworks in Livingston (aka Astrid's Wagon) and the other is a replica. If you want to learn how these wagons were created, it's a fascinating story this woman put together. She writes about the romance of the West. Pretty cool!


debi


http://www.bustlesandspurs.blogspot.com/

Happy St. Valentine's Day

And speaking of Saint's, meet our new horse "Saint", that we just purchased today from the Bozeman Winter Fest. He's a Registered Paint, named Yellowstone Saint, and is a 9 year old Chestnut Overo Gelding. Here's what they said about him: Saint is good looking a nice ride! He's logged many miles on the trail and has been used as a pony horse for young colts. Super nice soft lope and trot that you can ride all day. Stands 15.3 hands with correct conformation and nice, big feet. Really carries himself well in the arena also. Loves people and is loaded with personality."

JT and I watched him ride in the arena and he did really well. His transition from a lope to a walk was very gentle. He was the kind of horse that people came up to and just pet him in the stall. We're very excited to welcome him to the Covered Wagon Ranch!

A Special Request From Alan C.

Now that's a cowboy, right there!! Alan visited the ranch this fall and has become a very special friend to me. It's funny how those relationships develop at the ranch, isn't it? He fell in love when he was at the Covered Wagon, and this is a picture of the love of his life!

I ran into some very hard times over Christmas when I thought my dad was going to pass away. For some unknown Divine Intervention, Alan and I started emailing each other. It turns out that he was in a very similar situation as myself at one point in his life, and he offered some incredible words of advice. It was through his guidance that helped me move through this crisis, and by the way, Dad is doing fine now.

Alan shared how much he enjoyed the ranch, but also how much he loved our horses and the rides. You guessed it - Oprah was his trusty steed!

Now for the Special Request. In my next blog, Alan wants me to explain all the different locations I talk about: the CWR, Raspberry Butte Ranch and Love Lane. Til next time, Alan, and thank you for being such a great friend! I just wanted to make sure I gave you credit for the next idea for the blog!

debi

A Horse In The House????

Jeremy and Darlene had taken our 3 fillies (Lilly, Sis and Roxie) up to Raspberry Butte to start their training. Lilly and Sis are both "coming 3 year olds" and Roxie is 2, so it's time to go to school. They had them in a corral made with electric fence, but the "3 Muskateers" figured they needed to get out and explore their surroundings. When the Young family woke up, here is what they found!

I guess Lilly was thinking it was better to get inside the house instead of outside! Or was she just "taking time to smell the roses??" We'll have more on their schooling in a few days. It was very exciting and they were all such great students (of course, they had an incredible teacher!!!)

debi

Cooper the Llama

Now I bet you are wondering why I have a picture of a llama on our site! Well, let me introduce Cooper, a packing llama for Yellowstone Safari Company. This group takes people into Yellowstone and pack in supplies with their llamas. This past summer we got an emergency call from the group, stating that Cooper was badly injured in the back country and they needed help in getting him out. He had broken a leg, which is not a very good situation. So, we grabbed a couple of wranglers and a few good horses and headed into the Park to find Cooper. This was how we got their vet to the scene of the crime. They wound up splinting the Cooper and helped him limp out of the Park and into the trailer to the vets.

Well, it took two surgeries, lots of care, and I'm sure a lot of vet bills, but we just got word from Yellowstone Safari that Cooper is Back!! Now that's a happy ending and another exciting adventure at the Covered Wagon Ranch!!

Dude Ranchers Association Convention

Well, my apologies for being so late on the blog. JT and I have been traveling since January 18th. We hooked up "Homer the Hauler" to our fifth wheel and hit the road, ultimately reaching Tucson and attending the Dude Rancher's Association Convention. Before we got to Tucson, we stopped off to see the Grand Canyon (quite spectacular), the Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, and down through Pinetop up and down a quite spectacular canyon that turned out to be a nail biter for me (but we all know what a scaredy cat I am!).

We got to Tucson this past Tuesday, and pulled into this RV Park that JT picked out because it was close to the Tanque Verde Ranch where the convention was held. Well, thank you Jerry, as the RV Park was for Seniors Only, which they define as 55 and older. I told him I was the baby here!! Is this what I have to look forward to??? :-) We are traveling with the infamous "Francois Pierre", my 13 year old Jack Russell and JT's least favorite friend!

The Convention was awesome, as well as the ranch. Although, I must admit, I'm not too interested in riding in the desert and worrying if I fall off my horse that I would get stuck on a cactus! These big tall cactii called Saguaro's are amazing. They don't start flowering until they are 50 years old, and don't branch out until they are 75!! Now they would qualify to stay in that RV Park, wouldn't they?

We learned so much at this meeting. We both took the Wrangler Certification and Horse Safety Course, and have so much to tell Jeremy and Darlene when we return! They will love this information. Lots of fun vendors, and some fun new ideas we'll bring back to the ranch this summer. Also, JT was elected as a Board Member for the Montana District for the DRA, and that was very exciting.

We're currently in Wickenburg, Arizona, as the meeting ended today, and on our way to Vegas. Look out slot machines! We plan to be back in Bozeman on Thursday night, so more later. Any bets???
debi

A Winter Day At the Ranch

Well, it was quite the day at the ranch! Jeremy, Darlene, Brayden and Chase decided to make a visit and check things out and were surprised by two trespassers at the ranch. When they

first pulled up, this big old bull was hanging out by the playhouse just to the left of the lodge! They watched him from the steps of the lodge and thought they were done, when all of a sudden a second moose appeared at the ranch! Both of these characters didn't seem too frightened to see the Young family, so they just stayed there and decided to bed down right around Cabin 10. (the moose, that is!) Considering the snow was up to their knees, the Young family decided to stay close and do what they needed to do then leave the ranch! The moose (or do you say meese???!!) just stayed and watched them. Pretty funny! That's all for now,

debi

New Year's Day for the Horses

I'm not thinking they're having as much fun as we are on New Year's Day. Yikes! Look at the snow on their back and how well they insulate themselves. As long as these horses have access to water, forage, minerals and cover (which they have all of the above), then they are better off being outside grazing as opposed to inside a barn. They are choosing to hang out and graze, instead of running down in the coulee away from the weather. Amazing, isn't it?

debi