| Oklahoma |
| Ranch | Code: | 944 |
| Stepping out of the pickup in the yard is like stepping into a western novel. The horses are in the pasture surrounding the |
| house, the cattle are nearby, and the mesas loom over everything. The ranch house has sheltered five generations of the |
| Labrier family and will stand to keep the safe for another five. The lifestyle doesn't change, only society does. The rancher |
| still takes care of his horses and cattle like his life depends upon it ... which it does. The saddles are the same, the weather |
| causes havoc some years as it always has, and the family oriented |
| lifestyle of the independent westerner stays the same. |
| The neighbor may be two miles distant, but they know and care about one another. They share a history that provides a |
| stability only dreamed about by many. Cattle are fed, fences are checked, horses are needed for work, branding happens |
| twice a year, and all other normal ranch activity takes place here in this gorgeous valley. |
| The ranch is several miles from the "town" of Kenton, which has less than 30 residents and only two businesses. You |
| purchase your gas and groceries at the Mercantile, which looks the same as it did half a century ago. You can get a |
| hamburger there, too. All meal customers sit at one of two large round tables. There are no mavericks at the Merc. |
| It is 60 miles to the nearest large grocery store and 100 miles to the nearest airport (Amarillo, Texas). But distance is eaten |
| up quickly on these roads of no traffic. Kenton is listed as the darkest spot in North America. There are no street lights, no |
| yard lights, and certainly no highway lights. Heck, there aren't many car lights on the highways, either. This darkness has |
| brought many a star gazer to the area to sit and look in awe. |
| The Oklahoma Panhandle is flat and dry and dusty ... until you get to the mesalands. There the hills are strong, the colors |
| brighter, and the air lighter. This Panhandle (the three far west counties of Oklahoma) are 6,000 square miles and Cimarron |
| County (which includes Kenton) has less than 2 people per square mile. The sagebrush and yucca cacti abound with the |
| cedar trees and brush. You can go to the three state marker where Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico meet. It's in the |
| middle of a pasture. And while on your way, you can step in the dinosaur tracks left in a creek bed. Or you could take a |
| day and climb the Black Mesa, Oklahoma's highest point. It takes an average climber about 5 hours to go up and come back |
| down. All the while you can watch for the birds and animals of the rocky mountain and plains regions ... because this is |
| where they meet. |
| Clayton, New Mexico, is a short drive away and there you can have a meal at the infamous Eklund Hotel. A hotel and it's bar |
| that sits and serves as it has for over a 100 years. Ask the bartender to point out the bullet holes in the bar and show you |
| the pictures of Black Jack Ketchum's hanging. Near this area is also where you can visit Mt Capulin, a volcano. |
| Guymon is in the county just east and one of the world's greatest (and richest) rodeo is held here. There are rodeos all |
| during the year, including rodeos for ranches, professionals (like you see on the TV), feedlots, juniors, and college. In an |
| evening you can go to the arena and watch the cowboys practice roping. You can also visit a saddle maker, spur |
| maker, knife knapper, or other traditional western artists. |
| For the traveler who is a history buff, Dodge City, Kansas, and the Dalton Gang Hideout in Meade, Kansas, is just a day trip |
| away. |
| It's the west. |
| ONE WEEK WORKING RANCH ITINERARY (sample) |
| WITH STAY IN THE RANCH HOUSE |
| DAY ONE: |
| Airport pickup from Amarillo, Texas airport - 2.5 hour drive to Kenton. American Quarter Horse Museum option. Supper in |
| Kenton and unpack |
| DAY TWO: |
| Trail ride into the canyons with a chuckwagon lunch. Supper around the campfire on the river. Overnight on the trail |
| DAY THREE: |
| Finish trail ride. Lunch at the ranchhouse. Checking fence lines (horseback or pickup). Supper at the ranchhouse |
| DAY FOUR: |
| Morning ride to explore Mummy’s Cave and other caves (ancient writings on walls). Lunch at the ranchhouse. Drive to |
| Clayton, New Mexico to belly up to the bar for supper at the Eklund Saloon (stop on the route for a visit to McNeese Crossing, |
| Santa Fe Trail, stop at the old Catholic Church on the state line, (stop at the Folsom Museum). Drive back to the ranch after |
| supper |
| home |
| America 4 You L.L.C. | 1 |