Hey, Dude….Try a Ranch Vacation

Amarillo Style, Norman Living, Edmond Monthly, 2/03
By Elaine Warner

Sundance Trail Guest Ranch, hosts a smaller number of guests.

Owners Ellen and Dan Morin have no more than seven guest families at a time. This makes a very flexible schedule possible. Children have their own wrangler for riding instructions, campouts or crafts. Rafting is available on the nearby Cache la Poudre River. There are lots of opportunities for hiking or rock climbing and Dan supervises target shooting on the rifle range. One evening, the kids have special activities while parents have an adult hospitality hour and candlelight dinner. The last night of the week, guests and staff gather around the campfire and read cowboy poetry they have written during the week.

Saturday morning after breakfast everyone gathers at the corral for a gymkhana. Both adult and kid guests and wranglers get a chance to show off their skills. Wranglers lead the horses for the littlest riders, and everyone cheers for each participant. One of the favorite games works great for non-riders also – a tandem stick-horse race. Then comes the tearful time when the kids kiss their horses good-bye and families pack up to return to reality. One of the kids, a seven year old said, “My mom said next year I get to pick Hawaii, Mexico or here. I pick here!”