February 2012
23 posts
3 tags
Punch Coming of Age--An ECR Story
Elk Creek has always strived to be an authentic ranch experience, where all work and all contribute, not just to a particular day or even a particular session but also to the ongoing story of the ranch. Our horse herd bears special witness to the contributions of many Elk Creekers. Punch was born almost four years ago. Melissa assisted mother Sunny with his arrival and immediately started...
January 2012
6 posts
2 tags
4 tags
Remembering Gunner, a Noble Gent
Gunner, Andrew and Kyle’s yellow lab, was an Elk Creeker for a short time but he was a large presence. We lost him to cancer recently, but we have been comforted by a number of memories.
A Human Wannabe Gunner had very little time for his four-legged kin. He was much more comfortable with his two-legged friends, and he was known to wear a hat comfortably or even to don a bikini for...
2 tags
November 2011
1 post
2 tags
Remembering Lop
We first met Lop, so named because of the damage to her ear, during the fall and winter of 2007-2008. She munched merrily away on the geraniums and other plants Susan had planted for Eli and Carley’s wedding. She then discovered our feeding routine with the wild turkeys and decided she deserved a place at the table. In short order she started charging at the turkeys to push them...
October 2011
1 post
September 2011
1 post
3 tags
Fall Color in the Rockies
Susan and Hap Ridgway took their annual fall jaunt through Yellowstone Park. The colors, perhaps not quite the match of New England’s, were still spectacular. The aspens and cottonwoods produce brilliant yellows, but this grove of aspens, perhaps because of the minerals in the local soil, produce the golden reds reminiscent of the maples of New England.
...
August 2011
1 post
4 tags
Highlights from the Summer of 2011
The end of the summer brings a sigh of relief—everyone arrived home safely, the work pace decelerates, and our responsibilities narrow. That sigh is quickly followed by the silence and void left by the ranchers. Fortunately, we can turn to the photo gallery and look back with great joy on some favorite moments. The winter and spring of 2011 left copious amounts of snow in the high...
July 2011
1 post
3 tags
Logs, Draw Knives, and Elk Creek Ranch
Since Elk Creek was founded in 1957, we have found ourselves building fences, gates, cabins, and furniture with logs and poles. One step in the process is debarking the logs with draw knives. The original bunkhouses were built by a construction crew out of Cody. Although they used draw knives for the finishing touches on logs, they had a powered log peeler. That device left Sunlight Valley with...
June 2011
1 post
3 tags
The Changing Roof over ECR Heads
When Doc and Emily Ridgway purchased Elk Creek Ranch in the early 1950’s, the cabins were vintage homesteader structures. The main cabin, now housing our dining room and kitchen, had a sod roof. Crude as the name may sound, the sod roof worked well. It shed the little moisture Wyoming receives and it shed much of the summer sun and heat. For almost a decade of operation, we kept the sod...
May 2011
1 post
3 tags
Elk Creek Has Gone to the Birds
Susan and Hap Ridgway have been back living in Sunlight for four years. Memories, especially at our ages, are not to be much trusted, but for what it is worth they do not remember seeing Canada Geese in the Valley until this spring when this pair visited. They checked out several venues along Elk Creek apparently looking for a safe nesting place.
The Sand Hill Cranes are winged chatterboxes....