Re: Too bad there are no places to stay

I stayed at AH WILDERNESS 3 different times. 1956 was the whole family on my first visit to D&RGW country. Was just a kid but have many fond memories of the trains and the ranch. My dad, brother and I were there again in 1966. In 1981 Kathi and I stayed there for 4 days and nights as part of our 2 week honeymoon to Colorado/NM/Utah. 1981 is when the D&S under new owner Bradshaw brought stuff in by train including the horses Mike mentioned. I do believe that was the last time they did that before a season, as I think 1981 was the last year of operation. Ross McCauslin (Spelling??) was the owner and he had a long chat with us one evening telling us how great the D&S was to them. He also said 1981 was going to be his last year as he wanted to retire. He was a school teacher in Durango I believe.
Anyway his daughter married a guy and they started Tall Timbers just north of Tank Creek. I never went there.
AH Wilderness was a big adventure for us back then. If you signed up for horseback riding, there were two rides per day, usually around 9 or 10, and then again around 1 or 2. We took some really neat trails on either side of the river. On one trip they had taken a watermelon up to a pool beneath a water fall, and that was a our break spot. On a trip in 1966 my brother and I were climbing this trail on horseback with the group on the west side of the river and were 3/4 up the side of a mountain when it started to hail. Never fear just put on that poncho behind the saddle, and be sure you have that cowboy hat handy. One day a week they had a breakfast ride across a swinging bridge and we rode to a spot where they fixed pancakes and other good food.
Some guys would spend a week up just fishing for rainbow trout, and once or twice a week, dinner was a huge amount of trout. All the meals were family style as they passed the bowls around. Adults ate in the main dinning room, and the youngsters in the kitchen. We had a cabin for 4 nights the last trip in 1981. Kathi and I also walked down to the high bridge, some 3 miles away for both trains one morning. Got back just in time for lunch. Glad I took that small army type canteen they offered us! Also each week they had a little rodeo for all the guests. It was a great place and a lot of teens worked there during the summer. They kept a "pop car" there for emergencies and would take someone to Tacoma if there was need for medical or something else. And of course there was the steam trains every day for us to enjoy! Superb scenery, nice people and a real adventure every day!
Greg Scholl

PS Thanks for confirming the ranch site. That was might first thought when I saw the location, but I wasn't sure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2019 07:46PM by Greg Scholl.