Everyone has their dreams, they are where we escape to when real life becomes too intolerable to endure. Mine earlier in life was a cruel and self serving father. Later in life it was a baby daughter born with birth defects, and only lived for eight months. I learned when I was very young the art of mind over matter and attitude control. The stories in this book are all fiction, but are based off of building my dream Ranch. They may or may not be achievable, I do not know. But in my dreams they are, and they are a collection of Problems becoming Opportunities.
For many outsiders, the word “ranching” conjures romantic images of riding on horseback through rolling grasslands while living and working against a backdrop of breathtaking mountain vistas. In this absorbing memoir of life in the Wyoming high country, Mary Budd Flitner offers a more authentic glimpse into the daily realities of ranch life—and what it takes to survive in the ranching world. Some of Flitner’s recollections are humorous and lighthearted. Others take a darker turn. A modern-day rancher with decades of experience, Mary has dealt with the hardships and challenges that come with this way of life. She’s survived harsh conditions like the “winter of 50 below” and economic downturns that threatened her family’s livelihood. She’s also wrestled with her role as a woman in a profession that doesn’t always treat her as equal. But for all its challenges, Flitner has also savored ranching’s joys, including the ties that bind multiple generations of families to the land. My Ranch, Too begins with the story of her great-grandfather, Daniel Budd, who in 1878 drove a herd of cattle into Wyoming Territory and settled his family in an area where conditions seemed favorable. Four generations later, Mary grew up on this same portion of land, learning how to ride horseback and take care of livestock. When she married Stan, she simply moved from one ranch to another, joining the Flitner family’s Diamond Tail Ranch in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin. The Diamond Tail is not Mary’s alone to run, as she is quick to acknowledge. Everybody pitches in, even the smallest of children. But when Mary takes the responsibility of gathering a herd of cattle or makes solo rounds at the crack of dawn to check on the livestock, we have no doubt that this is indeed her ranch, too.
Sparked by the opportunity to explore his personal passions, David Kroese turns away from a rewarding yet languishing career and begins the adventure of a lifetime. What happens next evolves into a tour of all four hundred-plus units in America's National Park System -- a perfect way to celebrate the 2016 National Park Service centennial. The Centennial: A Journey Through America's National Park System details David's compelling centennial explorations to 387 parks in 360 days. The story continues through December 2017, when he becomes one of fewer than fifty people known to have visited all 417 national parks. His personal expedition is a poignant exploration into quintessential America as told through its historical and natural wonders. Delve into diverse locations from Hawaii to the Rockies, New England to the Caribbean, Charleston to the California desert, Alaska to American Samoa. Join David and experience the inherent marvels within America's unique landscape and fascinating history, revealed in engaging context, poetic descriptions, and heartfelt appreciation. The Centennial: A Journey Through America's National Park System is an odyssey of self discovery and fulfillment through the nation's soul.
The bawdy and moving story of two contemporary bronco busters, The Rounders, originally published in 1960, was Max Evans's first novel and is still his best known work, thanks largely to the success of the 1965 movie version starring Henry Fonda and Glenn Ford. Acclaimed for its realistic depiction of modern cowboying and for its humor, it is also a very serious work, described by the author as a tragicomedy. "It is a book to read if you are in need of a good laugh or if you are tired of reading cowboy novels where there are no cows and where the cowhands never stop waiting around the local saloon for a final showdown with the visiting Indians."--San Francisco Chronicle "One of the funniest cowpoke yarns to come off the presses in many a fall roundup."--Denver Post
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TRAVELERS had crossed the Oregon Trail during the gold rush of 1849. Even the most backwoods warrior understood what that meant: disease, death, and conflict with the whites. As a result of the Treaty of 1851, some Indians were convinced that the country to the north—called Absaraka—might be a better option for a home range. At the very least, it held the promise of less trouble from the whites. The danger from other tribes was another matter.
Hear the story of how Texas Parks and Wildlife state game wardens worked with ranch security in an endless effort to capture Charlie Beaty and bring him to justice. Read Charlie's first-hand accounts of his record-setting 11, 16 and 27-day solo outlaw hunts across Texas, including the world-famous King and Kenedy Ranches, and how he single-handedly poached 116 trophy-class whitetail deer. Meet Charlie, the Prince of Poachers Charles Robert Beaty was born August 13, 1956 in the city of Tyler, Texas. Learning about hunting for the first time around the age of twelve, Charlie became fascinated with the idea of killing big whitetail deer. As an adult, his fascination turned into obsession. Charlie worked as a taxidermist while secretly living the life of an outlaw-hunter, poaching hundreds of deer and other animals under the noses of Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens. After 22 years of poaching, Charlie finally reformed, turning himself in to the state game wardens and retiring his outlaw ways. Charlie chose to write Prince of Poachers to share his story along with why he no longer poaches and to warn others away from outlaw-hunting. A True-Life Outlaw-Hunting Adventure Read Charlie's first-hand account of illegally hunting across Texas, including the world-famous King and Kenedy Ranches, poaching an incredible 116 trophy-class whitetail deer over the course of 22 years. Join in as Charlie recalls taking friends of all backgrounds, including police officers, on many outlaw hunts. And find out why, after taking forty-one bucks over the course of seven seasons, Charlie surrendered to Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens... only to return on a rampage, killing an additional seventy-five whitetail bucks. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat as you read Charlie's accounts of close calls with wardens and ranch security, rattling up his top dirty-dozen bucks, his record-setting 11, 16, and 27 day outlaw-hunts, surviving off the land, and always making it out alive even when his friends feared him to be dead. 2% of all proceeds from book sales are donated to Operation Game Thief.
