Are Dude Ranches Dinosaurs?
Dude ranches probably reached the height of their popularity in the 1920s; almost a century ago now. At that time dude ranches were very much the fashion. They attracted Easterners and British who sought some open spaces for riding and good places for hunting and fishing. These “dudes” also wanted to escape some of the constraints of society at home where they had to go to the right parties, wear the right clothes, know the right people and say the right things. They had to wear a mask and conceal their true thoughts and desires. At a Wyoming dude ranch nobody cared much anymore about who you were or what clothes you wore. It was much more important how you could ride and whether or not you were a good sport and pleasant company. People got down to basics and dispensed with the frills which so encumbered life at home. There was clean air, beautiful, unspoiled scenery and plenty of exercise. It was a far more natural life for human beings. Of course the ranchers who lived there had often paid the price of long hours and back breaking physical work to have that freedom, but carefree dudes could work as much or as little as they pleased and they had all the advantages of that kind of life without most of the inconveniences like the bitter winters and the struggle to keep the animals fed and healthy in the snow. Today dude ranches are passé and most Americans prefer playing electronic games or watching television to riding a horse or flexing a fly rod. They seek vicarious rather than real entertainment. Heated swimming pool and saunas provide as much athletic sport as they are seeking and obesity is making it impossible for many of them to do much more.