Travels with Charlie
Western art comes to life on the Charles M. Russell Trail in northern Montana.
Hobble How-To’s
Train your horse to master the essential skill of wearing hobbles.
March 2011 “Western Horseman”
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Tag Archives: cowboy
Joel Nelson: The Horses and the Words
Story by Ryan T. Bell/ Photography by Ross Hecox
West Texas horseman Joel Nelson reflects on the poetic life and how it feels to be a man who has willingly submitted to his muse.
On an unseasonably cool July morning in the Davis Mountains of southwest Texas, Joel Nelson drives through a pasture of Corriente cattle. He recently drilled a well in the pasture, so he’s checking to make sure that water is flowing properly before the heat of the day arrives to parch the cattle.
Maybe it’s the repetitive nature of the chore, but Nelson is in a pensive frame of mind. He recites a favorite quote by the poet Stanley Kunitz:
“If we want to know what it felt like to be alive at any given moment in the long odyssey of the race, it is to poetry we must turn.”
“Boy,” he says, “that nails what poetry means in about as few words as you could hope to get it said in.”
A New Twist to Leave No Trace
It’s time for backcountry horsemen to embrace catch-and-release fishing.
Trail riding and lake fishing go together like, well, fresh-caught trout cooked over a campfire with lemon and butter. So the first time I returned a living trout to a mountain lake, my inner-hunter asked, “What’s the point?” while my stomach grumbled, “There goes dinner.” Fishing regulations allowed me to keep the trout, but I’d noticed over the years that my favorite lake had fewer and fewer fish. So, I released my catch to swim another day.
It turns out, diminishing fish populations are an issue facing mountain lakes across the American West. In the past year, major backcountry areas in California and Washington have cut back their fish stocking programs. Why are they picking a fight with fish?
BI: Know When to Hold ‘Em
Horseback poker – a charitable event coming to a trail near you.
Horses and the card game poker were a recipe for mayhem in the Wild West. But not today. Horseback poker rides are now charitable events during which trail riders enjoy a day in the backcountry while raising money for a worthy cause. And, as I discovered on a ride last spring in Virginia City, Montana, the events are a good way to bomb-proof a saddle horse under crowded trail conditions.
BI: Take a Starry Ride
Dig deeper than the big dipper with these astronomy tips for stargazing in the backcountry.
Four hundred years ago this month, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei published the first book of astronomy, Starry Messenger. It reported such discoveries as the moon is pocked with craters, Jupiter is orbited by moons, and “light clouds” in the night sky are actually clusters of stars (such as, the Milky Way). In honor of this milestone, which forever changed man’s relationship with the heavens, I spoke with an expert astronomer George Beimel, board member at the Museum of the Rockies, for tips on stargazing in the backcountry.
Ian Tyson: The Raven Within
On the backstretch of a storied career, Western singer and horseman Ian Tyson learns that the last leg of a long circle can be the hardest to ride.
[Longview, Alberta - May 1, 2009]
The food at Longview Steakhouse isn’t what you’d expect to find in the Canadian Rockies. Driss Belmoufid, a Moroccan immigrant, opened the restaurant in 1994. The facade lacks the grandeur of a typical steakhouse (it looks like a flower shop), but walk inside and the aromas of turmeric and saffron clear the sinus of preconceived notions.
Ian Tyson has been “eating grub line” for two-weeks on a concert tour through Idaho and Wyoming. Now home in Alberta, he’s ready for a meal with some effort put into it and his choice of Longview Steakhouse is evidence of his knack for finding the West’s back alleys and underdog characters.
Up Snake River
Story by Ryan T. Bell/ Photographs by Will Brewster
Ten people, 17 stock animals and 1,400 pounds of supplies. Is it possible to travel through Yellowstone National Park – to one of the most remote locations in the United States – and leave no trace?
There was a good reason why I stood on the shoulder of Highway 191 with my saddle, a duffel bag and my Appaloosa mare, Gravelly, at 6:30 in the morning. We were hitchhiking – sort of. At the beginning of a leave-no-trace pack trip into Yellowstone, it seemed appropriate to car pool. Matt Henningsen, outfitting manager for the Club at Spanish Peaks, a Montana resort, had agreed to pick me up on his way into the park. His truck and trailer pulled up at 7 a.m. sharp.
“We’ve got a tight schedule to keep, if we want to be on the trail by noon,” he told me.
We stowed my gear in the truck bed, loaded Gravelly into the trailer, and were gone inside of five minutes.
Catch the Train to Elko
Story by Ryan T. Bell
In celebration of the 25th Annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, four longtime performers travel back in time, recalling the event’s roots.
Cowboy poetry as we know it today arrived in Elko on a train that departed from the Salt Lake City train station. On board were a dozen working cowboys, with names like Wallace McRae, Baxter Black, and Glen Ohrlin.
As the train rolled into the night, the cowboys discussed horses, ranch life and – surprisingly – poetry. They were a group of individuals like none the American West had ever seen, a collection of cowboy poets going to Elko for the first official Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
Twenty-five years later, the influence of these men and other similarly talented performers continues to be seen and heard on the stages of cowboy poetry’s premier event.
