Flying W Ranch
Encyclopedia
The Flying W Ranch is a working mountain
cattle ranch, and since 1953 a tourism
venue in the foothills of Colorado Springs, Colorado
. From May to October, the ranch features outdoor chuckwagon
supper
s typical of those served on cattle drives
, and western style
living history
areas.
Beginning the first weekend in October, meals and entertainment
move indoors to the Winter Steakhouse, through the third weekend in December and again from early March through mid May. The Picketwire Bar, named for the Purgatoire River
was built in the 1880s and moved to its present location in 1969.
Meals are followed by the cowboy singing
by the Flying W Wranglers. The Flying W Wranglers have been a part of the ranch's traditional entertainment since 1953, making them the world's second oldest western singing group. Made up of working cowboys on the Flying W Ranch, the members participate in branding each fall as well as all other duties of farm-and-ranch life. There is an on-site recording studio
where the Flying W Wranglers preserve their music
.
The Flying W Chuckwagon (with the Flying W Wranglers) is part of the Chuckwagon Association of the West, that consists of five other member chuck-wagons located in Wyoming
, South Dakota
, New Mexico
, Missouri
, and Colorado, all of which feature traditional chuck-wagon cooking, followed by professional-quality after-supper entertainment of comedy and western songs.http://www.barjchuckwagon.com/chuckwagon%20links.htm
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
cattle ranch, and since 1953 a tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
venue in the foothills of Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
. From May to October, the ranch features outdoor chuckwagon
Chuckwagon
A chuckwagon or chuck wagon is a type of wagon historically used to carry food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons would form part of a wagon train of settlers or feed traveling workers such as cowboys or loggers.In modern times, chuckwagons feature...
supper
Supper
Supper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day. Originally, in the Middle Ages, it referred to the lighter meal following dinner, where until the 18th century dinner was invariably eaten as the midday meal.The term is derived from the...
s typical of those served on cattle drives
Cattle drives in the United States
Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the American west, particularly between the years 1866-1886, when 20 million cattle were herded from Texas to railheads in Kansas for shipments to stockyards in Chicago and points east...
, and western style
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
living history
Living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...
areas.
Beginning the first weekend in October, meals and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
move indoors to the Winter Steakhouse, through the third weekend in December and again from early March through mid May. The Picketwire Bar, named for the Purgatoire River
Raton Basin
The Raton Basin is a geologic structural basin in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. It takes its name from Raton Pass and the town of Raton, New Mexico. In extent, the basin is approximately east-west, and north-south, in Huerfano and Las Animas Counties, Colorado, and Colfax County,...
was built in the 1880s and moved to its present location in 1969.
Meals are followed by the cowboy singing
Singing cowboy
A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s...
by the Flying W Wranglers. The Flying W Wranglers have been a part of the ranch's traditional entertainment since 1953, making them the world's second oldest western singing group. Made up of working cowboys on the Flying W Ranch, the members participate in branding each fall as well as all other duties of farm-and-ranch life. There is an on-site recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
where the Flying W Wranglers preserve their music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
The Flying W Chuckwagon (with the Flying W Wranglers) is part of the Chuckwagon Association of the West, that consists of five other member chuck-wagons located in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, and Colorado, all of which feature traditional chuck-wagon cooking, followed by professional-quality after-supper entertainment of comedy and western songs.http://www.barjchuckwagon.com/chuckwagon%20links.htm