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Yesterday and Today
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JUST west of the
Continental Divide, in the foothills of Wyoming’s Sierra Madre Mountains,
there is a valley that combines sagebrush meadows and aspen groves with
stands of cottonwood trees and open fields of alfalfa. In 1905, John and
Mary Boyer settled at the north end of the valley. With their eight
children, the Boyers built the
YL Ranch, a horse and sheep ranch that at one
time had more that 30,000 sheep on thousands of acres of land. In 1926, the
Boyer Family built three log cabins under the cottonwoods by the Main Ranch
House and opened one of Wyoming’s first guest ranches. Over the next fifty
years, the YL Ranch became a destination for families from New York, Boston,
Chicago and Los Angeles who wanted more than a vacation. These families
wanted to live – for a week, for a month, sometimes even for a summer – in
the heart of the American West.
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Polo Players YL Ranch
1928 |
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TODAY,
the Boyer Family still owns and operates the YL Ranch. The Ranch is one of
those places where the West is more than a memory. Herds of antelope still
graze in the meadows, flocks of magpies still talk to each other in the
cottonwoods along Savery Creek, and the three log cabins by the Main Ranch
House are still open to the kind of guests who want more than just another
Western vacation. The Ranch is part of the real West. Essential things like
breathing the fresh air, eating a home cooked meal or riding a horse up the
Savery are the main attractions here. Guests say they sleep better at the
Ranch than they do at home, and that’s understandable. The Ranch is a fine
place to accomplish things. You could spend years fishing, swimming, riding
and exploring the Savery Valley. But at the end of the day, when the birds
stop singing and about two million stars come out, walking into your cabin
and falling asleep by the fire can also seem like a big accomplishment. |
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Boyer YL Ranch
Wyoming's Historic Dude & Guest Ranch |
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