Travels with Tish Girlfriends’ Getaway Guide

Ridin’ — Ropin’ — Wranglin’ & Shootin’!
And then a full-body massage!
Ah-h-h

Dale (Evans) and I wanted to try everything on the Wildcatter Ranch. And believe me, we had to make some tough choices because of the extent of the activities available. Archery, canoeing, fly fishing, ATV tours of the ranch, mountain biking, hiking, riding, skeet shooting, airboating and so much more. Not to mention relaxing in the hot tub and infinity pool with the gorgeous view of the ranch.

Trail Riding. The first thing we chose was horseback riding. Now I’ve become “ascared” of heights and sitting on a horse puts you up there a bit. It’s been so long since I rode. Jay, one of the Wildcatter wranglers, was super about introducing us (mostly me) to the horses and how to control the horse and the reins. Dale (a/k/a Linda) rides a lot. Jay was patient, took us around the corral a few times until I got comfortable and then off we went on a gentle trail ride (my preference). It was great. The horses were fine quality (not old nags that you might get at some broken down stable back home). His instruction was very good and he paid close attention to his riders on the trail. We took a two-hour trail ride over that very beautiful country. Now ladies, if I can do this, you can too. And you will love it as I did. In fact, I can’t wait to go back out in the fall and ride some more.

Skeet Shooting? Yep, skeet shooting. Neither Dale Evans nor myself (Annie Oakley) had ever used a shotgun. And we

thought, “why not?” James was our instructor and, like Jay with the horses, his instructions were very clear and he was patient with us. The ranch has (I am told) a pretty sophisticated remote-controlled-release skeet set-up with the clay disks being released into the air from six locations on the range. He showed us how to load, hold, aim and shoot a 20-gauge shotgun. It was easy. And after a few tries, each of us blew apart a decent number of airborne disks. Before this, I didn’t even know what skeet shooting was. But we liked it and would try it again. It’s really satisfying when you hit one of those flying saucers!

Airboating on the Brazos River. I had only heard of airboats in the Everglades. Well, the ranch bought one and runs guests up and down the Brazos River and into Possum Kingdom Lake. It’s a blast and you can see so much on the river.

Massage and Relaxation in the Pool. If you’re not into ropin’ and ridin’, you can just enjoy a cool drink in the naturally designed infinity pool that let’s you peak over the crest of the hill down on to the ranch below. Better yet, enjoy a massage or reflexology service in the massage rooms or in your own guest room. Then go out to the hot tub and pool. We didn’t have time to schedule massage, but we loved the pool, especially at sunset. Althought, to be very honest, we didn’t “need” a massage after our busy day on the ranch. We felt great. But a nice massage wouldn’t be bad, either.

NOTES:
1) Oil Well Country. This part of Texas has a lot of oil wells. One on the ranch was featured in a John Wayne movie called Hell Fighters, in which the well had a “blowout.” In fact, the term “wildcatter” comes from oil’s heyday — a wildcatter would go out and try unproven areas looking for oil.
2) Other movies filmed on or near Wildcatter Ranch include The Sons of Katie Elder and Lonesome Dove. This is the land where the real Marlow Brothers, depicted in the Katie Elder movie, actually lived. The land is full of history and the folks on the ranch are very proud of their heritage and that of the land.
3) Graham, TX is just a 10-15 minute drive up the road. We visited one afternoon — has a large town square and a number of little shops in which to browse.
4) Great getaway place. Wildcatter Ranch is ideal for a group of gals who want an “out of mind” body experience. Something totally different from their daily lives. Something fun with a bit of pampering thrown in for good measure. You’re not out of your mind, just out of your normal routine and it’s really revitalizing. Actually, would also be a good family place and even a reunion kind of place for families and friends.
5) Ropin’ and Wranglin’ Those Longhorned Steers. No, we did not rope steers or do any wrangling of their herd. But the point is, we could have. And that’s enough for me!

Did we like the ranch? Absolutely. It’s something so different from everyday life that you let yourself relax and try new experiences. Feels good. I like shopping, sightseeing, visiting new cities. But Dale and myself really felt like we were away on a long vacation, even though it was just a few days.

Anything we didn’t like? Can’t think of a thing! Really.

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Remember meals in the old cowboy flicks, maybe even City Slickers or Blazing Saddles? Gathered around the ol’ campfire, tin plates, somebody serving up beans from an old cast iron pot? Well, wipe that picture out of your mind when you think about dining at Wildcatter Ranch. It’s civilized dining with a delicious Texas twist.

It was a “guest only” evening at the Wildcatter Steakhouse. And for our first dinner at the ranch, we were invited to share our meal with some very down-to-earth folks who are responsible for creating the ambiance, comfort, food and fun on the ranch. They served up some of their best appetizers, wine from Texas vineyards and great menu choices. Steaks of all kinds and sizes. Ribs. Unique salads. I ordered a smaller ribeye, but it was Texas-sized to me and done to my satisfaction. (They pride themselves on meeting each guest’s preferences.) Creme brulee and a special bread pudding topped of the meal nicely. I tried chicken-fried steak another evening, a Texas favorite, and it was great — but again way too big for me as the steak covered a huge plate!

If you want to know more, you can check the menu online. Oh, by the way, “comfort foods” are served on Sunday — the kind of things like your grandma may have served up for Sunday dinner.

“Bob the Cook,” as he prefers to be called, (instead of Executive Chef) and his wife, Sonja, have a large kitchen staff and everything is made from scratch. Breakfast is casual and complimentary, includes homemade pastries, plenty of fresh fruit and berries and an assortment of other items. Guests can request a boxed lunch and ours included big, thick roast beef sandwiches with homemade peanut butter cookies.

Now if you’d really rather eat beans from a chuckwagon, I’m sure they can arrange that, too.

NEXT: Ridin’, Roping and Shootin’

NOTES:
1) The Wildcatter Steakhouse is avaible to guests every day, but only Wednesday-Sunday for non-guest diners.
2) Bob the Cook has his own mix of herbs and seasonings that he uses on steaks, chicken and ribs. Bob’s meat rub blends are available in the small gift shop. I took some home with me and we’ve enjoyed grilling with them.
3) If you’re a wine buff, you’ll enjoy the large selection. While Bob features very fine Texas wines, he also offers a wide range of other selections. We were particularly fond of the Lightcatcher Winery Pinot Grigio that was chilling on our hearth when we arrived.
4) Meal, wine and cocktail prices were quite reasonable. If you’re trying to pinch a few pennies to afford a getaway, you can do so in the dining and still end up well fed. Appetizers ranged from $3-$10. Steaks topped out at $24, I believe. My chicken-fried steak was just $12 (and HUGE, tasty.) Dinner sandwiches were about $6 or $7.
5) Blowout Saloon. There’s a nice bar also if you like to lounge before the fireplace with a cocktail. The bar and steakhouse draw a huge local following, so if you want to hobnob with some of the local cowboys, ranchers or oil tycoons, that’s the place to be!

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We left Ft. Worth and headed about 90 minutes northwest to Wildcatter Ranch. We had just relived some of the Old West and were hoping to actually “live” some of the New West. The drive up was easy and we arrived just before sunset. The main buildings and guest accommodations were set at the top of a Texas hill, overlooking the ranch’s 4,000 acres. What we were to discover was that all the guest rooms  overlooked the vast expanse of ranch below and we could enjoy the sunset from our window and our own back porch. We were wow-ed. This is a photo from our first sunset at the ranch.

Our room was just like the it was depicted on the Wildcatter Ranch Web site. Their photos certainly presented a true picture of what we found to be great accommodations.

Our room, the Ft. Belknap, was extremely spacious with two queen beds decked out with beautiful coverlets and real quilts — not to mention a passle of individually-designed pillows. It had a natural stone fireplace , about 20 feet tall. And it was gas, so all we had to do was flick the switch for instant fireplace ambiance. Plus a bottle of wine was left chilling for us on the hearth. Now that’s a warm Texas welcome!

The bathroom was thoughtfully split into two rooms, both with vanities and good lighting (especially important for makeup — and so often lacking in even top-drawer regular hotels.) You can tell a woman or two had a hand in designing these rooms. Lovely white robes hung in the closet. And our room had a convenient coffee bar with microwave, coffeemaker, a small refrigerator with cold bottles of water and real half-and-half creamers for coffee drinkers like me who have definite preferences. Another thoughtful touch!

Every detail of our room was carefully planned to make it as comfortable, historically authentic and enchanting as possible. We were not in a hotel of any sort, but on a guest ranch and we were delighted to be the guests.

NEXT:  Dinner at the Wildcatter Steakhouse and We Meet the Ranch Staff. 

Other Tidbits:
1) We found handmade soap wrapped in a bit of chenille and raffia on the sinks. A nice touch. Towels were soft and nappy; linens were high quality.
2) Guest rooms were built in small rustic-looking buildings, each with four guest rooms — all the same size as ours. Would be great for girlfriends or families. Rates are seasonal and start at $149/night in low season. Each room had a front entrance and a rear one facing the back porch and overlooking the ranch.
3) Rooms have a TV with DVD and come with a DVD about the ranch’s history. It was worth watching.

Do you remember some of the definitive cowgirls of the Old West, like Dale Evans (and her horse, Buttermilk)? Annie Oakley? Or maybe even Cat Ballou? They could ride and rope. They were tops in marksmanship and could really handle a rifle and  six-shooter. They got to enjoy all sorts of adventures out on the trail. But they always looked really good — no dust or grit on them.  And of course, all the cowboys around them were truly handsome dudes with great “yes, ma’am, no ma’am, thank you ma’am” manners. (Well except for Kid Shelleen, the Lee Marvin character in Cat Ballou. But she cleaned him up!)

No Dude Ranch For Me. The life of a Texas TV or movie cowgirl looked pretty exciting. Did you ever want to be one? Well, you haven’t missed your chance. I’ve discovered Wildcatter Ranch up the road a piece from Ft. Worth that lets a wanna-be cowgirl and her friends live out their dream. It’s not a dude ranch in my view — because I associate a dude ranch with bare-bones bunkhouses, cold showers in a wooden outdoor stall and eating “grub” that some old grizzled cook (named Cookie) russled up. Maybe even washing up out in the water trough. In other words, to me a dude ranch is just too much ”roughing it” for a city girl who wants to try a little ranch life.

I’d Prefer Something Like the Ponderosa.  Wildcatter Ranch is a guest ranch — and you’re treated as a special guest. From the moment you arrive, you feel special. No roughing it here, but all the trappings of a 4,000-acre working ranch are there and you’re free to enjoy the ranch life as much as you’d like. And best of all, in my estimation, is that it’s a clean ranch; it’s not smelly; its horses are clean; its accommodations are immaculate. If you want a taste of ranch life, but are not high on “roughing” it, you’ll love Wildcatter Ranch. And, oh yes, the good looking cowboys with the “yes, ma’am” manners are all over the Wildcatter Ranch.

A Totally Different, Totally Fun Girlfriend Getaway. For this getaway, I invited a long-time cowgirl-type friend who loves horses and riding. Me? I learned English saddle riding after college, but never quite enjoyed western riding and have not been on a horse in years. Never had a desire to ride with the family when we visited Tucson, Sedona or the Denver area. I pretty much thought I really didn’t need to ride a horse anymore. That is, until I discovered Wildcatter Ranch and the prospect of a totally different, totally fun girlfriend getaway. So I packed my scrunchy department store fashion cowboy boots and headed West with Linda to step out of my everyday life and into a new and exciting experience. And believe me, it was fun. Stay tuned for my next post when I start into the details for you.

NEXT:  Linda (a/k/a Dale Evans) and I arrive at Wildcatter Ranch.

TIPS:
1) If you like horses and would like to reminisce about famous TV and movie horses, check out this link.
2) What about the photos on my blog? Can’t put in captions on WordPress (I don’t think I can, anyway.), but you can pause your mouse over each picture to read about the photo. All the photos on this post are of the Wildcatter Ranch.
3) Get the next post e-mailed to you. If you don’t want to miss my next post on Wildcatter Ranch, simply sign up for an e-mail alert.  

 When you visit the Historic Stockyards District, you’re in honky-tonk country. Just look up and down the street and you’ll see saloons, dancehalls and you’ll hear a lot of country music. When real Texas folks come in from the ranches, (like the one in Graham I’ll tell you about in the next post) they love to come down to the Stockyards District.

Billy Bob’s Texas is one honky-tonk that anybody who’s stopping in Ft. Worth will mention. It’s big — Texas-sized BIG — and it is very popular. With all its onsite venues, including live pro bull riding, a casino, huge dancefloor, 32 bar stations and concert stage, Billy Bob’s can accommodate over 6,000 people at one time. (It even has its own map.)  It’s received venue awards, and is an 8-time winner of Country Music Associations’s (CMA) Club of the Year award.

Billy Bob’s Star Status. Country music stars that have filmed music videos at Billy Bob’s include Billy Dean, Collin Raye, Daron Norwood, The Marshall Tucker Band and Aaron Tippin. Many more top names regularly perform there. The club’s entertainment is absolutely star-studded. Shooter Jennings and Randy Travis are on the lineup for March. This is the place where a group of gals can have fun! (Wednesday is Ladies Night.)

More Saloons You’ll Enjoy. You’ve got your choice of dancehalls, saloons and music. The White Elephant Saloon is well known and popular. Booger Red’s Saloon (in the Stockyards Hotel) offers real saddles instead of ordinary barstools. Pearl’s Dancehall, the Longhorn Saloon and the  Neon Moon dance club and saloon also pack ‘em in. There are a number of restaurants, but we chose the Cattlemen for lunch. Very plain-jane diner atmoshere and the small steak was so-so.

Sundance Square. Though not quite as “western” as the Stockyards District, Sundance Square is loaded with hotels, restaurant choices, clubs and nice little shops with vintage western wear. It’s downtown Ft. Worth’s shopping and entertainment area. We stopped at the Sid Richardson Museum on Main Street and enjoyed its collection of western art by Frederic S. Remington and Charles Russell. No admission charge and a very nice, small gallery. Worth a visit. 

NEXT: The Wildcatter Ranch in Graham, TX

TIPS:
1) Learn to dance at Billy Bob’s. Check their Website for details.
2) Professional Bull Riding. Every Friday and Saturday night at Billy Bob’s.
3) Coupons. Check this page for discounts from Billy Bob’s.
4) Stockyards Championship Rodeo. Every Friday and Saturday night at the Cowtown Coliseum.
5) Helpful Ft. Worth Links. Fun things to do and sources of information about Ft. Worth.

Git along little dogie. There were no buffalo roaming the streets of Ft. Worth, but there certainly was a herd of Texas longhorns enjoying an afternoon cattle drive. Spend some time in the Stockyards National Historic District and you’ll discover that there are cowboys and cowgirls on horseback driving a herd of cattle every afternoon at 4 p.m. The actual stockyard work and smells are long gone, but what remains is a delightful throwback to the heyday of Texas.

You’ll find rodeos, bull riding, bronc riding, roping, cattle judging, saloons and honky-tonks filled with real cowboys and cowgirls having a terrific time.

Real Western Boots. If you need a pair of boots — authentic cowboy boots, this is the town to find them. Leddy’s has a couple of locations, one at Sundance Square and one in the Stockyards District. Another shop, Cavender’s has several locations around town, including one between the DFW airport and Ft. Worth. My cowgirl-friend on this trip needed a new pair and found a good buy at Cavender’s. About $120. I discovered that real cowboy boots, as opposed to my “fashion” slouchy-styled cowboy boots from the department store, are sturdier with a nice softly padded inner sole. That’s why cowboys and cowgirls can wear them without the pain of fashion.

Stockyards Hotel. If you want to stay in Ft. Worth and get a taste of its history, you might consider the Stockyards Hotel on Exchange Avenue, right in the heart of the historic district. While we didn’t see the rooms, we did walk through the antiqued lobby, filled with interesting furniture and art from the past. The rooms look pretty nice on the hotel’s Web site. The H3 restaurant is also part of the hotel. From here you can spend an evening dining, dancing and kickin’ up your heels, all within a few blocks.

NEXT: Where to find those honky-tonks

TIP:
1) Fly into DFW. Linda and I flew Midwest Airlines into DFW airport which is located between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Very easy in and out. Midwest has 4 daily nonstops between MKE and DFW (with easy connections to East Coast cities.)
2) You’ll need a car. Pick up the common shuttle for the car rental center just outside the terminal door. Airport signs make it easy to find. We got a car on Priceline from Budget for $33/day for a Chevy Impala. Posted rates for most, including Budget, was $65-80/day.
3) Focus on one city. If you want Western, stay in Ft. Worth. Dallas is a big, sophisticated city with upscale shopping. (I’ll cover that another time.) If you only have a couple of days, stay in Ft. Worth and really enjoy all it has to offer.
4) OR, take in Ft. Worth, then visit a ranch. Linda and I spent our first morning and afternoon exploring Ft. Worth before heading to Graham, TX. for a real Texas experience and a genuine Texas dinner. Much more on that later as the ranch we stayed at was the absolute highlight of our trip! (Don’t miss these next 4-5 posts. You can be notified by e-mail when they’re published. Link here–Notify me by e-mail )