Stillwater Ranch » Covered Wagon

Claude & Cylde Go For A Test Drive

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:11:43 +0000

When you have a team of Belgiums and a covered wagon and you want to take them for their first drive…who do you find CRAZY enough to go along?
Your Neighbors of Course!
(Just don’t tell them this is the first time you have had people in the back of the wagon.) Somethings are best left unsaid.

First we gathered up all the willing neighbors.

Then we hitched up the Team.

Notice the only neighbor in the wagon is “Tuki” the Yorkie Explorer, He is always game for any adventure.

In the end everyone had a great time and we are ready to start with Covered Wagon Rides this Spring and Summer.

For those of you that have never driven a team of horses…this is the view from the drivers seat.

The Covered Wagon Saga

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:40:39 +0000

Sunday we went to pick up the covered wagon in Levenworth. Most people get in their trucks with trailer attached and go pick up what they are going to pick up…..Not so, if you associate with cowboys….
We borrowed a large trailer from Hidden River Ranch to pick up the covered wagon. Saturday afternoon we have 2 stranded cowboys from eastern Washington standing in our kitchen wanting us to trailer their broken down pickup truck to eastern Washington. They heard through the grapevine that we were heading that way. Mind you, as with any good cowboy, they never have any money, since they spent their last $400 to have their pickup towed from Stevens Pass to Monroe. Now they came over here to pick up a $300 check. See how the math works.They are now $100 in the hole, a broken down pickup truck and no way to get back to eastern Washington.
So after a lengthy discussion on how many horses they are going to ride for us in exchange for their transportation across the pass…..we struck a deal.
Next day, we loaded up the truck, 2 dogs and 2 cowboys and headed to Leavenworth. The guys were very entertaining with their stories of working with rodeo stock and branding cattle.

When we arrived in Levenworth, George was there to greet us. George runs the carriage company in Levenworth and who we bought the team and Wagon from.

After the customary greetings, the boys then had to decide how to get their truck off the trailer.

Now, we had to get the covered wagon on the trailer. Good “old fashion” pushing should work.

Now that it is up there, we needed to figure out how to tie it down for the return trip through the pass.

Oh, by the way….we had better measure the height…13′ …we are SAFE, most of the bridges are 14+ feet. Good call on your part George!

And just in case you all want to see what a young cowboy looks like….Here’s Kelly.

What Were We Thinking!!!

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:27:41 +0000

One morning we woke up and got this brainstorm….let’s look for a team of horses and a wagon. We can do Wine Rides, Parades & Hay wagon rides, the list started to become endless.
My only criteria was that they had to be Belgiums, because their personalities are so mellow and calm.
The first person Dalton calls on our quest for a team is our good friend Aaron over at Icicle Outfitters. Aaron is Dalton’s teaching buddy for the Horse and Mule Packing Schools.

He is also an expert at finding horses for people. So if you are looking for a horse Aaron or his sister LuAnne are the people you want to call.

Aaron in his normal attire

In a few weeks Aaron called one night and told us about a team that “Stevie Wonder” could drive….sounds like my kind of horses, Claude & Clyde a pair of Belgiums that Icicle Outffiters were using on their sleigh rides in Levenworth. So Christmas Day we packed up and went to drive the pair. A little dashing through the snow in a open sleigh…..and the deal was sealed. This was the team for us and they just happen to come with a covered wagon. When Claude & Clyde finished their sleigh pulling job….they were scheduled to come to Stillwater, and last Sunday Dalton and our neighbor Rick went to Levenworth to pick up the boys.

When Dalton lead them off the trailer, all 1800 lbs…that’s each…not together… I looked at the size of those feet and went “Holy Mackerel”…man are those feet big. It’s a little like when you buy a piece of furniture and you say “ It didn’t look THAT BIG in the store.”. and then you get it home…and you go “What was I thinking????

After a day of getting used to the place. Dalton took Claude & Clyde out for their picture debut. What’s Not to Love about these guys? So come spring, we’ll be taking this show on the road…stay tuned…..this week we are going to get the Covered Wagon from George over in Levenworth.