FEATURE KANSAS & OKLAHOMA
says Ranch Rider partner Tony Daly. Working ranches rear and manage
cattle, with guests able to participate in many activities on the ranches and experience the cowboy way of life. Accommodation is generally clean but often fairly basic. Both Ranch Rider and Ranch America
feature the family-owned Moore Working Ranch, 45 minutes from historic Dodge City. It has over 300 longhorn cattle as well as 50 horses. Guests stay in cabins suiting singles, couples or groups with private facilities but no TV, phones or internet, while meals are taken with the family. Guests can help gather cattle on horseback, round-up horses, learn to rope, brand cattle and cook in Dutch ovens. Regular trail drives are also undertaken, accompanied by a chuck wagon, with guests sleeping under the stars or in authentic period tents. Guest ranches offer guests the chance
to go horse riding; they also have cattle, but the emphasis is more on comfort with a range of activities on offer. Oklahoma’s Tiger Mountain Ranch is
also featured by both operators. It's a guest ranch with cattle and wranglers demonstrating cowboy ways, including riding, roping, cattle gathering and horsemanship. But guests can also take
day trips to local attractions and enjoy activities such as hiking, archery, fishing, swimming and kayaking on the lake behind the lodge. Accommodation is in the lodge, some rooms having private facilities, and there is a cinema and Jacuzzi. Tiger Mountain also offers a Native
American experience with demonstrations of traditional craftwork. Guests can stay in an Indian tepee.
Rodeos With their cowboy heritage, it is hardly surprising that both Kansas and Oklahoma both have their fair share of rodeos. They are what cowboys do for fun as well as to improve their skills. There are professional rodeos in both states, but they also have many ranch rodeos, where the public can get close to the action and even talk to competitors before or after the action while tucking into tasty rodeo food such as barbecue, chilli in a bag and home-made pies. Rodeo season runs from April until
November – and during the season, you will find literally hundreds of rodeos taking place throughout both states on any given weekend. Ranches will often take guests to local rodeos as part of their stay. A ranch rodeo will typically cost $10pp, including the meal – so they are also a great-value night out. One of the highlights of ranch rodeos
is bronc riding, with competitors having to hang on tight to their bucking steed. This is derived from the need for horses to be broken in to ride so that they could be turned into working horses on the ranches. Other events include barrel racing, steer wrestling and roping. A major rodeo is the Kansas Ranch Rodeo Championship, at Medicine Lodge, Kansas, each September.
What’s On Here are a few events worth selling in 2011:
• May 6: Chisholm Trail Cowboy Festival & Chuckwagon Cook-off, Duncan, Oklahoma • June 3-5: Red Earth Festival, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • July 29-August 7: Dodge City Days, Dodge City, Kansas • September 23-25: Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty Pageant, Medicine Lodge, Kansas • September 9-18: Kansas State Fair, Hutchinson, Kansas • September 29-October 9: Tulsa State Fair, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Who Flies There These airlines operate to Kansas and Oklahoma, via US gateways: CONTINENTAL – 0845 607 6760
www.continental.com UNITED – 0845 8444 777
www.unitedairlines.co.uk DELTA – 0845 600 0950
www.delta.com AMERICAN AIRLINES – 0844 499 7300
www.americanairlines.co.uk BRITISH AIRWAYS – 0844 493 0787
www.ba.com VIRGIN ATLANTIC – 0870 380 2007
www.virgin-atlantic.com
KANSAS & OKLAHOMA TOURISM Operators and agents wanting to experience the destinations should contact UK & Ireland marketing rep Derek Mackenzie-Hook at: Kansas & Oklahoma Travel & Tourism 08450 533 280
dmh@TravelKsOk.co.uk •
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL
BY PETER ELLEGARD "I spent several days criss-crossing Kansas and Oklahoma on a storm-chasing tour through the mid-west three years ago. We never saw a tornado like Dorothy’s but we did experience a genuine friendly and warm welcome. Wherever we went, the locals were hospitable and fascinated by our mission, thanking us for watching out for the often-destructive weather phenomena. On blue-sky days we went sightseeing, visiting lovely old roadside communities along Oklahoma’s Route 66 and the Kansas home of The Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder as well as two Yellow Brick Roads, in Sedan and Liberal, Kansas. Liberal claims to be the home town of
Dorothy Gale. An old farmstead was moved there and opened as her house, complete with a museum and Yellow Brick Road with signed bricks. It is both quaint and charming."
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© OKLAHOMA TOURISM
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