The Oscars: Brokeback, dude
What industry will profit most if "Brokeback Mountain" wins eight Oscars? Hollywood? Wrong. Dude ranching, duh. But what is dude ranching? According to Dr. Amanda Rees of the University of Wyoming, "Dude ranching is a distinctly western touristic activity and has a long and distinguished history in Wyoming from its earliest incarnation in the 1890s to the present. As historian Charles Roundy points out, dude ranching is indeed the single most unique contribution of the Rocky Mountain West to the ever-growing national vacation industry."
In the spring of 2003, the University of Wyoming's Department of Geography Tourism and Recreation class looked at the local dude ranching culture and the result was a batch of illuminating essays: Donald A Hopkins, "Contemporary Dude and Guest Ranches"; Carrie Jane Margeson, "Songs, Adventures, and Horses: Activities on Wyoming Dude Ranches"; Michael Wengert, "The Impact of Technology on Dude Ranching: 1940-1970"; Thomas Mikkelsen, "Aesthetics of Built Landscape".
What is the relationship between working ranch and dude ranch aesthetics? We're talking "clothing, interior design, and how those issues shape a sense of dude ranch camaraderie." Time to get a pair of Larry Mahan's, then. Don't want to turn up at the Triangle X looking like a city slicker, do we? By the way, the Brokeback industry is in top gear. This is a classic: Weekly Grocery Lists for Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, Summer 1962.
