Raw Hide: Lazy E-L Ranch, Montana

In June, 2007, I spent a week at a family-run working cattle ranch, the Lazy E-L Ranch in Montana. Eleven guests rode horses daily, drove 2,000 head of cattle, rafted the Stillwater River, toured the Beartooth Mountains, and visited the nearby town of Red Lodge. The ranch was homestead by the great-grandfather of Aaron Kampfe, the owner of OutWest Adventures and the organizer of the week. Special thanks to Theresa, Pier Carlo, and others who have shared their pics, some of which I've included.
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Photograph Guide: 001 - 007 Billings, MT 008 - 015 Roscoe, MT 016 - 044 Lazy E-L Ranch 045 - 082 Horseback Riding 083 - 104 Cattle Drive 105 - 112 Whitewater Rafting 113 - 125 Beartooth Highway 126 - 149 Red Lodge, MT 150 - 159 Ranch Life 160 - 174 Last Ride Start slideshow or jump to photo 001. Billings, MT: Crowne Plaza Hotel 002. Billings, MT: View from hotel window 003. Billings, MT: View from hotel window 004. Billings, MT: Strawberry Festival 005. Billings, MT: Strawberry Festival 006. Billings, MT: Horseshoe tree grate 007. Billings, MT: First view of Beartooth Mountains 008. Roscoe, MT: Grizzly Bar 009. Roscoe, MT: Grizzly Bar 010. Roscoe, MT: Grizzly Bar, local brands 011. Roscoe, MT: Aaron points out Lazy E-L Ranch 012. Roscoe, MT: First view of Lazy E-L Ranch 013. Roscoe, MT: First view of Lazy E-L Ranch 014. Roscoe, MT: First view of Lazy E-L Ranch 015. Roscoe, MT: Bart on Lazy E-L Ranch Gate 016. Lazy E-L: Aerial view of the ranch 017. Lazy E-L: Map of the headquarters "cell" 018. Lazy E-L: Cookhouse 019. Lazy E-L: Wranglers Sam and Thad on Cookhouse porch 020. Lazy E-L: Kenny, Bob and Cookhouse washing ritual 021. Lazy E-L: Meal inside the Cookhouse 022. Lazy E-L: Meal inside the Cookhouse 023. Lazy E-L: Photos of the Lazy E-L family 024. Lazy E-L: Homesteader Malcolm S. Mackay, buddy, & bear 025. Lazy E-L: Russell Cabin, outside 026. Lazy E-L: Russell Cabin, outside 027. Lazy E-L: Russell Cabin, inside 028. Lazy E-L: Russell Cabin, inside 029. Lazy E-L: The walk up to the Summer Cabin 030. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin, outside 031. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin and bone pile 032. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin, outside 033. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin and wildlife 034. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin and more wildlife 035. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin ready for those cool nights 036. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin, trees, and hammock 037. Lazy E-L: Kicking back in the Summer Cabin hammock 038. Lazy E-L: No boots inside the Summer Cabin! 039. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin great room 040. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin great room 041. Lazy E-L: The Summer Cabin great room 042. Lazy E-L: Hats out back of the Summer Cabin 043. Lazy E-L: Saddles & hats out back of the Summer Cabin 044. Lazy E-L: Bart in front of the tack barn 045. Riding: Bart & Martin before one of our daily rides 046. Riding: Bart, Martin & Fred checking horse "duty roster" 047. Riding: Guests' saddles and bridles in the tack barn 048. Riding: Guests' saddles and bridles in the tack barn 049. Riding: Jael's saddle loaned to Bart for the week 050. Riding: Lazy E-L staff tack 051. Riding: Wrangler Sam helps to bridle horses 052. Riding: Getting ready for our morning ride 053. Riding: Neilan & Martin ready to go 054. Riding: Getting ready for our morning ride 055. Riding: Getting ready for our morning ride 056. Riding: Getting ready for our morning ride 057. Riding: Moving out for one of our daily rides 058. Riding: Bart on Caspar 059. Riding: One of our daily rides 060. Riding: Bart, self-portrait on horseback 061. Riding: Aaron leads one of our daily rides 062. Riding: One of our daily rides 063. Riding: One of our daily rides 064. Riding: Bart on Caspar 065. Riding: Jen and Casper 066. Riding: One of our daily rides 067. Riding: Bart on Buckshot 068. Riding: Riding toward the Beartooth Mountains 069. Riding: Curious cows 070. Riding: Dan 071. Riding: Janney and Bob 072. Riding: Courtney, Laurin & Jen 073. Riding: Bart & Joker 074. Riding: Stopping by an old homesteader cabin 075. Riding: Bob in front of an old homesteader cabin 076. Riding: Bart in front of an old homesteader cabin 077. Riding: Martin 078. Riding: Bob 079. Riding: Group Photo 080. Riding: Horses being let out to pasture for the night 081. Riding: Horses being let out to pasture for the night 082. Riding: Horses out to pasture for the night 083. Cattle Drive: Jen leads Casper to horse trailer 084. Cattle Drive: Bart & Martin ready to go 085. Cattle Drive: Cattle boss Jael 086. Cattle Drive: My view from Caspar's back 087. Cattle Drive 088. Cattle Drive: Bob, Jen, & Pier Carlo 089. Cattle Drive 090. Cattle Drive 091. Cattle Drive: Up close 092. Cattle Drive 093. Cattle Drive 094. Cattle Drive 095. Cattle Drive: Wrangler Thad and cattle 096. Cattle Drive 097. Cattle Drive 098. Cattle Drive 099. Cattle Drive 100. Cattle Drive: Wranglers Thad and Sam 101. Cattle Drive: Lunch at Shorey homestead 102. Cattle Drive: Lunch at Shorey homestead 103. Cattle Drive: View of Beartooth Mtns.on the ride home 104. Cattle Drive: View of Beartooth Mtns.on the ride home 105. Rafting: Aerial view of section of Stillwater River 106. Rafting: Nielan, Fred, guide, Dan, Bob, & Kenny 107. Rafting: Courtney, Laurin, Bart, Aaron & Martin 108. Rafting: Dan & Fred with guide 109. Rafting: Nielan jumps 110. Rafting: Aaron flips 111. Rafting: Taking a break 112. Rafting: Group photo 113. Beartooth Highway: Aerial view of HIGHway 114. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 115. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 116. Beartooth Highway: Bart at scenic overlook 117. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 118. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 119. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 120. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 121. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 122. Beartooth Highway: Spectacular views 123. Beartooth Highway: Bart at another scenic overlook 124. Beartooth Highway: Dan, Dan, Bob, Kenny, Bart, Fred, & Martin 125. Beartooth Highway: Bart at the top of Wyoming 126. Red Lodge: Looking down the street 127. Red Lodge: Looking down the street 128. Red Lodge: Wall map of the town 129. Red Lodge: Wall map of Roscoe & the Lazy E-L Ranch 130. Red Lodge: High School Music Festival salutes Flag Day 131. Red Lodge: Jen out of her chaps, out with her chaps 132. Red Lodge: Jen & Neilan 133. Red Lodge: Look for Neilan's and Kenny's dollars 134. Red Lodge: The gals: Courtney, Laurin, & Jen 135. Red Lodge: The guys in their sound-proof dining room 136. Red Lodge: Jen and her karaoke serenade of Piney 137. Red Lodge: Bar hostess Bernadette belts one 138. Red Lodge: Piney & Jen close up 139. Red Lodge: Martin croons 140. Red Lodge: Pier Carlo swoons 141. Red Lodge: Laurin & Courtney rock the house 142. Red Lodge: Laurin serenades Courtney 143. Red Lodge: Pier Carlo balladizes 144. Red Lodge: David moves in on Jen & Piney 145. Red Lodge: Nielan yeehaws 146. Red Lodge: Pier Carlo settles back 147. Red Lodge: Pier Carlo gets down 148. Red Lodge: Neilan vogues 149. Red Lodge: Neilan vogues in faux tube top 150. Ranch Life: Martin & Jen hiking in the hills 151. Ranch Life: Jen (eventually) shows triceratops fossils 152. Ranch Life: Bart hiking in the hills 153. Ranch Life: Laura Jean yeehaws in Sam's buffalo chaps 154. Ranch Life: Fred feeding the orphan goats 155. Ranch Life: Kenny feeding the orphan goats 156. Ranch Life: Courtney feeding the orphan goats 157. Ranch Life: Kenny bonding with the orphan goats 158. Ranch Life: Bart gets into the act with the orphan goats 159. Ranch Life: Pier Carlo nurses the orphan goats 160. Last Ride: Neilan blushes for Janney 161. Last Ride: Joker 162. Last Ride 163. Last Ride: Fred, Jen, Dan, & Dan 164. Last Ride: Pier Carlo by the curve of the river 165. Last Ride: The winding West Rosebud River 166. Last Ride: Laura Jean 167. Last Ride: Sam cinches Pier Carlo 168. Last Ride: Neilan, our own "Brokeback Montain" cowboy 169. Last Ride: Bob, Jen, & Fred 170. Last Ride: Bart on Joker 171. Last Ride: Last Drink at the Griz with Laura Jean and Sam 172. Last Ride: Final view of the Beartooth Mountains 173. Last Ride: Final view of the Beartooth Mountains Start slideshow or jump to photo Powered by Access Enterprises