By: Janet Rodgers, Contributor to Forbes Magazine
April 9, 2012
Hankerin’ for a creative, outdoor adventure this summer 
right here in the U.S.? The historic landmark Vee Bar Guest Ranch in Wyoming (2 ½ hours from Denver) beckons. Authentic ranch is framed by the Snowy Range Mountains, pasturelands with real cattle, and cabins dotting the shore along the Little Laramie River.
The Vee Bar, located near Laramie Wyoming, is a family-friendly vacation destination that is sure to please the horse loving cowboy or cowgirl in you. A variety of activities, ranging from horseback riding to river tubing, will suit each member of your group. Experience true western hospitality!
Open to those at any level of writing and riding skills, Page Lambert, award-winning author and writing coach, and Sheri Griffith, legendary sportswoman/adventurer, invite you for one unique week, June 2 – June 7, 2012. “Through the Eyes of the Horse – Literature & Landscape of the Horse Retreat” will surely rekindle even the most dormant of creative fires. Learn what horsemanship can teach us about our own natural instincts instead of relying only on the intellect.
Basic requirements for the retreat: you’ve got to be interested in equine culture, be happy to ride, and you should be able to read and write. The retreat is tailored to fit each individual – so let them know
your creative goals (writing, painting, photography, journaling) and your horse-related/nature-related interests…
- The Riding Part: Sheri teaches herd dynamics, communicating with horses, horses as working animals, horses (and us) as sensate beings in a sensate world, horse heartbeats, grooming and tacking up. Rides will be out in the open (abreast of one another) in 3 different groups – leisurely walking, trotting, and fast track. Each group has two wrangler guides, and the groups are fluid – ride with one group one day, then switch to a different one.
- The Reading and Writing: Page leads literature discussions about horses and animals as characters, reads aloud appropriate excerpts, and shares the wisdom of ‘horse whisperers.’ She encourages immersion in the natural world, keeping journals, and dispenses fun, short writing prompts.
$300 will hold your horse. Oprah loves these two gals and this retreat! Cost: only $1490.
Click: http://www.pagelambert.com/horse_literature.html
Or write directly to page@pagelambert.com.
You can also contact the ranch at 800-483-3227 or visit www.veebar.com for more information and to make reservations.
This trip is FULL. Please be in touch if you’d like us to add you to a waiting list.Because of the success of last year’s photo trip, Mike, Dave and John are returning to lead another workshop.
You will leave with a portfolio of new photos (focused primarily on cranes, but inclusive of other wildlife, landscape and bison), first-hand knowledge of this remarkable landscape and the management, history and conservation work that is being done to preserve it. Attendees will stay at Zapata’s guest lodge and enjoy meals cooked by our gourmet chef, Mike, as well.
The week will be shared between Zapata Ranch and our sister ranch, Chico Basin, during the year’s most intensive cattle works and branding.
This is a week not typically open to the public and a time of year that we cherish more than any. It is a celebration of Spring time, new calves and an annual gathering that we all look forward to!
Beginning with a night in the lodge, the pack trip starts the following morning from the Sane Dunes National Park where we’ll head up into the mountains for 3 nights and 4 days of high mountain riding. We’ll explore old mining country, take leisurely rides with magnificent views of the whole valley and San Juan Mountains, fish the alpine lakes and enjoy delicious food cooked over the fire. With nightfall, we’ll sit around the campfire before retiring to the big, white canvas tent that will be our home and base camp.
The final days back at the ranch will bring rides with the bison, through the Zapata meadows and working with the bison and cattle herds for those not too tired from our mountainous travels! Intermediate riding ability is encouraged, though not required.
Days will be filled with rides through the expansive meadows amongst our 1,500 bison, working cattle, photo trips across the ranch to capture wildlife and hiking through the 700-foot tall sand dunes and bordering Sangre de Cristo Mountains with our naturalist. A horsemanship instructor will be riding along for each ride and offering instruction, as well as leading daily clinics. Evenings will bring cocktails and appetizers on the patio as the sun is setting, followed by dinners of ranch-raised bison and beef, and locally grown vegetables prepared by our gourmet chef.
Phillips, and 25-year director of the riding program at Thacher School in California, 
Led by long-time Zapata Ranch and Chico Basin Ranch photographer, Stephen Weaver. Steve’s knowledge of the ranch as well as the local San Luis Valley hot spots will put you in the right breathtaking places at the right times.
This workshop led by renowned artist, 
For the third consecutive year, Bobbie Goodrich and Susan Burns are returning to share their wealth of knowledge.
For more information, please see Bobbie and Susan’s 
Available only to returning guests, this event is one-of-a-kind, worldwide. 2,000 wild bison will be gathered from a 50,000-acre pasture by horseback into small traps. Only riders with a high skill level can participate and only 4 spots are available. This is not a vacation where you will be pampered. You will be expected to fit in alongside a group of cowboys who are serious and are working hard to try to outsmart and out flank wild bison. The days can be long and hard. The ride will sometimes take you at dangerously high speeds through rugged and treacherous terrain. However, our goal is to attempt to get the bison into traps at a leisurely pace. One of our guests last year said the experience was the best he’d had in his entire life.
