For the past three years, Allan Ellis has spent eight hours a day on the back of a horse while working as a trail guide at the Running-R Guest Ranch near Bandera Texas.

Before our family’s guided ride, I asked him if he ever grew tired of riding. He replied honestly that some days he didn’t feel like getting into a saddle, but most days it was the best job in the world.

As we stopped midway through our ride to rest our horses, it wasn’t hard to see why he likes his job.

From our vantage point on a high limestone bluff inside the Hill Country State Natural Area, we could see much of the 5300-acres that make up this beautiful park. Spanning our view were grassy valleys, spring-fed streams and beautiful hillsides covered with oak, cedar and Texas mountain laurel trees.

Once the staging area for the great Texas cattle drives of yesteryear, this region of Texas is now a popular vacation spot for those who want to indulge in rural pleasures and channel their inner cowboy (or cowgirl). Within a short drive of the Hill Country State Natural Area and the tiny town of Bandera are 14 guest ranches where city folk indulge in old-fashioned chuckwagon meals, enjoy campfires, and ride horses until their legs ache.

It’s a chance to spend time away from the hectic pace of modern living and experience a simpler life.

Some Bandera County guest ranches are quite luxurious — offering a myriad of amenities, scheduled recreation programs, and upscale dining. The Running-R Guest Ranch, where we stayed, is rustic and simple with wholesome meals, a wide selection of well-cared for horses and fun-loving ranch hands with nicknames like “Wrangler Barbie” and “Shorty.”

After the two-hour morning ride inside the state park, we spent a relaxing afternoon swimming, fishing at a nearby pond, playing catch and hanging around the ranch. In the late afternoon, the kids enjoyed a barrel racing lesson with champion barrel racer, Stephanie “Shorty” Husky and her horse Fancy. Bandera bills itself as “The Cowboy Capital of the World” primarily because of the large number of rodeo champions that hail from the region. Learning to barrel race from a Bandera rodeo champion proved to be a real highlight for the teenagers in our group who each came away with a new-found appreciation for the sport.

After enjoying supper in town, we sat on the front porch of the main Guest Lodge listening to the crickets and watching the stars without the interference of city light or noise pollution. Unlike Allan Ellis, I’m not sure I could handle eight hours a day in a saddle, but a week or more at the Running-R wouldn’t be hard to take.

If you go:

• Running-R Guest Ranch is located just outside of Bandera, Texas. The best way to get there is to fly into San Antonio, rent a vehicle and drive the 70-minutes from San Antonio to the guest ranch.

• An overnight stay in the rustic cabins at the ranch will cost $135 per adult, $95 per youth aged 13-16, $70 per child aged 6-12, and $45 per child aged 3-5 during high season (March – October). Lower rates apply for off-season stays. Rates include breakfast, lunch, and two-hours of riding per day. Riding lessons and additional guided rides can also be arranged.

• There are no televisions in the cabins. Guests can entertain themselves by assisting with the care of the horses, swimming, hiking, mountain biking (the ranch has bikes you can borrow), fishing, reading, and by playing ping pong and other games. Evening campfires are highly recommended. On a clear night, the stars are amazing.

• For a complete listing of Dude Ranches and tourism events in Bandera County (there are at least two rodeos every week), visit the official tourism website: banderacowboycapital.com. For information on visiting Texas, visit: traveltex.com.

Exploring Bandera

With a population of less than 1000 souls, you wouldn’t be inclined to expect much from a place like Bandera, but the tiny town that bills itself as the “Cowboy Capital of the World” is actually pretty fun to explore.

Wander down Main Street and you’ll find a couple of western wear stores, a saloon with real swinging doors, several restaurants, and a general store complete with an old-fashioned soda fountain where you can order ice cream soda treats.

It’s the kind of quirky little place that embodies the spirit of the cowboy. There are rodeos somewhere in the County at least twice per week most weeks and every Wednesday the whole town comes out for steak night at the Eleventh Street Cowboy Bar. It’s a “bring your own steak” event and for a small fee the bar supplies live entertainment and the side dishes to go with whatever kind of steak you choose to bring.

Another stop not to be missed is the Old Spanish Trail Restaurant which has a counter bar complete with saddle stools, an evening buffet, and a selection of homemade pies that will make you want to eat dessert with every meal. The restaurant also likes to brag that its “pancakes are bigger than your head.” There are a lot of large-headed people in our family, but sadly we never got the chance to put their claim to the test since breakfast was included at the dude ranch.

Hoot Gibson’s ride to the Calgary Stampede

Let anyone in Bandera know you’re Canadian and they’ll likely tell you about Bandera native, James “Hoot” Gibson and his dream trip to the Calgary Stampede. In 2004, Gibson rode his horse more than 4000-km from Bandera Texas to the Calgary Stampede. The journey took four-and-a-half months and required Gibson to survive Mother Nature’s elements and manoeuvre through government bureaucracy to cross the Canada-US border — all to fulfill a challenge.

Debbie Olsen is a Lacombe-based freelance writer. If you have a travel story you would like to share or know someone with an interesting travel story that we might interview, please email: DOGO@telusplanet.net or write to: Debbie Olsen, c/o Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave., Red Deer, Alta., T4R 1M9.