PrintA Dream Deferred
“I told my dad, ‘When I’m older, I’m going to get a horse, and a gun, and a ranch,’” says Ranch at Rock Creek owner Jim Manley. “He died laughing, but that dream never died.”
Manley held on to his dream for 43 years, spending 20 of them searching for the perfect property. His ideal ranch paradise would have lush fields and high alpine meadows at a low altitude. It would have a river running through it and an old mining town nearby. Manley wanted Bonanza’s Ponderosa Ranch, but after personally touring 200 properties and viewing about 500 more, he was beginning to think his ideal ranch was just as fictional as the one that first inspired him to be a cowboy, and he returned to his office in Greenwich, Connecticut, defeated.
Three days later Manley got the call from his broker. Turns out his Ponderosa was not on the shores of Lake Tahoe but in western Montana, just north of Yellowstone National Park. Manley got on the next flight back to cowboy country. The ranch was his—the dream fulfilled.
Now Manley’s 6,600-acre dream ranch is a dream destination for the high-class cowboy. Upon arrival it becomes obvious that The Ranch at Rock Creek is the realization of a vision that has been brewing for more than four decades, because Manley has not missed a single item on the cowhand’s fantasy wish list. The property itself has been a working ranch for 120 years, and the main lodge looks as authentic as its surroundings (the structure is new, but the wood and architecture are far from it). Yet the property holds all the modern comforts you could ask for: a full-service spa, salon, high-end ranch-style cooking, four-lane bowling alley, and 14-foot HD television. You can stay inside, well-fed and pampered the entire trip, or you can choose to go out and enjoy wildlife-watching (mountain lions, wolves, bears, elk, and deer all frequent the ranch), fly-fishing, archery, rafting, riding, skiing, ice skating, or dog sledding—embarking on your own personalized adventure on the Ponderosa.
FYI: 877.786.1545, www.theranchatrockcreek.com.
