A sense of place

[John Goering]

Or home on the range-Bridger Range that is. A random thread of photos on or from "the place".

The historic stuff: great grandmother (third from right), grandmother (5th from right) and her brothers and sisters along with spouses. About 1930. All the structures still exist.

1949, taken just east of the above photos.

About 1972.

And the more modern, at random.

The last photo I got of my father-doing what he liked to do-at 96.

With that I'll quit. To be continued at the desecration of viewers.

 

[scatman]

Love the historic photos John.

 

[Bob]

Nice....... Ranch still in family, you live there? Historical pics are great

 

[Joey]

What a spectacular place to call home

 

[Absarokanaut]

Something tells me you're gonna have some folks looking for bunks. Truly lovely landscape, a history to be proud of. Now lets get more snow this weekend. Thanks for sharing John.

 

[John Goering]

Ranch still in family, you live there?

Yes, we do live there but there was a long hiatus from when I departed with my parents after my freshman year at MT State U and when my wife and I actually again resided there. But for the bulk of that time, we were only 10 miles away so continued to help my father. Not that spending one's vacation time bucking bales and welding machinery back together was high on the desirable list-I would have sooner been in the woods someplace. But I would do it again.

Life is less about reality than it is about perception and perspective. Growing up in that environment resulted in a little warped view of both but I am very thankful to all the people that allowed that to happen, most especially my grandmother. 1928 wasn't an ideal year to be taking on some debt but she persevered and finally paid the place off building B17's in Seattle-only to sell it to my father less than two years later.

As for the bunks, we actually designed the house to do a B&B but the older I get, the less attractive that prospect becomes. It would certainly be far more lucrative than trying to make money from hay and cows. The the old rancher cliche is "you can't eat the scenery" but with a B&B you would be doing exactly that.

 

[John Goering]

More. Making a case for the PETA people.
1981

1986

1998

We always had a party after the branding was done to entice a very mixed crew for the carnage. For one event, we even had a live band-but it wasn't country

 

[Bob]

Never cared much for PETA........... Branding is (was) part of life on a cattle ranch

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

I am a proud PETA member but I also believe in the motto "live and let live" so I will respectfully bow out of this thread. I'm here because I love hiking, backpacking, kayaking, etc. and plan to keep my personal beliefs on animal rights issues to myself because this simply isn't the forum for that. With that said, I hope that members here will keep in mind that the hiking/backpacking community is made up of people from all walks of life and varying political and ethical beliefs and err on the side of respect for all members. I have no issues with anything that was said thus far, just throwing it out there before all the PETA jokes and micro aggression starts rolling in and I have to start looking for a new forum.. which would really break my heart cause this forum is awesome.

Lasty I'd like to sneak in one last comment to John that this a stunningly beautiful property and the family history tied to the land is awesome.

 

[Artemus]

John,

Thanks for sharing your personal history in your photos. Something to really be proud of and to sustain and nurture the memory of. Spreading the memory to us is also one way to do that. Thanks! Someday I plan to walk the public ground around there and will certainly revel in knowing some of the history you shared. I choose to avert my eyes, like Vegan, from the animal pictures but fault no one for a subsistence way of life....

 

[Artemus]

BTW, I LOVE the picture of the woman with the horseshoe antlers and the dogs lined up in the snow track, single file.

 

[Tye Dye Twins]

Great capture of the olden days john. as always your pics don't dissapoint and the surprises just keep coming and coming. If you have more, post'em up!

 

[John Goering]

I am a proud PETA member but I also believe in the motto "live and let live" so I will respectfully bow out of this thread. I'm here because I love hiking, backpacking, kayaking, etc. and plan to keep my personal beliefs on animal rights issues to myself because this simply isn't the forum for that. With that said, I hope that members here will keep in mind that the hiking/backpacking community is made up of people from all walks of life and varying political and ethical beliefs and err on the side of respect for all members. I have no issues with anything that was said thus far, just throwing it out there before all the PETA jokes and micro aggression starts rolling in and I have to start looking for a new forum.. which would really break my heart cause this forum is awesome.

Lasty I'd like to sneak in one last comment to John that this a stunningly beautiful property and the family history tied to the land is awesome.

Vegan, I didn't intend that to be a slight-it's just the actuality of ranch life. There would likely be far more people like you if they looked into what happens to get that sanitized package of meat into the cooler at their local grocery store. It's pretty much a complete disconnect from reality. Cognitive dissonance?

When we did run beef, we always saved one critter to eat. All that processing was done at the ranch and, hopefully, with a lot more humane methodology. The herd was loaded on semis in 1998 and other than a lease in 2004 that didn't turn out well, there haven't been any here since.
The upside is there are a lot of plants I didn't know existed on the place when the cattle were here but perhaps some of that is we spend a lot more time hiking the place now that I'm retired.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Vegan, I didn't intend that to be a slight-it's just the actuality of ranch life.

I didn't take anything as a slight John and in retrospect I wish I didn't say anything as I think I jumped a little too quickly to defend PETA (sorry it's my nature.) The attention and focus of this thread should be on your magnificent property and the rich family lineage it signifies. It wasn't my intention to throw the thread off topic but I certainly did, so please accept my apologies as I try to remove my foot from my mouth.

 

[John Goering]

Several from a sheds (antlers) hike last spring.

The house from a few feet above-Middle Cottonwood Creek behind and the sprawling metropolis of Bozeman in front of the Gallatin Range.

Looking into Scafer Creek drainage.

Watts Creek and Bridger Range ridge-Baldy Mountain on right.

A few from the south side of the larger creek (Middle Cottonwood Creek) through the place.
Saddle Peak.

Back on the north side.

Saddle Peak again.

Enough for now-----

 

[Tye Dye Twins]

Already lookin forward to the next round!

 

[Absarokanaut]

Since respectful honestly seems to be the theme of the thread I admit to a love of animal protein but given the inconvenient realities John alludes to quite well I of course respect your convictions Vegan. Don't you ever think of leaving this community.

 

[westerner54]

Very cool. What a beautiful place to come home to. (My husband grew up on a farm/ranch 40 miles northwest of Glendive, and he sure does miss the ranch work. I would have been a bit more amenable to living on the place if it had been in the Bridgers!)

 

[Bob]

Vegan, no problem here. I, as well recognize that there are as many views as there are people. That is what makes this country so diverse. Both sides of any disagreeing viewpoint can be on either side of the coin, aggressor or recipient. That is the beauty of living somewhere you have a choice in beliefs or viewpoints. And no, anyone can/should speak up if a post goes against your thinking. I have been on forums where the only correct view is the posters and all others are wrong. Have not run across that on BPost. Sometimes some get a little 'excited' but Nick calms us down. My thinking the problem occurs when someone harps on things and/or tries to force their viewpoint on another without the realization that this world has a variety of viewpoints. Vegan, John and all, don't quit posting ....

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

I agree with you 100% Bob. I will reply via PM as I feel terrible for derailing this thread so badly. I hope everyone can forgive my temporary bout of melodrama and hope that John is digging through his archives as we speak for more pics to post.