The best way to describe what it's like to spend time at Aspen Springs Ranch is to listen to people who have visited.

The Weston Country Farm Services Agency representative who visited the building site of the trout pond said: "This is the prettiest property in Weston County." Aspen Springs Ranch sits along an east/west ridge at nearly 6000 feet elevation. Ponderosa pines cover the ridge that falls off on both sides to mountain meadows. On the north slopes one finds numerous aspen groves. The views along the ridge are awesome. To the north one can view the Bear Lodge Mountains some 30 miles away. To the east one views red clay/white topped buttes that melt into the Black Hills. To the south are the distinctive flat ridges of the high desert past Newcastle. On a clear day the Big Horn Mountains some 100 miles to the west are in view.

A deer bow hunter made the following comment: "Watching two huge bull elk walk under my tree stand was an unbelievable sight." Elk are around but stay out of sight of the casual observer. The mule deer is in abundance during the summer season but give way to the whitetail in November. Sightings of wild turkey flocks are a common occurrence and their most feared predator, the coyote, are sighted on occasions. Antelope have been seen on the property but they are a more common sight in the open fields close by the ranch.

A lady from England who stayed at the ranch while visiting the Black Hills and who went on to see Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks said " the national parks were beautiful but the highlight of the trip was watching the roundup of cattle on the ranch and just rocking in a chair on the cabin deck." All the young children who have visited the ranch have enjoyed being close to the cows and their calves.

My brother's teenage granddaughter stated that the days she spent at the ranch with her cousins at the family reunion "was the best time she has ever had." Family reunions have been a very popular event. There are lots of things for the children to do including swinging on dual tree swings, bean bags, horseshoes, croquet matches or just sitting around the open air fire at nights laughing and talking. Also, there are lots of open spaces for hiking and riding on the six-wheeler John Deere gator. The adults enjoy the quietness and beauty of the place, the hammock, the sunsets and the barbecue.

A friend from Spearfish says that the most coveted invitation "is to the annual triathlon held at Aspen Springs Ranch each Labor Day." An intense day of bean bag throwing, horse shoes and bolles games makes for a day of laughs and good times. The champion male and female winners are presented blue ribbons. For the less athletic, Mahjong is the activity of choice. In between, a potluck of burgers, brats, salads and many, many desserts is enjoyed.

Friends from L.A. came out for a week of winter fun. The wife was concerned "that she wasn't going to get her husband off the snowmobile." One can ride the trails of Aspen Springs Ranch all morning without riding the same trail, then have lunch at the cabin, and go again in the afternoon. Snowmobiles are stored at the steel shed at the beginning of the property and with help of the trailing sled; supplies for the stay are carried to the cabin. A great sledding hill is below the cabin down by the trout pond. However, our grandchildren might enjoy being pulled up the hill with the snowmobile as much as the trip down. For the more energetic, cross country skiing and snow shoeing are other activities that can be enjoyed. There is nothing more serene then enjoying the new fallen snow at a mountain hideaway.

When I'm at Aspen Springs Ranch by myself, I know I'm alone with the spirit of all those who enjoyed the land long before General Custer and the Seventh Calvary turned east at Inyan Kara Mountain (one mile north of Aspen Springs Ranch) and rode into the Black Hills to discover gold.