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HAWLEY MOUNTAIN
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HAWLEY MOUNTAIN
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January 16, 2009The barn is fully enclosed and wired. We are not traveling up to the ranch much now as there are big snowdrifts. Snow pack is above normal again for this time of year. We love the moisture. Bought a used snowmobile for traveling to the ranch in winter. Took it up to the mines and got a real start of an education on operating it on side slopes in deep powder.
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We had a fabulous week!! It was more than we expected. We LOVED the staff and the other guests. Everyone was friendly, kind, patient, and fun. We loved the food, absolutely loved the view, and totally enjoyed the horses and riding. What more could you ask for? We will definitely be back, sooner better than later.
John and Joni Howlett What an incredibly beautiful place! Thank you for sharing your storybook river with us. I can only say it took us 80 years to find you! It has been one of the best weeks of our lives.
Tom and Michaela Thompson After a year in the US, I found you and this incredible place. It’ll be one of the best memories for me. Your hospitality was outstanding, and I felt at home from the first moment. Thanks for everything.
Oliver Galach If God didn’t create these mountains, then I don’t know who did! It has been a magical week that went by too fast. All of you made us feel so welcome and a part of your lovely family. Many thanks.
The Leonard family This has been an incredible week—experiences that are almost indescribable. The wonderful mountains, the scenery, the horses, and the wonderful mountain air! But, more than anything, the best of it all has been the people. We can’t wait to return!
Mike and Diane Petras Aside from being one of the most wonderful vacations we have ever had, our stay at your ranch exposed us to an entirely new way of life and amazing people. We also enjoyed our “co-vacationers.” Your staff was super and always fun. Thanks for everything.
Kevin and Jackie Timmons We have always wanted to experience Montana, and our week at Hawley Mountain was more than we could ever have expected. We will take a piece of the West back with us in our memories. Thank you for a vacation of a lifetime!
Ronnie and Gwen Whisnant What a fabulous, awesome time! I could never have imagined how great a week could be. The entire staff became family. I will miss the place, the people, and the new friends I met.
Charlene Rereira We both would like to tell you a very big MERCI!! Thanks you so much for your hospitality, for being a part of your family, for being welcomed as friends. For the unforgettable moments during riding, at the river, going to the look-out, or at the cook-out!! Thank you for your natural friendship, your histories, your kindness and laughter, for sharing all with us. You are very lucky people to own and/or work in such a beautiful place, to wake up every morning with this marvelous wilderness around you. But you know that, and that is why you take care of this special place.
Babette Schily and Eric Dupont Wow! What a life you LIVE here! It’s so spectacular and amazing, just like the people here. The passion for the lifestyle comes across with every part of this experience. We will see you again!
The Voellinger family I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! This is just like I imagine heaven to be. Everyone was so friendly, helpful, and supportive. To me I fulfilled a dream that I had had for some time. Not knowing if I was fit enough to do it but very proud that with your help and wonderful teaching, I was able to achieve this. I felt like part of a big family. I will never forget all of you and Hawley Ranch. Thank you all so much.
Rita Smalley
Here are a few of the comments sent to us by our 2007 guests:
Some of the comments sent to us by our 2006 guests are as follows:
Kelley Galambos and family ATLANTA, GA
Bridgette Lonergan JACKSONVILLE, IL And comments from the rest of her family were...we had a wonderful time at the ranch. I have heard from most of the people that were on the ranch and it sounds like they also had as good a time as we did. The kids are begging me to go back next year. You are all close to top of mind awareness. Thanks again for the wonderful time we had there. It was the best vacation we have ever had.
The Louder family CROFTON, MD
Bob and Yasmina Manning BOSTON, MA
Mike and Brenda Nelson, Bryce and Lucas NEENAH, WI
The Trinkle family ROANOKE, VA
A huge thank you is in order for the card you posted to Casey and Jake with JaHaa and Cinnabar's mane cuttings enclosed. What a wonderful surprise when we opened it! The kids were absolutely thrilled. It was just one more check mark that went into the "over and above expectations" column if we were ever to fill out a survey on Hawley Mountain Ranch. As the weeks pass, our time spent with you doesn't seem to diminish, in fact, we are more eager to do a return visit.
The Cogar Family
Some of the comments guests sent to us in letters and emails from 2005 follow: Oh, my gosh! I was reading the Hawley Mountain website, and it made me think. What you said you would try to offer all happened! I have so many memories that I never want to forget!- Megan, INDIANA Our visit to Hawley Ranch exceeded our expectations. We had a wonderful week, and not one of us wanted to come back home. Ah, if life could be so good all of the time. It really was the perfect getaway from city living. We were treated so well by you and everyone who works at the ranch. I could go on and on singing praises about the magical week we spent and Hawley Mountain Ranch. -Mario, PA What a wonderful week we had! You made us feel so comfortable and truly spoiled us. What a wonderful adventure! Everything was perfect. Your ranch is such a beautiful slice of heaven in the wilderness. After the hustle and bustle of the city, we really needed a little wilderness in our lives. We miss sitting on the rock in the morning with a cup of coffee, riding horses, hiking, the delicious food, and fishing. I still can’t believe I caught that giant fish!- Christine, PA What a fantastic vacation you gave us. Everyone was so gracious. We realize how much work it requires to entertain that many people, and you guys made it look so simple. Thank you for showing us how to work our horses more. We loved the trail rides!- Denny and Kathy, NC If I had to choose one word to describe you all, it would be “comfortable” because that is how you made us feel. I could not have hoped for a better time this week. Thanks you all for making this a wonderful vacation for us!- Greg and Robin, TX We had a great time, as Hawley Mountain was everything we were looking for. The food was superb. The horseback riding, scenery, rafting trip, “Old Blue” trip, and everything else we did, we thoroughly enjoyed. Most of all was all of you and your help, and the way you catered to us and everyone there. You are top notch when it comes to your relations to your guests. Thanks again for the wonderful experience.- Dennis and Deb, MN It was by far the best vacation we have taken as a family. What a beautiful place to get away from the stress of everyday life. Great fishing, excellent food, friendly staff and patient wranglers all combined to make our week unforgettable. The highlights for me were the 4x4 trip to Blue Lake and the ride to Meatrack. The girls fell in love with their horses, and tears were shed when they had to say goodbye. You really made us feel at home, as well as the other guests. We made a lot of new friends.- Greg and Tanya, VT Thank you so much for your hospitality—and that of the staff—during our stay last week. I think we all agree it was the best vacation we ever had. Just last night we were going through our photos and enjoying the memories.- Dave, Tasha, and Erin, VA It’s been a little over a year when we were at your Dude Ranch, and I am sitting here thinking about and missing “your mountains!” I can remember vividly the smell of the sage and the pine trees and when I go outside of my house—pine trees line the back of our yard—it brings back great memories of our time there.- Barbara-NJ We wanted you to know how much we appreciated our time here and all the efforts from everyone involved that made our vacation memorable and unforgettable. We have loved the activities, and the lack of TV or radio has enhanced the experience. We both feel you have been blessed with an incredible location, but also the best staff. ……have managed to make each guest feel welcome and special…..created a wonderful place, have an exceptional staff, and everything here is a testament to hard-work, dedication, and love.- Paul and Sandy, Somerset, UK Below are some comments received from guests during the 2004 season:
“What an awesome vacation! Spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife, good weather, and “too good” food. Everyone at Hawley Mountain was so client oriented. When we decided not to ride in the rain one morning, we were surprised to find Steve and Meredith knocking on our door a little later. The weather had turned nice, and they came to see if we would like to ride. Talk about customer service!”
“We wanted to tell you what a sensational time we had at the ranch. From the first to the last day, I can truly say it was an experience of a life time. For a city slicker to ride a horse for the first time in 30 years that in itself was a miracle, but to not even be sore is miracle number two. Accommodations over the lodge were “A” plus with a view of Mother Nature at her best. All our meals were delicious and always ready on time. Everyone who was there was friendly and always going out of their way to make our stay unforgettable. I told Jerry for the first time in years I truly felt like I had a vacation. We will definitely try to come back and visit again.” “Thanks you so much for a wonderful experience at your ranch in June. We had a fantastic time and only wish we could have stayed longer. The accommodation, location, and hospitality could not have been better. We definitely intend to return in the future, hopefully sometime soon….” “We wanted to say thanks to you for an excellent family vacation last month. As I mentioned to you on the day we left, it was the best vacation that our family has ever taken—and we have traveled to a lot of places. My kids both miss the ranch. Alissa especially misses her horse (Joe) and her adopted dog (Spencer), but is now pen-pals with the other girls she met there. Thanks for your “western hospitality”. We had a great time and look forward to coming back again.” “We all woke up early this morning wishing we were still there breathing that wonderful mountain air. I can’t say thank-you enough for the hospitality you all showed my family and myself through one of the best weeks of our lives. Special thanks to Steve and Kyle for making the riding experience fun and exciting. We didn’t know what to expect when we got there, but thanks to the wranglers, we are all very comfortable on the back of a horse and hope to continue riding here at home. Thanks to Bryant for the fishing guidance and also teaching the kids. I know Rachael will never forget that whale she caught in the pond! It was great to make new friends with the other guests. I know it made it a lot more fun especially for our kids who had a blast with all the other kids there. We miss you all. Finally, I had been wanting to explore Montana since I was a little boy. It took me forty-two years to finally make it and it was well worth the wait. I can’t wait to get back!” Communications with former guests are on-going, and most have plans to return at sometime in the near future. We at Hawley Mountain Ranch will do our best to make their vacation wilderness stay with us enjoyable and memorable, and we would like to do the same for you.
These are kind words received from our newly acquired friends from Scotland who visited our ranch this summer: Well, it's back home again after the best vacation ever! Yellowstone was magnificent, the people of Montana were, as usual, friendly, very welcoming, and helpful, and as for the Hawley Mountain Ranch, well, words fail us. We came on this vacation with high expectations, and they were exceeded in every department. We would like to thank you, Ron and Phyllis and Bryant and Ellen, for letting us share your little bit of heaven in the Beartooth Absaroka Wilderness. Your kindness, courtesy, and professionalism just made it perfect. Thanks must go to Steve for getting us ready to ride, rattling our bones in the magnificent trip to Independence-we really did enjoy digging out the truck. It makes the trip even more unforgettable-and for the 4th of July pyrotechnics, all done with a smile and in that inimitable western manner. The wranglers, Kyle, Lauren, and Shelby, made all the rides special, and a special thanks to Shelby on the Friday rides for the extra effort shown to Marion. The ride through the river could be her highlight of the week. To Sue, Megan, and Kristen, how you kept the place so clean, it's a miracle---especially our mess! And…to Tim, not only for the absolutely wonderful food (we may never eat again), but for the entertaining music, conversations, and a glimpse of a truly unique lifestyle-complete with a hot tub!! Also of course we must thank the other guests, Debi, Bill, Jessica, Mikey and Charles, Mollie, Dale, and Mary-Kate, and last but not least, Carolyn and Tom. Your friendly company added greatly to the pleasure of our stay. Please give a carrot to Buster and Cinnabar for their patience. Hope to see you all again. Best wishes from Marion and Duncan -----Yee-Ha!!!!
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