July newsletter
Summer weather has finally arrived after an unusually wet spring. The horses are enjoying the lush grass, and riders are being treated to the amazing colors of the wildflowers still blooming in the grasslands.

Fishing for Rainbow trout in our pond and nearby lakes has also picked up, with one guest reporting catches of two and three-pounders from the pond.

Sporting clays shooting, which we started this year, has become a popular activity. It's such a lot of fun to hear the cheers and the looks of amazement when first-time shooters start breaking targets.

Country/western singer and musician Arlen Park provides the entertainment for our Saturday night barbecues, much to the delight of our guests – many of whom are visiting from several European countries.

June newsletter
Glorious spring weather capped a wonderful, fun-filled first weekend in June. Conditions were perfect for riding, much to the delight of all of our guests. One group of seven “Okanagan Fillies”, four of whom brought their own horses, found the Coyote Lodge ideal for their weekend getaway.

A second group of seven guys, here for a stag party weekend, were “roughing it” in two of the teepees. Only one of the seven had ridden a horse before, but all of them came back from a ride with smiles on their faces. Later in the day, they accepted another new challenge: sporting clays shooting. It's always a delight to hear the cheers when a target is broken in flight.

The cheers were even louder that night in front of the big screen TV when the Vancouver Canucks won Game 2 against the Boston Bruins in Stanley Cup action. Everybody on the ranch is caught up with Stanley Cup fever.

The warmer weather is also appreciated by those of us who are lured to local waters to fish for those beautiful rainbow trout. This should be a good month for catching the big ones.

April-May newsletter
We had a wonderful time with our guests over the Easter long weekend, and the weather was perfect for riding and shooting sporting clays. The ice on the lakes is starting to disappear quickly, which means we should be able to start fly fishing in the first week of May. Hopefully, the rainbow trout will be eager to attack those flies after the long winter.

Renovations to the bathrooms in Cabins 3 and 4 are complete and they look great. Now that spring has arrived, we can start on a number of other projects on our ranch-improvement list.

Our May-June special has generated a lot of interest and we’re definitely going to be having lots of fun over the May long-weekend (May 21-23).

Newsletter, March 2011
It feels like it has been a long, cold winter here at the Big Bar, so now that the snow has started to melt we’re really looking forward to spring. The horses are especially happy that they can start nibbling away at the grass as the snow recedes.

The warmer weather and longer days are also welcome as we prepare the ranch and horses for the fast-approaching guest season. This is also calving time for area ranchers, whose ranch hands and cowboys can find themselves working long hours.

Our spring special is attracting interest and we’re anticipating lots of getaway bookings in May and early June when Mother Nature treats us with the wonders of springtime. The colourful wildflowers, fresh scents from the grasslands and forests, wildlife newborns, chirps of returning and nesting birds – so much to rejuvenate body and soul.

Newsletter, February 2011
SNOW ARRIVED LATE in December, but when it came, it came in abundance. It was a winter wonderland for a few weeks, but warm winds from the southwest at the end of January whipped away much of the snowpack. Winter is still far from over, so there is full expectation that temperatures will drop again and we’ll see more snow. Our horses are in no hurry to start shedding their thick, long coats.

A good indicator that spring can’t be too far away is the number of enquiries we are receiving every day from people planning their spring and summer getaways. We’re anticipating another exciting year in our slice of cowboy country.

Plans for the coming year include starting sporting clays shooting. We added archery and target shooting to our activities last year, and their popularity led us to thinking about adding clay target shooting this year.

All of us are looking forward to making sure our guests have lots of fun and that every day offers excitement and challenges. We’re ready to saddle up.