After a long evening at the Flying W Ranch, I noticed several things:

The ladies at the “authentic” dude ranch were all texting.
Yes, to get the complete overall feel of the old west everyone was playing with iPhones.

At an “authentic” $20 a person, they do quite well.
Let me do the math: 100 tables x 8 per table x $20 per person = $16,000 not bad for a 4 hour show.

The “authentic” gift shops were eclectic.
It is difficult to paint the full picture. Horse hair jewelry, Stenton cowboy hats, and rhinestone belts. Nothing screams dude ranch like trinkets.

The “authentic” find of the day.
You know it is a great gift for your wife, when you doubt the airport security will let you take it past the first checkpoint.

The “authentic” western band was actually really, really good.
I had my doubts going into it, but the band was very entertaining and kept the audience engaged. It reminded me of an episode of Hee Haw. Ladies and Gentleman, Conway Twitty.

The “authentic” cowboy that served beef, is also a top fiddle player.
The guy that asked me if I wanted chicken or beef, really ripped it up on the stage.

My “authentic” Sony camera’s battery died.
I only brought that camera to Colorado to get a picture of singing cowboys. And of course to conserve luggage space, I did not bring a charger.