I came across an article in the May 2006 issue of Western Interiors, titled "The Brokaws Montana." Tom and Meredith Brokaw summed up their feelings about their life in Montana after living in New York City, with many of the same feelings Papa and I have about our life on Winchester Ranch.
A few excerpts:
Tom Brokow, "Throughout our long, happy life together I have always trusted her (Meredith) judgment and tried to accomodate her wishes... our western life has been the perfect complement to the hurly-burly pace of New York.
Whenever we approach our ranch on a long, winding gravel road... our hearts skip a beat as the vast grassland, the mountains, and a sky full of birds come into view. It never fails to be a humbling experience.
That perspective, that here nature rules is a constant during our time in Montana. We mark our days by the bison calving season, the summer storms that nourish the grass...and the sightings of bear or mountain lion. When night comes late in the day, the big, black sky explodes into a panorama of stars and constellations, a great arc of light that is the only illumination as far as we can see...
It's a privilege to be a small part of this great American landscape."
Meredith Brokaw, "The ranch is on a dirt road, well known for its washboard bumpiness, seventeen miles from the nearest town. By the end of that first day on the ranch, I knew that owning the ranch would turn into a love story, and it has. We soon discovered that this wasn't just a place to inhabit; it was a world of its own and a way of life.
It seemed odd to use the word neighborhood to describe an area where the houses aren't within sight or even walking distance of one another. When you live in a remote place, you're maybe even more drawn to company, and because meetings are less frequent, each becomes something of a celebration. Hospitality takes on a new meaning when someone drives forty miles to have dinner at your house, never mind just to stop by and say hello.
We also brought our world to Montana. The ranch has proved to be a great gathering place for our three daughters and their families... Like most of America, we no longer all live in the same town or even in the same state. We keep track of one another's major life events, but we don't see one another regularly. The ranch became our remedy, Ranch Camp, a loosely organized and usually rather chaotic event that every two years brings together as many of us as possible for a three or four day reunion...
The horizon seems endless... and you can spot different weather patterns all going on at the same moment. On a clear night, with no ambient light from any towns and at our elevation of 5,500 feet, the Milky Way appears to be a wide, white ribbon stretched out overhead. You can almost touch the Big Dipper... The universe feels so alive with shooting stars and orbiting satellites and an ever-changing moon..."
A few excerpts:
Tom Brokow, "Throughout our long, happy life together I have always trusted her (Meredith) judgment and tried to accomodate her wishes... our western life has been the perfect complement to the hurly-burly pace of New York.
Whenever we approach our ranch on a long, winding gravel road... our hearts skip a beat as the vast grassland, the mountains, and a sky full of birds come into view. It never fails to be a humbling experience.
That perspective, that here nature rules is a constant during our time in Montana. We mark our days by the bison calving season, the summer storms that nourish the grass...and the sightings of bear or mountain lion. When night comes late in the day, the big, black sky explodes into a panorama of stars and constellations, a great arc of light that is the only illumination as far as we can see...
It's a privilege to be a small part of this great American landscape."
Meredith Brokaw, "The ranch is on a dirt road, well known for its washboard bumpiness, seventeen miles from the nearest town. By the end of that first day on the ranch, I knew that owning the ranch would turn into a love story, and it has. We soon discovered that this wasn't just a place to inhabit; it was a world of its own and a way of life.
It seemed odd to use the word neighborhood to describe an area where the houses aren't within sight or even walking distance of one another. When you live in a remote place, you're maybe even more drawn to company, and because meetings are less frequent, each becomes something of a celebration. Hospitality takes on a new meaning when someone drives forty miles to have dinner at your house, never mind just to stop by and say hello.
We also brought our world to Montana. The ranch has proved to be a great gathering place for our three daughters and their families... Like most of America, we no longer all live in the same town or even in the same state. We keep track of one another's major life events, but we don't see one another regularly. The ranch became our remedy, Ranch Camp, a loosely organized and usually rather chaotic event that every two years brings together as many of us as possible for a three or four day reunion...
The horizon seems endless... and you can spot different weather patterns all going on at the same moment. On a clear night, with no ambient light from any towns and at our elevation of 5,500 feet, the Milky Way appears to be a wide, white ribbon stretched out overhead. You can almost touch the Big Dipper... The universe feels so alive with shooting stars and orbiting satellites and an ever-changing moon..."
