When we asked our host Kathy where we should fire our arrows, she pointed at the collection of foam targets in the front yard. “Just don’t shoot at the milk cow. Or the baby deer that lives there too. They’re best friends.”
Wait what? You have a baby deer living in your front yard. What kind of place is this?
The second day of our “no plans” road trip through eastern WA found us following the suggestions of locals to the K Diamond K Ranch a few miles outside Republic, WA.
Annabelle Blackmer of Spokane helps Ian feed Felina the baby deer.
The main K Diamond K lodge was built using timber from the property over a period of seven years.
This family run ranch has roughly 60 head of cattle and 60 horses in a gorgeous valley that stretches a mile in any direction. The massive log beams that construct the lodge were assembled over a period of seven years with trees harvested from the property. It is both enormous and homey, with rustic cowboy touches everywhere you look.
Archery was just one of a host of activities that were included in our stay.
You know that episode of South Park where Cartman goes to Casa Bonita and he freaks out because he can’t decide what activity to do next? This place is like that.
Horseback riding! Gold panning! Target shooting! There’s a petting zoo! A cave to explore! A trampoline! And you want me to help you feed the baby deer? OK!
Cowboy boots line the hallways and hats are scattered throughout the lodge, so within minutes of your arrival, you don a cowboy or girl outfit to feel the part. Staff organize activities by day and stoke fires at night.
The ranch evolved over the decades starting in 1961 when Kathy’s parents bought it. Any tree of value had been cut and the stream was overgrown and marshy because of the beavers, she tells us. Now thousands of acres of ponderosa pines and larches at the height of their fall transformation surround the ranch.
The guesthouse started when the family hung a sign on the side of the road, and the kids rented out their bedrooms. It now offers 15 suites, a giant dining hall, a saloon and miles of outdoor space in which to play.
Rounding up the horses for the day
For kids, this place is amazing. What kid doesn’t love animals? And everywhere you look, some critter is cruising around. Coyotes howl at night, wild turkeys roam the grounds at dawn, bunnies hop through the parking lot, and yes the milk cow and the baby deer really are best friends.
An on-site petting zoo included a calf, goats, pigs, chickens, sheep, turkey, ducks and a host of other creatures wandering around the property
There’s always a lot to do on a working ranch and when you’re out with staff, they’ll ask you to pitch in – doing little things like opening and closing gates, feeding animals and saddling your horse. It makes you feel less like a tourist and more like a friend, embracing the country can-do-it way of life.
We met ten-year-old Peter Blackmer from Spokane who came to the ranch not really liking horses and left wanting to take a horse home with him at the end of his stay.
Saddle up your horses – literally. Guests can help wranglers move livestock and help out with chores around the ranch.
The K Diamond K guest ranch is open year round. Every season has an activity says Kathy. In the winter we pull sleds behind snowmobiles and have sleigh rides, plus there’s a hundred miles of snowmobile trails around the ranch, she says. In the summer you can float the stream in inner tubes, take part in cattle drives and you can always help out in the veterinarian clinic on the property.
This time of year, all-inclusive stays (including meals and activities) run about $150 per person/night which we thought was a terrific value.
www.kdiamondk.com