An English country girl in California: Butch Cassidy and modern-day heroes

Hidden in the rolling hills near the Absaroka mountains, deep in a ravine with steep cliffs rising above and pine trees shading the nearby stream, is a low wooden cabin. Tumbledown and choked with pine needles, it was once home to one of the most famous outlaws of all time, Butch Cassidy himself. He grew up in Dubois, Wyoming, and knew the valleys and hills around the Bitterroot Ranch as his own backyard. It was here that he rested after his latest audacious bank robbery or train holdup, galloping many hundreds of miles on relays of horses, then hobbling his mounts in the concealed meadow just yards away and posting lookouts on the rocks. The view to the Wind River Mountains has hardly changed since he lived here in the late 19^th century, before his headlong rush south to his (supposed) death in Bolivia in 1908. Some people here affirm that the tales of his dramatic demise are false and that he returned to Dubois to live out his retirement in peace, supported by the many friends he made during his Robin Hood-life. Stories abound of his generosity and kindness, from riding 30 miles during a thunderstorm to fetch a doctor to distributing much of his ill-gotten gains to less fortunate folk. I certainly like to think he returned to the Wind River Valley.

DJ checks out Butch Cassidy's cabin. The door has been filled up

with pine needles over the years, but it was never very high.

This was a hideout, not a house!

Bayard and Mel Fox had long known of Butch Cassidy’s presence here, but it was many years before they discovered the cabin. One winter, searching on foot in a blizzard, they looked round ‘one more corner’ and finally found it. Ever since, the journey in Butch’s footsteps has formed the highlight of the week’s guest rides, through Ambush Canyon to his lookout, down the steep track of his backdoor and through the trees to the meadow, then deep into the ravine where his cabin is as well hidden today as it ever was.

The meadow where Butch Cassidy grazed his horses

Butch may be gone for more than 100 years, but the people who live here today are every bit as romantic. Bayard Fox, the kindly patriarch of the Bitterroot and an extremely young 84, still leads rides on his raking bay, Absaroka, telling the stories of how he was chased by the buffalo he used to own, the plane crash he survived near the ranch and the mountain lion he surprised at a kill during a ride. In his youth, he worked for the CIA and modelled for De Beers diamonds (a black-and-white photograph of those days stands on the piano and stops guests in their tracks en route to the dining room). He speaks several languages and is an expert fly-fisherman – he’s currently trying to improve my abysmal technique with increasingly tested patience. For stories of his life in his own words, visit Tales of the Bitterroot - definitely worth a read.

Bayard Fox and Absaroka at Butch Cassidy's lookout point.

The landscape is just the same as it was in Butch's day.

His English wife, Mel, who grew up in Africa, now leads the cross-country jumping with elegance on her beloved Arabians and heads the breeding programme that this year saw five fine Arab foals born in June. She hunted in Ireland with Aidan O'Connell, whom I have mentioned in previous tales, and I love swapping hunting stories with her. Son Richard and his wife Hadley, who are followed everywhere by a brace of poodles, complete the family on the ranch. Richard leads the pack trips on his giant strawberry-roan Gannet and is apparently a force to be reckoned with in the round-up. Female (and male) guests go misty-eyed when telling of how he once galloped up and down after an uncooperative cow, charging over the sage with a flair that John Wayne would envy. North Carolina-born Hadley, whom Richard met on holiday in Kenya and tempted away from a career that was to be very different from the hard work of a ranch, rides beautifully, drawing on a showjumping background to start and train the young horses with grace and patience.

Richard says farewell to Hadley and poodle Penny before a pack trip

Hadley aboard Iringa, a just-started four-year-old on his first trail ride

The rest of the team include the wranglers – long-legged Chilly Nickerson who can ride anything, Megan Barrett of the brilliantly dry sense of humour and Hannah White, who makes me laugh all the time and is a communications whizkid as well as elegant on a horse. They are all equine experts and are a constant inspiration. Two other wranglers sadly left at the end of August, Alex Soltero, whose warmth and friendliness did so much to make me feel at home, and bubbly fellow English girl Elise Talbott. In the lodge, cabin girls Brenna Beck, Caelia Wysocki (known as Bubbles), Lisa Skoghem, Sophie Jakkali and Audrey Hering keep everything spick and span and everyone entertained, cooks Megan Beamer and Julia Reed (whose husband Colby sadly left a couple of weeks ago) feed us far too well, and, outside, the maintenance guys Clem Fuxjager, Joe Crutcher and James Montgomery keep fences built, irrigation channels running smoothly and provide an attractive view for all the girls. Brenna of the gorgeous smile can turn her hand to anything, from pack trips to cocktail hour, Caelia is never happier than when she’s with old fluffy Arab Destiny (otherwise known as The Unicorn), Swedish Lisa gives a superb massage, sweet-faced French Sophie is eternally funny and cheerful, and beautiful blond Audrey has a wonderful way with words, even at 7am. Megan keeps the entertainment coming (next up, the Beer Olympics) and Julia is a southern belle who is a dab hand at team sorting. Clem (who came to replace much-missed Steve Drosdick) is a Swiss charmer and looks terrific in shorts, Joe is kind and handsome and a terrific quad-bike driver (the reason why I had to hang onto the back of his four-wheeler will be told in the next instalment), and James is both gorgeous and heroic – previous excursions before coming here included helping the relief effort in Haiti after the 2010 hurricane. He's also not bad with a rope - again, look out for the next Wyoming tale!

For a flavour of Bitterroot life, there are lots more pictures below...

Bitterroot girls (I wasn't concentrating!) at Trapper's Cabin,

the oldest building on the ranch

The human population is continually entertained and comforted by the animal residents, apart from the horses. Besides Mel’s haughty llamas and assorted sheep, peacocks, turkeys, ducks and chickens, there is elegant wolfhound Seline and noble deerhound Kuma, Bayard’s eternally loyal fox-red labrador Mango and the poodles Whistles and Penny. The latter is the perfect size and softness to curl up on a lap and competition is fierce for her affections. I’ve never been a fan of poodles, but these two are proper dogs, tough and adorable at once. A convivial hour or two in the kitchen with a plate of lamb chops, a bottle of cider or Coots beer, Bayard singing Home on the Range and Penny on my lap is a pretty perfect way to spend an evening. The Bitterroot family is a very happy one!