The ranch was the site of many Hollywood movies, including John Wayne's "Rio Grande" and "Rio Conchos," with Stuart Whitman, Richard Boone and Tony Franciosa.

The ranch is also the current home to the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage exhibit, which spotlights, with memorabilia, posters and pictures, the history of the area and the dozens of movies and hundreds of commercials shot in and around the ranch.

Guest or "dude" ranches are nothing new to the modern vacationer. Ranches were opening to paying guests back when Buffalo Bill Cody was still presenting his Wild West Show to the world.

What is new are the amenities that come along with the riding, roping and saddle sores, including swimming pools, hot spas and air-conditioned rooms.

What most of today's Western guests remember, however, is the opportunity to go back to a period in time when cold beans, stale coffee and a horse represented the good life.

For more information visit the Web site at www.redcliffslodge.com or call 435-259-2002.

If you go

A list of Utah dude ranches can be found on the Web at www.travel.utah.gov/news_and_media/Onesheeters/Cowboy.pdf.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com