{"id":16753,"date":"2025-08-26T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dutch-ovens-cowboy-hats-and-biscuits-chuckwagon-dinner-returns-to-la-plata-county\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:01:16","slug":"dutch-ovens-cowboy-hats-and-biscuits-chuckwagon-dinner-returns-to-la-plata-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dutch-ovens-cowboy-hats-and-biscuits-chuckwagon-dinner-returns-to-la-plata-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch ovens, cowboy hats and biscuits: Chuckwagon dinner returns to La Plata County"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Brian
Brian Wright, with the Beracah Ranch Wagon, stirs beef stew on Saturday for the Chuckwagon Rendezvous at LePlatt\u2019s Pond on the historic L-J Ranch near Bayfield. The La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen\u2019s Association hosted the event that showcased five chuckwagons and music by the Timberline Cowboys. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

BAYFIELD \u2013 Canvas awnings stretched over five historical chuckwagons \u2013 the mobile kitchens once used during the days of cattle drives \u2013 stood in a semicircle around the grassy event area of LePlatt\u2019s Pond on the historic L-J Ranch. Participants in cowboy hats, boots and denim cooked over open coals, the smell of campfire smoke wafting through the air.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the ghosts of cowboys past, but a modern imitation.<\/p>\n

Each year, the La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen\u2019s Association hosts the Chuck Wagon Cooking Event, a dinner meant to bring the community together and, as the organization\u2019s secretary, Krii Black, told the crowd of more than 200 guests, \u201ca way to keep tradition alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tradition being celebrated, though, is not without complication. While chuckwagons once served as lifelines for cattle drives after the Civil War, the westward expansion that made them necessary also resulted in the displacement and death of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans, whose own traditions were lost or suppressed in the process.<\/p>\n

\"Peggy
Peggy Russell, with the Durango Cowboy Church chuckwagon, made 14 dozen biscuits on Saturday for the Chuckwagon Rendezvous at LePlatt\u2019s Pond on the historic L-J Ranch near Bayfield. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

What they\u2019\u2019e really celebrating here is the universal tie of being a good neighbor, a good person and an active participant in the community, said Brian Greene, head cook of the El Puchero Wagon and a former rancher in Ignacio.<\/p>\n

Ranching is hard, labor-intensive work that often requires the helping hands of neighbors, he said. During events like branding, Greene and his neighbors would help each other and, keeping with tradition, the chuckwagon would be brought out and cooking would happen all day in tandem with the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way it\u2019s always been,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That close-knit kinship ranchers share \u2013 that\u2019s the most important part of the tradition the cookout is keeping alive, Greene said.<\/p>\n

And that spirit was on display as cooks worked over roaring wood fires, stirring heavy Dutch ovens filled with beef, beans and potatoes, while bread baked in cast iron and a variety of fruit cobblers and crisps bubbled for dessert.<\/p>\n

\"Joe
Joe Magie, with the Canyon Trail Ranch chuckwagon, checks on the cherry cobbler on Saturday during the Chuckwagon Rendezvous at LePlatt\u2019s Pond on the historic L-J Ranch near Bayfield. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Four other wagons took part: Canyon Trails Ranch from Cortez, headed by Rodney Carriker; Beracah Ranch Wagon from Durango, headed by Brian Wright; Rafter 76 from Golden, headed by Monte Deckerd; and the Durango Cowboy Church wagon, headed by Sandy Cooper.<\/p>\n

Each wagon is staffed by a crew of at least four, often family members or longtime friends, who trade soft jabs and laughter as they work.<\/p>\n

A day before the event, the cooks were given a list of ingredients procured by the cattlemen\u2019s association from local food producers and had to come up with a menu on the fly.<\/p>\n

On the day of the cookout, guests from across the community \u2013 not just ranchers \u2013 arrived and browsed each wagon\u2019s menu before choosing where to go when the dinner bell rang at 5 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy work for the diners, but for those cooking, not so much.<\/p>\n

The work is demanding.<\/p>\n

\"Derek
Derek Sanchez, with the Rafter 76 chuckwagon, places another log on the fire as Monte Deckerd walks out to check on the food at the Chuckwagon Rendezvous on Saturday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cEverything out here is either hot, heavy or sharp,\u201d said Deckerd, whose Rafter 76 wagon takes its name from Colorado\u2019s Centennial Statehood in 1876.<\/p>\n

He said about 75% of the people who cook on his wagon for the first time never come back \u2013 though Deckerd is a man who finishes nearly every sentence with a wink, which leads one to question the seriousness of his words.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach wagon\u2019s cooking for 50 or 60 people,\u201d another participant said. \u201cIf you have a dinner party for four or six, you\u2019re pulling your hair out. Imagine doing it for 60, over wood fires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the camaraderie, cooks highlighted the chuckwagon\u2019s historical role. After the Civil War, Texas ranchers had cattle but few markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the Civil War, there were 2 million cows in Texas and only 100,000 people,\u201d one cook said. \u201cRanchers would drive cattle north to Kansas, where they were worth much more. The chuckwagon was created to feed the cowboys on those long journeys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life on the trail was unforgiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough life,\u201d Deckerd said. \u201cThe cooks were always at the end of their career, up at 3:30 in the morning and the last to bed at night. They became cooks because they couldn\u2019t ride anymore, and most of them weren\u2019t very good cooks. But if you had a good cook, you stayed with that outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, participants say, the meals are tastier than anything trail riders once knew, but the spirit of resilience and community remains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this wagon,\u201d Deckerd said, resting a hand on the 120-year-old wood still bearing its original paint. \u201cIt\u2019s such an interesting piece of history to think that people spent three months eating off this wagon out in the middle of the prairie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sandy
Sandy Cooper, left, and Carrie McCauley with the Durango Cowboy Church chuckwagon, make peach-raspberry cobbler Saturday for the Chuckwagon Rendezvous at LePlatt\u2019s Pond on the historic L-J Ranch near Bayfield. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Chuckwagon Rendezvous began more than 20 years ago as a cook-off competition aimed at preserving a Western tradition that was slipping into history.<\/p>\n

The idea was sparked by longtime local veterinarian Harry Baxstrom, who brought it to the cattlemen\u2019s association as a way to celebrate the chuckwagon\u2019s role in ranching life and showcase local food and beef production.<\/p>\n

In its early days, a few locals with chuckwagons stepped forward to cook a meal over an open fire in the traditional manner. Today, chefs from across Colorado regularly attend, each bringing their own take on chuckwagon fare.<\/p>\n

Originally a competition, that element has been set aside in recent years; the focus remains on honoring traditional food preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe consensus you\u2019ll find is most of the guys will say, let\u2019s leave it (noncompetitive),\u201d Greene said. \u201cWe\u2019re having fun. You know, the pressure is off.\u201d<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Five
Five chuckwagons cook on Saturday for the Chuckwagon Rendezvous hosted by the La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen's Association at LePlatt\u2019s Pond on the historic L-J Ranch near Bayfield. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cattlemen’s association hosts 23rd annual community cookout<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,198,714,624],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-history","tag-human-interest","tag-lifestyle-and-leisure"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16753"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20372,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16753\/revisions\/20372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16753"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}