Fifty Miles From Home: Riding The Long Circle On A Nevada Family Ranch

Within the fifty-mile circle of territory over which the Dufurrena family ranch operates--territory ranging from the edges of the barren Black Rock Desert to high, aspen-filled mountain basins--Linda and Carolyn Dufurrena follow the annual cycle of ranch work and the seasonal changes of the surrounding landscape. Life in this remote Nevada backcountry is shaped by the challenges of the austere Great Basin desert around the ranch and by the time-honored skills of generations of ranch families. We witness in Linda Dufurrena's magnificent color photographs the seasons of lambing and cattle drives; the work of cowboys and sheepherders; the animals around the ranch, from orphan lambs to horses to an arrogant rooster; and the close-knit ranch community of the multigenerational Dufurrena family and its hired workers. And around the ranch, in every direction, are vistas of breathtaking beauty as the natural landscape evolves through the seasons, as flowers bloom and storms pass overhead.

Nevada's modern ranches are beset by challenges of many kinds, yet many ranchers, against seemingly impossible odds, are stubbornly clinging to their heritage. Fifty Miles from Home helps to explain their loyalty to this beleagured life style: the joys of several generations of a family sharing work and play, and passing on traditional skills to the younger members; the proud dignity of hard work done well; the daily grace of living surrounded by a landscape of such beauty and magnificence. Linda and Carolyn Dufurrena's paean to Nevada's ranch culture and to the unexpected wonders of the Great Basin landscape will linger indelibly in the memory of every reader who discovers this superb book.

The text is a perfect match for the photographs, conveying the flavor of life on the ranch and the exceptionally close family ties that develop when three generations work together with a common purpose. The reader is left hoping that this very exceptional environment and life style can be maintained in the generations to come; however there is a poignant description of the forces working against this outcome.

This Nevada ranch is a unique spot: the book makes an excellent gift for anyone (particularly western fans) who may not have the opportunity to visit the area in person. Highly recommended.