Russ and Marian Wolfe started the Flying W Chuckwagon in 1953. During the summer, people would come out from town to ride horses over the extensive ranch lands with Russ Wolfe ramrodding the outings. Some evenings, the group would be small enough for Marian to invite the riders to share in a "potluck." Russ and Marian decided to make the affair a regular event - a scenic horseback ride followed by a home-cooked meal under the stars around an open camp fire. In 1953, with 11 paying guests, at $3.00 each, their Chuckwagon dream was born. at Flying W show at the Flying WOver time, brick by brick, Russ and Marian built the unique and diverse Western Village. Eventually consisting of 29 structures, including the Church, Jail, School House, Taos Pueblo, Printing Press, Kiva, Library, Drug Store, Homestead, Ute Theater, Train Depot, and more. All of these structures were built or transferred to the ranch. Navajo rug weavers, rodeos, silversmiths, ranch animals, Dutch-oven biscuits, and other forms of old west demonstrations made the venue peerless. Until the Waldo Canyon Fire in 2012, beginning the first weekend in October, meals and entertainment moved indoors to the Winter Steakhouse, which was originally the Ute Theatre in Colorado Springs. The building was dismantled after it closed in 1968 and moved to a new location at the Flying W where it was rebuilt as a steakhouse. Shows were performed in the Winter Steakhouse from October through the third weekend in December, and again from early March through mid May. The Picketwire Bar, named for the Purgatoire River was built in the 1880s and moved to the ranch in 1969. A typical evening at the Flying W starts with guests arriving at 5:00pm, with activities around the ranch until supper. Activities include Navajo Rug Weavers, horseshoeing, dutch oven demonstrations, a narrow-gauge railroad, gunfights, and ranch animals. Supper consists of a three-course meal for all guests, the main choices being smoked brisket or smoked turkey. Since reopening in 2020, the Flying W also offers vegetarian and gluten-free meals. Each night, supper is followed by the cowboy singing of the Flying W Wranglers. The Flying W Chuckwagon is part of the Chuckwagon Association of the West, which consists of five other member chuckwagons located in Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico, Missouri, and Colorado, all of which featured traditional chuck-wagon cooking, followed by professional-quality after-supper entertainment of comedy and western songs. The Flying W Ranch was destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire on June 26, 2012. The owners have committed to rebuilding it and portions the ranch reopened July 10, 2020. The General Manager at the time, Jay Chladek, had his wedding and reception June 22, 2012, and left for his honeymoon the morning of the evacuation. He was still on his honeymoon when the Flying W Ranch was destroyed by the fire. He worked for the Flying W Ranch for almost 27 years. The final event at the location was a wedding in the Old Chapel on Saturday June 23, 2012, the day the fire started. The wedding party and guests were evacuated by police immediately following the service as staff and employees rushed to save as many artifacts as possible. On June 29, 2019 ground was broken on a new 8000 square foot event facility that will seat 900. Also on tap will be a donkey barn, animal activities, and garden areas, among other amenities.
Flying W Wranglers
Through the years, over 60 individuals have been a part of the Flying W Wranglers, with several of them performing for the Ranch for well over 30 years. The Flying W Wranglers have been a part of the ranch's traditional entertainment since 1953, making them the world's second oldest western singing group in the world. Made up of working cowboys on the Flying W Ranch, the members have participated in branding in the fall, as well as all other duties of farm-and-ranch life. Their three-part-harmonies of time-honored tunes of the open range, high quality instrumentation, and clean bunkhouse humor have delighted over seven million people from around the world. In addition to performing at the Ranch, they performed in USO tours in Vietnam during the war, at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, in London, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Flying W Wranglers have been staged in local and national television commercials, have performed with several world-class symphonies, have sung in major sporting events, and have won a wide variety of musical awards. Given the deep legacy, for the re-birth of the Ranch post Waldo Canyon fire, over 300 musicians and entertainers were auditioned. Beginning in 2020, the first female Flying W Wrangler in the history of the ranch became part of the show.
Flying W Foundation
Following the destruction of the Flying W Ranch and 346 homes within the neighboring community of Mountain Shadows, the Flying W Ranch Foundation was formed. The Flying W Ranch Foundation is a non-profit 501 organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their purpose and mission is to restore and mitigate the Waldo Canyon burn area, preserve the history of the Old West, and be a blessing to the community. The Foundation does work such as:
Installing log erosion control structures to stabilize hill slopes and drainages prone to flood events
Planting seed and spreading mulch over acres of burned terrain
Planting saplings to jumpstart the restoration of the forest
With the help of other non-profit organizations, government agencies and countless volunteers, the Flying W Ranch Foundation is working to bring natural beauty back to the hill slopes of Colorado Springs, educating members of our community, as well as insuring safe drinking water.
