THE BAR D CHUCKWAGON EXPERIENCE Legendary Chuckwagon Supper & Western Show

by Billy Grimes

One of Durango’s truly unique experiences awaits you just a short ninemile drive up Hwy 550 in the scenic north Animas River Valley. Along with Mesa Verde National Park and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway, no visit to Durango is complete without a trip to the Bar D Chuckwagon.

We arrived on a late summer evening and the cliffs of Missionary Ridge that serve as a backdrop for the Bar D compound were glowing in the setting sunlight. Nestled in the woods at the base of the ridge, the grounds were much larger than I expected, allowing for a wedding chapel, train ride, shops for art, leather goods, and snacks as well as a shooting range, playground, and blacksmith shop.

As we walked from the ample parking area toward the center of the establishment, the small, open-air train was just leaving the depot, full of families and kids aboard for the short ride around the beautiful premises. The 50-acre property was developed by three friends who moved to Durango from Colorado Springs in 1966. Cy Scarborough, Jim Blanton and Roy

“Buck” Teeter had worked at the Flying W Chuckwagon and wanted to branch out on their own and opened Bar D in 1969.

Chuckwagons originally followed cowboys on cattle drives as a mobile kitchen providing meals for the hungry trail drivers. After dinner, the cowboys would gather around the campfire and sing songs and tell stories. Bar D tries to capture some of that experience sans the campfires. The biggest years for entertainment-based chuckwagons were back in the 1970s. In recent years, they dwindled from eight to just a few.

The centerpiece of the Bar D experience is the dining area and stage where the Bar D Wranglers perform. I noticed the enormous retractable cover (pulled back the night we went). I was told it was designed by Cy Scarborough and custom-made for inclement weather that can arrive quickly in the mountains.

The supper bell rang at 6:30 and the milling guests were directed to form orderly lines for the meal to be served. The Wranglers and shopkeepers, all dressed in Western garb, served up our metal camp- style plates with baked potatoes, beans, applesauce, biscuits, and spice cake. The choice of barbeque chicken or steak must be made ahead of time.

We sat at assigned picnic tables and the servers kept our glasses full of lemonade, water, or coffee. The food was hearty and delicious, and the well-organized flow of the meal was impressive. Visitors from out of state were recognized and applauded. There was a couple behind us from Japan. We were told that it’s mostly families and kids who come during the summer months, and an older crowd arrives in the fall.

As the dinner dishes were cleared and the evening faded, the lights on the stage came up and the Bar D Wranglers launched into their show. Hailing from small towns like Chugwater, Wyoming and Muleshoe, Texas, the Wranglers are an outstanding collection of talent.

Gary Cook has been playing with the Wranglers since 1989 and is a two-time national flatpicking champion who plays guitar and sings tenor; Matt Palmer (23 years with the band) who sings and plays fiddle, became a touring musician as a child; Danny Rogers plays rhythm guitar and has the deepest bass vocal I’ve ever heard; David Bradley is a world-class yodeler; and Joel Racheff (17 years with the band) is on upright bass and provides much of the comedy and good-natured ribbing in the group.

Singing cowboy classics such as ”Ghost Riders in the Sky” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”, the Wranglers ran through their well-choreographed show while obviously enjoying themselves. Wearing pearl snap shirts, polished boots, and big silver belt buckles, they looked like celluloid Western heroes of old. Cy Scarborough was 93 when he passed away in 2020 and up until 2010, would join the Wranglers on stage to tell tales and crack jokes.

Three generations of Scarboroughs have run the operation. With Rick, Cy’s son, recently retiring, Andrew, the grandson, is now charged with attracting the next generation of Bar D visitors. Keeping the operation alive for 54 years has sometimes been challenging, especially during the Missionary Ridge fire in 2002 and more recently during COVID. Still, many who attend the performances have become legacy visitors who return every season to relive the fun.

The Bar D Chuckwagon is open from Memorial Day through September and although the Wranglers are based in Durango during that time, they hit the road during the winter months, playing all over the country and sometimes even abroad.

Everyone involved with the Bar D Chuckwagon wants to keep the tradition of Western music alive. All the performers, management, and employees I spoke with have a deep love for what they do, and the convivial family atmosphere was everywhere to be seen.