INFORM you with organic gardening tips, healthy cooking recipes, 4-H projects, important facts and figures about raising Heritage Breed animals, and insights into what life was like 100 years ago on the ranch through diaries discovered in the old ranch house. We will be sharing many wonderful resources with you that we feel help us to live more fulfilling lives. These resources will show up on the pages where they are appropriate, but you can always go to the Useful Links page directly.

INSPIRE you to live your best life, as you are motivated by the ranch stories and experiences, as well as the Golden Nuggets offered to you Monday thru Friday. These Nuggets are intended to encourage and inspire you to improve your own lives and the lives of all you come in contact with in the course of your day. You will also have an opportunity each day, should you choose to accept it, to experience an "attitude adjustment" on the Ranch Solitude page as well as through the Ranch Solitude videos. Enjoy!

Be sure and visit our Site Map to get a sneak peak of what's available!

 Let us introduce ourselves:

Hi, I'm Greg Bain, pictured above with my wonderful wife, Clare LaMeres, and her horse Cherokee. I designed the ranch buildings, and my company built them. I'm a fourth generation Montana native, and a second generation builder. I've lived in the Flathead Valley all of my life. Having spent my childhood summers playing and working on my uncle's ranch which is adjacent to ours, it has been my lifelong dream to own and enjoy a ranch like the Dayton Creek Family Ranch. My dream has come true, and I hope to share that dream with you through this website. I have five children, three boys and two girls ages 25 to 35, and seven grandaughters ages 1 month to 7 years of age, and one 13 year old grandson, plus one more grandchild on the way in December. You can learn more about my Design/Build company by going to www.gregbain.com.

Hello, I'm Clare LaMeres, and I am so happy to be sharing this beautiful ranch with you. I have lived in Montana for a total of 22 years on and off since I was 2 years of age. In my mid-teens our family moved to Los Angeles, California where I lived for 37 years before returning in 1999 to what I consider to be my "home" state, Montana! I taught high school English in Huntington Beach, California, and then in 1986, I "hit the road" and traveled throughout the United States and Canada giving motivational speeches to teachers and parents on the ideas in my book, The Winner's Circle: Yes I Can! Self Esteem Lessons for the Secondary Classroom. (Teachers and parents, you will be happy to hear you can purchase this book from our General Store!) I enjoy sharing ranch experiences with my "one of a kind" wonderful husband, with the Hertel family, with family and friends, and now with all of you!

Hello! We are the Ranch Manager family who work this ranch, and who make this ranch work! You see Greg Hertel on the left, then Morgan, Darby and Karen Hertel. Let us tell you a bit about ourselves.

Hi, I'm Greg Hertel (I know you have to remember there are two "Gregs!"). I'm up every day at the crack of dawn, ready to give all to my passions - cows, horses, hay and family. Okay, maybe not in that order! I train and shoe the ranch's growing horse herd, and I've become an accomplished teamster for the draft horses, if I do say so myself! I use Calvin and Amos, the draft horse team, to feed hay, harrow and fertilize the fields. I take a lot of pride in putting up a quality hay crop, and I consider it a great compliment when a neighbor says, "That's some darn good hay I got from you!" The ranch's Black Angus cow herd takes up the bulk of my time as we continue to produce a high-quality, natural beef product for diversified markets. After spending 17 years as a commerical salmon fisherman in Alaska on my boat, Silver Knight, I was happy to trade the frigid air of the Bering Sea and the smell of fish slime for the green meadows of Montana and the smell of fresh cow pie! Really! I worked for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for three winters tracking mountain lions. To learn more about that interesting experience, please visit the Ranch Wildlife page.

Hello, I'm Karen Hertel. On summer mornings you can usually find me in the 1/2 acre ranch garden tending my herbs, vegetables, and berries as well as pulling those ubiquitous weeds. I grew up in a large dude operation in Wyoming where I worked as a camp cook. I love creating gourmet food from the ranch bounty. (Hi, this is Clare admitting to a very guilty pleasure: Karen frequently provides dinner for Greg Bain and me. She really is a "gourmet cook," and never ceases to amaze us with her delicious meals! You will want to check out her recipes by visiting the Country Kitchen page or clicking Here.)  Managing the small animals - sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and pheasant keeps me busy. In addition, I love tending to the landscaping. I also handle the ranch bookkeeping. My former career as a research librarian comes in handy as the ranch focuses on continually improving the techniques of raising and marketing our all natural, grassfed animals. I'm always ready to get out of the office and lend a hand with the cows. In fact, of all the many hats I wear, I've added a valuable surgical skill to my resume, that of "Chief Calf Castrator."! I've offered to teach others, but as yet - no takers! Find out how to purchase our products by going to the General Store.

 

Hi I'm Darby, and mom says I'm fast becoming indispensable on the ranch. I'm a crack hand at any chores that use the tractor. I also help Dad irrigate the fields, and I'm responsible for cleaning the horse stalls. My horse, Senator, and I are also pretty handy at moving cows from pasture to pasture. This year's 4-H lamb, Andy, will be keeping me busy this summer getting ready for the August fair. I will be a 6th grader in September at the Dayton Elementary School, the oldest continually-operating school in Montana.

Hello folks! I'm Morgan, and I share my mom's talent for cooking and gardening. I'm an aspiring roper, and I can show you how to build a loop that will catch a calf. I help out with all the animals, and I especially love to feed Yoda, our bum lamb. For those of you who might not be familiar with what a "bum" lamb is, let me explain. Yoda's mom was a first time mom, and as sometimes happens, she refused to let him nurse. She had twins, and would only let the other baby lamb near her. No problem! We have been bottle feeding Yoda, and he is doing just fine! I'll be showing my first lamb, Buddy, at the county fair this coming August. I will be a 4th grader at the two-room Dayton Elementary school this coming Fall.