Taylor Kerns corals the horses for their morning feeding at Double Rafter Cattle Drives' base camp 18-miles outside of Bear Lodge Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
Dana and Alice Kerns rest in the Bighorn Mountains July 6, 2018. Dana Kerns is working on passing off ranch operation duties to his son, Trent Kerns, while Alice Kerns retired from teaching and continues to head up the kitchen on cattle drives.
Taylor Kerns corals the horses for their morning feeding at Double Rafter Cattle Drives' base camp 18-miles outside of Bear Lodge Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
Dana and Alice Kerns rest in the Bighorn Mountains July 6, 2018. Dana Kerns is working on passing off ranch operation duties to his son, Trent Kerns, while Alice Kerns retired from teaching and continues to head up the kitchen on cattle drives.
One-year-old Jack Kerns and his soon-to-be born cousin serve as the sixth generation of ranchers associated with Double Rafter Ranch and the Kerns family. The operation itself was established before Wyoming was a state and the Bighorns Mountains were designated as U.S. National Forest land. And while the futures of the toddler and infant are yet to be determined, their family’s story looks slightly different than the ranching trends of today.
Jack’s father, Taylor Kerns, and baby Kerns’ father, Trent, are two young brothers that chose to continue in the family business of ranching after initially pursuing other paths. Taylor Kerns started in mechanical engineering and Trent Kerns in rangeland ecology and watershed management. Taylor Kerns switched quickly to an agricultural-related degree and Trent Kerns decided he didn’t want to work in a government office for the rest of his life.
Ashleigh Snoozy joined The Sheridan Press in October 2016 as a reporter before moving into the managing editor position in November 2018. She is a native of Colorado and graduated from Biola University in Los Angeles.
