In a spectacular canyon up on Glade Park, Colorado, there is some very unique work going on. Gary Kroft has been in the business of restoring old carriages and sheep wagons for over 25 years. His wife Marilyn helps with the varnishing of wood, upholstery and the refurbishing of the inside camps, just as they were in the early days, whether they be started from scratch or from just old remnants.

Gary puts in about 70 hours on building new camps from the axles up and about 125 hours for restoring the old ones. He has made or restored about 44 sheep wagons replacing the frame with canvas or aspen wood frames and has more orders coming in daily. He has also restored about 196 wagons and carriages. The sheep wagons are moved all over the Western United States. They are used in cow and sheep camps and also on dude ranches for tourists, who love to stay a night in an original shepherd’s wagon. They are also used for hunters in the fall and winter and sometimes, just a place for the grandkids to just camp out for the night when fishing. Gary and Marilyn have acquired wagons and carriages from all over the States and have a wonderful collection from a Canadian snow sled to carriages from the late 1800’s one with a foot warmer in. The hot coals are placed in the iron container and used to keep the feet warm on cold winter nights. Gary also reproduced a horseless carriage driven with a 5.5 gas engine in the back, taken from rare pictures and designs from museums and geared with a handle in the carriage for steering and turning the wheels, probably one of the first cars to be invented.

The wheels are made or restored as wooden wheels or rubber tires but now regular truck tires are put on the more modern sheep wagons, as they are easier to haul into camps and along the highways. Wooden wheels in this day and age would not tolerate the highways and roads of modern times.

The more modern sheep wagons are adapted with air conditioning backup heaters and even a television. If you want the original or a modern version Gary can build it. They are still decorated inside with the older sheep wagon items. i.e. a wood burning stove and some basic groceries that were seen in the sheep camps many years ago, such as coffee, flour, canned milk, beans, sugar. Etc.

Gary and Marilyn entered the first hard top sheep wagon contest this year in Hotchkiss and won 1st place in the Antique Sheep wagon Competition and also got the peoples Choice Award. It’s a cozy place where you can retire and have a very dreamy night. The outside boxes are filled with veterinary supplies, and the boot on the back holds horse gear including saddle and packsaddle. Maybe in your imagination you can go back a hundred years or so and see the way life was at that time.

For more information on the sheep camps, call Gary or Marilyn at (970) 243-4762