Show I II I Visit Hardware Ranch Cleova Williams Desktop Publisher PublisherS Tiding across deep snow S Sliding the heavy sleigh pulls in among hundreds of wild elk They stare at us with wide brown eyes They are a panorama of livin living moving fascination We stare back J w j o t r l L 1 watching them from the very center of their huge herd al almost almost almost al- al most within touching dis dis- dis- dis tance Hardware Ranch feeds over elk every day throughout the winter and hundreds of visitors come cometo cometo cometo to see them The elk is Utah's state animal and one of Utah's most prized big game animals Heavy fines and even jail ail sentences are levied on anyone illegally killing one of them The ranch is run by one dedicated family They feed the elk about bales of hay each day drive hundreds of visitors through the herd and run the visitors' visitors lodge and cafe Scott hulme 36 with his wife Shel Shel- ly 32 have a contract with the state to keep the ranch profitable and the elk heal heal- thy Their three children work side-by-side side with them Hardware Ranch is found in Blacksmith Fork Canyon 15 miles east of Hyrum Utah |