When Bayard Fox graduated Yale in 1951, Harry S. Truman was serving his second term as President of the United States. Six years after the end of World War II, the newly debuted television series I Love Lucy and Disney’s Alice in Wonderland in movie theaters helped the country move on with laughter and fantasy.
Turning his back on unrealistic dreams and delusions, Bayard Fox began what would become multi-faceted careers. He was in his early 40s before he discovered what would become his lifelong passion. Until then he was traveling the world, first with the CIA and the battle against authoritarianism. When he became disillusioned with that, he was left without a cause to fight for and without a lifetime goal. And then he discovered his life’s work and what has given his life meaning: directing the affairs on a ranch in Wyoming. In 2022 at age 92 and racing against the clock, he has gathered observations and escapades into Fisherman, Rancher, Horseman, Spy: True Stories of a Life Well-Lived.
This is a memoir that the likes of Patrick Leigh Fermor and Laurie Lee (deceased British scribes) might envy. They, too, as did Bayard Fox, set out devoid of anything but intelligence and youth. In the book’s forward, longtime friend and author Gene Kilgore writes: “A single year of Bayard’s life holds more intrigue than a lifetime of western legend — and he’s had 92 of them. Growing up in Pennsylvania, I’m sure he could never have imagined his life following his years at Yale would take him to 60 countries or that he would become a CIA double agent, or a model for De Beers Diamonds, or a diver in the Solomon Islands or finally a rancher in Wyoming. This book captures Bayard himself at his best. Written from his log home overlooking the spectacular Absaroka mountains in Wyoming, this is a captivating memoir of espionage, worldly travels and living life to the fullest.”
Bayard Fox’s book, available through Amazon in hard copy, paperback and Kindle versions, is the next best thing to actually sitting at the feet of this raconteur. This guests do while visiting Bitterroot Ranch, a working guest ranch in Dubois, WY, that he oversees with his wife, Mel, and their son Richard and his wife, Hadley. Whether in person or through his book, Bayard Fox’s razor sharp intellect is expressed as an internationalist. His sensitivity to and appreciation for the fragile state of the planet invite listeners and readers to saddle up and ride along on adventures that in more than one instance are death defying.
Ultimately Bayard Fox’s life work was to share the transformative world of ranching at his Bitterroot Ranch with guests from everywhere and to give Americans life-changing, international adventures through a company his family owns, Equitours, which guides people on horseback riding vacations internationally.
“Horseback riding is a favorite sport for people around the world and many have a friendly feeling toward horses which have such an important place in our mythology and history. It’s a great passport to friendship with strangers and a shared love of horses opens many doors around the world. Besides, what better way to travel than to move while practicing a wonderful sport,” he reflected.
His language skills and previous travel experience were a great help in finding the best worldwide riding opportunities. During his CIA days he became fluent in French and German. He also studied Polish, Farsi and Spanish in depth. A voracious reader, he consumes news on a daily basis from both domestic and international journals. On a given evening it’s highly probably that politics or philosophy will be served up with a main course.
Of the ranch, Bayard Fox writes: “One of the great things we do is host a heterogeneous group of guests, not just Americans, but visitors from England, France, Germany, Holland, even Japan. They come from many walks of life: doctors, writers, businessmen, people from many different fields and almost all of them have a lot to offer in one way or another. If you can find what their well springs are and get them to loosen up, they give their true thoughts and tear away the masks they tend to wear at home for one reason or another.”
Bayard Fox offers no reason to justify his trajectory that has been anything but a straight line. Doubtless he would agree with the French writer Chateaubriand’s observation that we do not have one life but many lives laid end to end. That his lives have been well lived is the final consolation.
Fisherman, Rancher, Horseman, Spy: True Stories of a Life Well-Lived is available through Amazon.
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