MAN IN THE MAZE

Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization
of the American West that began to occur in the late 19th century.
 In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner  stated that the United States  frontier was,
at least demographically, "closed." This belief led many people to have feelings
 of nostalgia  for bygone days, but also, given that the risks of a true frontier
 were gone, allowed for nostalgia to be indulged in relative safety.
 Thus, the person referred to as a "tenderfoot" or a "greenhorn" by westerners
 was finally able to visit and enjoy the advantages of western life for a
short period of time without needing to risk life and limb.

Thus, by popular demand, the Western adventures
of hardy aristocrats like Theodore Roosevelt were made available
 to paying guests from cities or the East, called "dudes" in the West.
 In the early years, the transcontinental railroad  network brought
 paying visitors to a local depot, where a wagon or buggy would be waiting
 to transport people to a ranch. Experiences varied.
 Some guest ranch visitors expected a somewhat edited version and more
 luxurious version of the "cowboy life," while others were more tolerant
of the odors and timetable of a working ranch.
While there were guest ranches prior to the 20th century,
the trend grew considerably after the end of World War I,
 when postwar prosperity, the invention of the automobile and the appearance
of Western movies all increased popular interest in the west.
In 1926 the Dude Ranchers Association was founded in Cody, Wyoming
 to represent the needs of this rapidly growing industry.

In the United States, guest ranches are now a long-established tradition
and continue to be a popular vacation destination. Depending on the climate,
 some guest ranches are open only in the summer or winter,
others offer "year-round" service in all four seasons.
College students are often recruited to work at guest ranches
during the summer months. Common jobs offered to college students
 include: housekeeping, wrangler, dining staff, and office staff or babysitters.
A number of working ranches have also survived lean financial times
 by taking in paying guests for part of the year.

Guest ranches have also become a feature of the Australian Outback.
From Wikipedia