BILLINGS - A night filled with twangy country music, mosquitoes and a 15-minute ride on a dirt road may not sound like everyone's idea of a good time, but it attracts more people than you might think.

The Western Romance Company added Pappy's Cowboy Cookout to their events just this year, and they say it's gaining popularity just from word of mouth. But it's a lot more than a business to them.

Just off I-90 near Pryor Creek lies a trip back in time, a cowboy escape as these guys would call it. A group of locals and out-of-towners gather for a Pappy's Cowboy Cookout. Happy Pappy, the event's namesake, came up with at least part of the concept; he wanted to bring the old west into tourism. "To me being a cowboy is my passion. And to share it with other people is many people's dream.”

From the minute you step up onto the covered wagon for the trip into the campsite, they try to make everything as authentic as possible, well, almost everything. Once you make the 15-minute ride in along Pryor Creek, a gourmet cowboy dinner is waiting for you. Lynn Meade-Larson helps cook up the grub. "This is fry bread and these are barbequed steaks." According to her, much better fare than the cowboys ate.

Pappy believes many people are fascinated by westerns and drawn to the life-style at least in some way. "Freedom is what god created and here you find freedom." And as long as you bring plenty of bug spray and a relaxed attitude, they promise you'll have a good time.

For more information on the cookout and other trips Western Romance offers, click here.