Anne Larson won't make you get up at 4 a.m. to feed her menagerie of animals at Pine Ranch. But if you sign up for the full-day extreme homestead experience, you'll certainly be put to work on the 34-acre ranch that she calls home.

Hunkered down in bitter cold, a semi-automatic Ruger 10/22 rifle in hand, Jessica Casper spotted a furry gray blob – a cottontail rabbit – hiding under the brush. She didn’t have a clear shot at the cute but prolific pest, so she tilted her head to signal to her hunting partner, KLa Watts, and kept as quiet as possible to avoid scaring her prey.

Jillian Moorhead's diamond-quilted neck gaiters are fast becoming the hottest accessory on the Wyoming ski slopes. Made with water-resistant recycled nylon and lined with sustainable Mongolian cashmere with Primaloft® gold insulation for warmth, Moorhead’s Powder Puff Collection wraps and pullovers—in a kaleidoscope of colors and prints—are peeking out from ski jackets and appearing over sweaters.

Located in Dubois, at 9,200 feet in elevation in the Shoshone National Forest, Brooks Lake Lodge & Spa is easily one of the most remote luxury resorts in the continental United States. In fact, the 100-year-old lodge is so remote that guests must travel the final five miles to the property via snow coach or snowmobile, adding to the feeling of secluded escape.

Stepping into Roadhouse Brewing Co.'s Jackson Hole pub and brewery feels like walking into a house party. The refurbished billiards room is standing-room only most days, with a mix of locals and visitors throwing back pints and chowing down Idaho trout tacos, nachos and Jackson cheesesteaks made with thinly shaved elk. Guests watch sports on flatscreen TVs, witness beer being brewed in the 10-barrel system inside the pub or gaze at the Tetons from the second-floor deck.

My first visit to Wyoming eight years ago was during elk mating season. On a brisk early October day, I ventured to Yellowstone National Park with a naturalist guide, who explained the fierce mating ritual I was witnessing en masse. The high-pitched shriek of bugling bulls was entirely unexpected, and in just one day, I saw multiple battles as bulls violently crashed antlers to prove their power to females.