Home, Home on the ranch...

Tonight marks the beginning of WPT's premiere of Texas Ranch House, a four-part series that will air at 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Like previous House programs (Colonial and Frontier to name a couple), this show drops a modern family into the life and times of an 1860s working ranch. Cameras catch their reactions to the harsh working conditions and much different social implications of life nearly 150 years ago.

From ropin' and ridin' to cooking dinner in a primitive kitchen, every daily task is completely different from life today. The eight-hour series lets viewers experience each aspect of life on the ranch, without getting sand in their boots, err shoes, and dust in their eyes. The rich presentation also jumps off of the television screen and onto the computer with an in-depth Web site. Online visitors can download Podcast video to take the ranch with them, play interactive games and make a virtual visit to the Cooke Ranch.

For viewers who feel the call of the cattle in a more reality-based way, Texas has a slew of real-life ranches that offer visitors a working vacation. And for you folks who watch Texas Ranch House and decide it is the career path you've always wanted, you can buy one of these ranches for sale. Or, maybe just buy the series DVD before making such a rash decision.

Texas Ranch House episodes repeat at 10 each following night this week on WPT, except Friday, when part four repeats at 11 p.m.