Read on for a brief introduction to some of our staff. More to follow in a subsequent blog.

Fishing Guides

Les Vance – Head Guide – Les grew up in the country outside of Raleigh, NC, and moved to Creede to immerse himself in the outdoors after graduating from Appalachian State in 2007.  He is returning for his fourth season as a fishing guide here at the 4UR, and is excited to get back on the creek.  After spending the last three months fishing in New Zealand, he has a few new tricks up his sleeve for the Goose Creek trout.   

Drew Hoffman – Drew grew up in Appleton, WI, and has a degree in Biology from St. Olaf College. He’s returning for his 2^nd year as a fly fishing guide at 4UR Ranch. He spent this past winter in New Zealand, testing himself on the most technical trout in the world, and is excited for a new season at the ranch.   

A.J. Kemsley – A.J. grew up fishing the lakes and streams of Michigan. His true passion is fly fishing and on any given day, there is a good chance  he’ll be on the stream.  Whether chasing steelhead or sight fishing for carp in Traverse Bay, the need to wet a line is always strong in A.J.

Ben Sippola – Ben comes to 4UR after spending a season in Major League Soccer.  He was born and raised on the water in Southeastern Minnesota, and there is nothing he enjoys more than fly fishing and sharing his passion for flies, rods, and trout with others.

Damon and a few enthusiastic young riders.

Wranglers

Damon Gibbons (Head Wrangler) – Damon has been at 4ur since 2000. He runs the Natural Horsemanship Program and will help all riders–even novices–become comfortable in the saddle.

Katie Davis – Katie born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, and has been riding since the age of 3. Living out west and working with horses and people has always been a dream of hers. Law school may be in her future, but this summer, she’ll be at 4UR living the dream.

Madison Hester – Madi is from a small town in northern Illinois.  She grew up trail riding and competing in barrels and other speed events.  Look for her running with her workout partner Dexter, a sweet Rottweiler-Boxer mix.   

Shelley Wynn – Shelley is from Charlotte, NC.  She recently graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she was a competitive equestrian for all four years.  She loves to teach! 

Our wranglers and fishing guides look forward to helping your stay at 4UR Family Guest Ranch be both fun and rewarding. 

One important task is to determine how to spend vacations. Will you go to Disney, Legoland, or one of those giant water parks? Will you go camping or head to a great city? There is no wrong answer. Diverse experiences are what make up a life.

Yet if you’re looking to start a family tradition, you may want to choose a destination that instills certain values. Appreciation for nature, for one, and respect for it. A place that fosters both Independence and togetherness. The kind of place you’ll want to visit again and again, year after year.

Generations of families have spent their summer vacations at 4UR Colorado Family Guest Ranch. Generations of children have experienced the joy of learning to ride a horse or catch a fish with a fly. They’ve spent summer days discovering that they can do things they never dreamed they could do. They’ve explored the Southern Rockies and learned about themselves.

Watching the next generation.

We have guests at 4UR Family Dude Ranch who came here as children and now come here with their own children. Now that’s a family tradition worth creating.

Kids at 4UR.

During most of the season, it’s true, we are a Family Vacation Ranch. Children love to come here and go horseback riding, swimming, and hiking. They enjoy art and craft programs, nature explorations, and cookouts. While here, kids have lots of time to explore and spend time with other children (in both structured and unstructured activities), and lots of time to explore and spend time with their parents.

Kids at 4UR.

We still have space available during our TWO FOR ONE KID’S SPECIAL, June 9-16, 2012. If you bring two children aged 9 and under to our Family Dude Ranch that week, you’ll only pay for one of them.

Of course, some folks like to vacation without children. These are parents who need a break, parents whose kids are grown, and folks who aren’t parents at all. They enjoy sitting by the pool with a Corona in hand, without danger of being splashed by frolicking children. They like to linger over dinner and conversation, without worrying about getting the kids to bed.

Adults only at 4UR.

If that sounds like you, please consider our ADULTS-ONLY WEEKS, August 18-25 and August 25-September 1, 2012. We still have a couple of spaces available.

Just for adults.

Our Colorado Guest Ranch is a great place for families and a wonderful place for adults. Horseback riding, fly-fishing, and delicious food are appreciated by everyone, no matter your age.

See "Is He Dead?" at the Creede Repertory Theatre this summer.

We’re looking forward to such shows as:

• Drowsy Chaperone; an original musical about the desire to be entertained.

• Mrs. Mannerly: enter the world of a ten year old boy studying manners.

• Is He Dead?: a very funny farce.

• Harry the Great: a romantic comedy about magicians and their egos.

• Ghost Writer: A tale of inspiration, expiration, and vicarious love.

• The Presidents!: 44 presidents in 45 minutes. Phew!

• Boomtown Improv Comedy: unscripted and inspired by the audience.

Many guests of our Creede, Colorado Family Guest Ranch take in a show at the Creede Repertory Theatre while they’re here. It’s a fun addition to a Dude Ranch Vacation.

To learn more about the Creede Repertory Theatre’s upcoming schedule and to purchase tickets, please visit their website.

Wray manning the grill during the Thursday night steak feed.

Since this is an all-inclusive luxury ranch, the meals you find at the end of the trail are veritable feasts. We know that any time in the saddle sparks an appetite, and we aim to feed. Has coffee ever tasted so good? Or that beer? We hope not!

On Thursday night, dismount and feast on grilled steak, potatoes, and fresh corn on the cob. Savor the fresh, mountain air with every bite. Listen to Damon pluck out a few tunes on his guitar. The setting is as beautiful as the food is tasty.

Ride a horse to a glorious setting, where grilled steak awaits.

Join us at our all-inclusive Colorado Family Guest Ranch this summer; it’s a feast for all senses.

Goose Creek makes it easy. One of the only entirely private tailwater trout streams in the country, Goose Creek runs swift and clear. It starts at the southern edge of the 4UR property as a small waterfall below Lake Humphreys dam. As it flows north it gently twists and turns, resting now and again in deep pools until it joins the Rio Grande.

It’s a remarkable experience to stand in waders, playing with the line, catching fish. And catch fish we do, every day, at every station. Some stations are nestled in steep, alpine canyons. Other sections of the river run through wide, open pastures.

Every angler learns where he or she will fish the night before, when Aaron Christensen escorts a shake bottle from table to table after dinner. The lottery winner gets first pick of station, followed by other anglers until the lowest lottery draw selects. In the afternoon, the order is reversed. All stations are good, however, for the fish swim past them all. 

Guests may hire one of our dedicated fishing guides, or fish their stretch alone. It’s as you like it, here at 4UR Colorado Guest Ranch. And that’s how we like it.

Hot coffee, whenever you want it.

People come to our Colorado Family Guest Ranch so they can connect with the great outdoors. They come to hike the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. They come to ride horses and stand in the cool, clear waters of Goose Creek, fishing rod in hand. They come for the fresh air and the astounding beauty of the place.

All this could be had in the backcountry. The same people who come to 4UR could, instead, don backpacks spend a week camping. In fact, we know some do, at other times.

The beauty of 4UR is that our guests have an all-inclusive vacation. They get the great outdoors, the horseback riding, the hiking, the fishing, but they also get luxurious services.

What’s included in an all-inclusive Colorado Guest Ranch Vacation at 4UR?

• Three gourmet meals a day (including non-alcoholic beverages), picnic baskets when you like, coffee and tea delivered to your room in the morning, ice delivered to your room in the afternoon. We will make you a cake to celebrate a special occasion, and we’ll do our best to accommodate special dietary needs.

• Daily maid service, nightly turndown service, laundry facilities, free Wi-Fi, use of computer, and transportation to and from Alamosa Airport.

• Horseback riding and natural horsemanship lessons, private fly-fishing, and sporting clays and trap shooting.

• Guests may use the pool, the natural hot springs, the fitness center, and bicycles.

• Supervised daily children’s programs are open to all children.

In addition, we offer massages, guided fishing, and wine and alcoholic beverages. These are not included in the base rate.

A vacation at 4UR is the softer side of roughing it, to be sure. It’s wonderful.

Damon and his wife and daughter recently took some photos while out feeding the herd. Enjoy, and dream about the upcoming summer at 4UR.

The Historic Wagon Wheel Gap Hotel

The nomadic Ute people frequented the warm, healing waters of Wagon Wheel Gap long before European settlers discovered them. They called the hot springs and mineral waters “Little Medicine” and used them for healing and in sacred rituals. When an influx of homesteaders and miners put an end to the Ute’s annual visits to the waters, tourists took their place. More than a decade before there was a town in Creede, there was a hotel and spa at Wagon Wheel Gap.

The original Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs Hotel was expanded in the early 1900s when General William Palmer purchased the property. He had a vision of a luxurious spa that would draw people from around the country, and he created it. The spa endured until the discovery of antibiotics, when the golden age of spas concluded.

The new spa and pool area at 4UR.

Though traveling to spas fell out of fashion, traveling did not. After all, people enjoy going new places and having different experiences. Wagon Wheel Ranch grew out of the Wagon Wheel Gap Spa; people came to ride horses, fish, and yes, soak in the famous hot springs. They came to immerse themselves in the beauty of the Colorado Rockies and heal their bodies and souls. They still do.

Eventually the Wagon Wheel Ranch became the 4UR. The original Wagon Wheel Gap historic bath house is still on our Creede Colorado Family Guest Ranch. Summer after summer, guests of 4UR Family Guest Ranch reconnect with nature. They ride horses, hike, and fish. They also soak in the restorative waters of the Wagon Wheel Gap hot springs.

This summer, our guests will find a new bathhouse and spa surrounding the water that bubbles forth from the ground. Everything will be more spacious: changing areas, work-out areas, massage rooms. We can’t wait.

Come “take the waters” this summer at 4UR.

“I left springtime last week and drove north, up into winter at 4UR, Creede, and Slumgullion Pass. That’s one of the nice things about living in the American Southwest: If you don’t like the current season, all you have to do is get in your car and drive for half a day and a few thousand vertical feet and you’re in a different season. Go up and it’s is winter in the Rockies, go down and it’s already summer on the Chihuahua desert.

There are reasons why 4UR isn’t open in the winter. They measure snowfall there in feet instead of inches, and temperatures occasionally drop to 60 degrees below freezing. That’s why bluebirds and most humans don’t winter at 4UR. High mountains aren’t gentle places in winter and the margin for error is smaller. For instance, you drive slower – even though the Colorado road department does a superb job of keeping the roads clear – because you know that the deer and elk have come down from the high country and cross highways without a second thought. A winter traveler is always conscious of their unseen presence, back in the trees. On the way back to South Fork after dinner at Kip’s Diner in Creede – an open-faced elk burger drowning in green chile – I made some nighttime photographs along the road. Until I got home and developed one of the photos, I was unaware of two deer watching me from the deep shadows. The next day I stopped before going into 4UR and waited for a herd of elk to cross the road just south of the bridge over the Rio Grande.

Speaking of the Rio Grande, it’s frozen. Solid. Here is a photo proving it. That’s a full grown female elk crossing.

And here is Number 4 on Goose Creek on an early March Day.

It feels a bit lonely, driving west from South Fork knowing 4UR is closed, like driving by a childhood home that is no longer yours. There is nothing wrong with the accommodations in South Fork, but when I make this drive, I want it to end with a hug from Robin, a handshake with Aaron, and a warm, cozy room, with the hope of trout rising. I took comfort from the knowledge that soon the bluebirds will be back, followed by those of us who winter in softer lands.

From the top of Slumgullion (11,530 feet above sea level) I photographed and watched, for a time, a late winter storm moving in and then I headed home, back to springtime. It was 66 degrees when I returned that afternoon. I had lost 6500 feet and gained 65 degrees. It had been one degree above zero on the Big River at dawn.”

Kent Winchester