4UR - A Colorado Dude Ranch » Damon Gibbons

Shopping in Creede – the Creede Beadery

4ur admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:09:50 +0000

Our wonderful Damon Gibbons is usually donning some pretty neat jewelry. I know what you’re thinking, “Cowboys wear jewelry?”. Welcome to the 21st century people. Yes, cowboys wear jewelry and Dude Ranches serve 3 gourmet meals a day. At least that’s how things go around here! Part of the motivation for his adornments is that his lovely wife Kiera is the owner of the Creede Beadery. She has some very elegant designs; families have a great time in the summer taking a break from riding and swimming to create some lovely bracelets, necklaces and even earrings to commemorate their rocky mountain vacation.

Some history about the shop (as described on the Creede Beadery website):

One of Kiera's designs, the Rosaline

Creede Beadery was originally Lovering’s Bead Loft, which opened above J. Thompson’s Gallery in 2001. It was owned by Jan & John Thompson, and has a great following of bead lovers who come every summer to create great new designs. Jan and John felt the bead business was growing too big for their loft, and Jan wanted to focus more on her passion for pastel drawing, using the loft to teach classes and expand into her own personal studio. On April 23, 2008, the Thompsons sold their beads to Damon & Kiera Gibbons, who in turn have moved the Location up the street to Pappy’s Place; a great historic building offering a wonderful studio space for patrons to use, and continue to create their fine pieces.

She also sells pre-made pieces, and you can even reserve the beadery for a party! Can you imagine how fun that would be? All the new friends you child has made the Colorado Dude Ranch getting together at the end of the week for a fun craft event? I know it can be hard to pull yourself away from the ranch, but historic Creede is worth a visit, as is the fabulous beadery here in town.

Kids Stay Free during your Fly Fishing Vacation

4ur admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:17:55 +0000

4UR Ranch has always been family-oriented, and we are trying to encourage more family time during Kids Stay Free weeks during June 5 -12 and Aug. 14-21.

Enjoy a discounted stay with your kids at 4UR Ranch

Can you believe that it is more than half way through February? Spring is going to arrive at the guest ranch before we know it. It is still plenty snowy and cold up here, but we are hoping the worst of it is behind us now.

As we start to think about spring and guest arrival, we think you should be also. Have you made plans with your family for some time away, together? Take advantage of an amazing deal for a horseback riding vacation with your kids – for free! Our head wrangler Damon takes good care of all our riders old and young. He selects other qualified wranglers to help him work with the kids riding program. We have all different types of horses at 4UR for our different levels of riders. Our kids get real loving rides – horses that can help with the learning process of becoming a horseman or woman.

We try to provide a balanced amount of time between the kids program and family time. You, the parent, will have large chunks of the afternoon and morning to do what you want on your rocky mountain vacation – whether it be fly fishing, laying by the pool, visiting our hot springs or just taking in the stunning beauty of Wagon Wheel Gap.

Make sure to give us a call (719-658-2202) to check availability during our kids stay free weeks. This is a unique chance to make plans with your family at a highly discounted rate.

4UR Guest Ranch plays a part in the Slow Food Movement

4ur admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:12:51 +0000

Just after Thanksgiving Damon helped our neighbor Gil Motta to transport 10 grass-fed steers to a natural grass-fed beef market near Carbondale, Colorado. Gils’ steers were 100% grass-fed and grass-finished – no antibiotics, no hormones, etc. In creating this all-natural product, Gil was also using a high-density, low-duration grazing rotation. We discussed this style of Holistic Resource Management in an earlier post. The 4UR does not raise any cattle here independently, but we did have some of Gil’s heads on our land this fall. The grazing style he is using also holds benefits for the soil and nitrogen cycle, so we were pleased to be supporting these practices. Our Colorado dude ranch is getting the benefit of this grazing technique, and also sending our grass to a niche market.

Every person is responsible for caring for this earth

Damon and Gil delivered the steers to Felix Tornare of the Milagro Ranch, an all grass-fed beef ranch on the bluffs above the Roaring Fork Valley. Felix told us about his network of Aspen area restaurants which have slowly adapted to using and promoting local, natural, and slow-food sources. He and his wife got started with a bakery that sold to the restaurants of the area. Aspen magazine did and article on them in their Best of Aspen issue 2007. They have been very successful and it was encouraging to share their story. It is also neat to think of how our family dude ranch has now had a small role in the slow-foods movement.

Damon and the other ranch owners and managers will be having a meeting with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) next month during which they will be developing a plan for the 2010 growing season and beyond. As stewards of this precious valley, we want to provide family ranch vacations for our grandchildren and beyond.

Horseback Riding Vacations in Southern Colorado

4ur admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:09:46 +0000

We were glad that the grasses were high this summer, and the spring was wet. This helps us keep the horses happy and healthy all year long. When the horses can supplement their usual diet with natural-grown grasses in the valley, this makes it easier to keep them well through the cold winters up here. Damon, the head wrangler here at our Colorado Dude Ranch will keep the horses happy and warm through the snow.

We are so glad to have Damon, someone who cares so deeply for horses and horsemanship, to take care of our herd over the winter. He will ensure that all our mounts are in great shape for when our guests start arriving for their Rocky Mountain Vacations in June. We have a diverse group of horses that are alive and ready to bring you on a memorable adventure during a steak ride deep into our valley, or gingerly introduce our junior wranglers into the world of riding.

We offer a variety of rides, including daily trail rides for both kids and adults. There is no way you could feel like there is not enough riding! We have morning and afternoon rides every day, as well as meal rides like the breakfast ride, the steak ride and the fish fry. The fish fry is definitely one of our favorite events; there’s nothing quite like eating delicious fried trout in the great Colorado outdoors! We take care of everything for you – food, drink and even music. We trailer the horses home so that you don’t need to worry about enjoying a glass of wine or a cold beer after your ride.

With the help of Damon and the great staff of wranglers we have every summer, we strive to make our Western Vacations enjoyable, but we also want to teach our guests a little about our natural horsemanship practices.

Colorado Horseback Riding Vacation

4ur admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:38:50 +0000

The ranch here at Wagon Wheel Gap has been a destination for over 100 years. In the 19th Century, the valley was a popular because of our natural hot springs. The appeal expanded to fisherman, seeing how plentiful fish were in clear, clean Goose Creek.

However, owners Pete and Lindsey are avid equestrians, and once they became the caretakers of 4UR ranch, they were excited to integrate an active horse program into their Rocky Mountain Vacation destination.
Now, 4UR Ranch has a thriving Natural Horsemanship program that is spearheaded by head Wrangler Damon Gibbons. Because of his dedication to the animals, riders reap the benefits.

Remember how much you love Riding, or learn what it's all about in 4UR's Equestrian Program

When you ride with Damon and our other wranglers, be prepared to learn some new techniques for interacting with your horse. He and the other wranglers will help you learn the basics of approaching and mounting a horse, if you are new to the saddle. If you have been cutting cows and bending barrels for years, than be prepared to enjoy some active rides over the wild Colorado landscape during your Western Vacation.

We also want to share with the children the tenements of natural horsemanship. So many boys and girls are in love with horses, or the idea of horses, without actually knowing anything about what it really takes to be a rider. We help your children to understand what it means to be an equestrian.

At the end of the week, we have a “kiddie rodeo”, where the kids get to show off the skills they learned over the week with their wrangler. It is a fun time for them and their families, and one of the events that makes a visit to our Colorado Dude Ranch so memorable.