4UR – A Colorado Dude Ranch

In our last blog, we featured men and women who have worked at our Creede Colorado Dude Ranch in past years and are returning for the 2011 season.

Read on to learn a bit about the new staff of our Colorado Fly Fishing Ranch.

Looking forward to the 2011 season at our Colorado Dude Ranch!

Our Kids’ Counselors are an integral part of our team:
Zachary Hall comes to us from St. Petersburg, Florida. In summers past he has worked for a youth hiking and backpacking ministry on Virginia’s Appalachian Trail. He loves to be outside and to keep kids active and engaged.

We welcome two new Fishing Guides this season:
Drew Hoffman has fished his whole life. He’s angled in small Midwestern creeks and roaring rivers in Montana. He is excited to guide guests of 4UR.

A.J. Kemsley has been fishing the lakes and streams of Michigan since he was in diapers. He looks forward to a summer on Goose Creek.

We welcome one new Wrangler this season:
Portia Corsetti hails from New Hampshire, where she is an Equine Science Major at UNH. She has been riding for more than ten years, is an EMT-B and a Wilderness First Responder, and she loves being out in the the mountains.

We have two new Ranch Hands at our Southern Colorado Dude Ranch this summer:
Preston Buntz loves spending time outdoors hunting, fishing, and hiking. His motto is “No opportunity wasted!”

Spencer Cooper was raised in a small farming and ranching community in central California. He once worked on a farming/sheep outfit in a town of 23 people, and he looks forward to meeting the guests of 4UR Guest Ranch.

We would be lost – and hungry – without our Kitchen staff:
Blake Bond is our new Sous Chef and a graduate of the Texas Culinary Academy Le Cordon Bleu in Austin. This is his first season with us, but his second season at a guest ranch.

Dean Parker is a Line Cook. He grew up surfing, diving, and fishing in Florida and fell in love with the mountains of Colorado in the ’90s. He will travel anywhere in order to surf and snowboard.

John Whitmore was raised down the street in Creede. He is excited to be working as a Line Cook under Chef Wray Warner this summer.

The food wouldn’t reach our tables without our fabulous Waitstaff:
Tess Almgren is a Team Leader. She is originally from western Massachusetts and grew up hiking, camping, fishing, and snowboarding throughout New England.

Josh Shumaker is a Team Leader. He is a  native of Bristol, TN, and hopes to eventually have a career in Washington, DC. He holds a deep appreciation for the outdoors and looks forward to a summer of exploration on the Colorado terrain.

Mary Charles Abbott was raised in a small town in middle Tennessee. She has a passion for music and dance and sports, and a strong desire to serve others.

Andi Carpenter is a Colorado native. She is passionate about the outdoors and is excited to share this beautiful state with you.

Michael Collins was born in West Virginia and raised outside of Philadelphia, PA. He is a recent college graduate and plans to apply to graduate school in the fall, after a great summer working and being outside at 4UR.

Aisling Daly is a university student from Ireland.  She is very excited to spend the summer at the 4UR Ranch, meeting new people and experiencing a totally different landscape and way of life.

Becky Ford grew up in NJ but is a country girl at heart. She fell in love with the guest ranch way of life this past winter, and is excited to spend the summer under the Colorado sky with the 4UR family!

Sarah Horn was born and raised right outside Denver, CO. She’ll be a junior at William Jewell College in Liberty, MO, where she studies Economics.  She enjoys running and any outside adventures.
Things would get pretty messy around here without our Housekeepers:
Heather Brower was raised on a sheep farm in Kennewick Washington. She loves being outdoors and working with animals, and is looking forward to spending the summer in Southwestern Colorado.

Brittney Deale recently graduated from college and has lived in Virginia her whole life. She loves to ride horses and is thrilled to be spending the summer at our Colorado Dude Ranch.

Danielle Johnson was raised in a small town in Maine. She is an avid athlete and enjoys hiking, biking, running, swimming, skiing, and yoga. Her summer at 4UR is part of a greater exploration of the country.

Korey Kimball is a senior in college and plans to become an elementary teacher. She looks forward to meeting the amazing guests of 4UR.

Kaydi Newborn comes from a tiny town in Georgia. She is a nursing student and looks forward to a great summer working at the ranch and being outside.

Sarah O’Neill is from Dublin, Ireland. She spent last summer working as a teaching assistant in Nairobi, Kenya, and is looking forward to working at 4UR Ranch this summer.

Georgia Ann Paul grew up in North Carolina. She loves to travel, play the piano, tell stories, and have great outdoor adventures. Ask her why roosters terrify her

Last but not least, our Massage Therapists keep us all relaxed and happy:
Chelsea Heersink looks forward to working at our Creede Colorado Dude Ranch.

Joanne Kaufman has traveled around the world doing service work, and now makes her home in Del Norte with her husband, Steve Brigham, and two small girls, Kaitlyn (4) and Brianna (4 months). She loves her “calling” of massage therapy.

Judith Penrose Mattingly graduated from the Boulder School of Massage Therapy in 1989 and has practicing Swedish Massage in private practice and at Mineral Hot Springs ever since. She has trained with Bruno Chikly in Lymphatic Drainage, and lives with her husband, a retired farmer, in Creede.

We’re excited for our guests to meet everyone this summer at our Dude Ranch South Fork Colorado!