Posts Tagged ‘kids program’

This Colorado Guest Ranch Opens June 5, 2011

May 25th, 2011 by Gail

The 2011 Season at our Creede Colorado Dude Ranch begins in less than 2 weeks.

We start the season with something new this year: a Painting Workshop led by artist Stephen Quiller. Participants will turn working sketches into finished Water Media Paintings while they’re at 4UR from June 5 to June 11, 2011. We suspect they’ll also have time to swim, go horseback riding, hike, fish, and soak in the natural hot springs located at our Colorado dude ranch. We can’t wait to see everyone’s artwork.

Looking forward to another great season at 4UR Family Dude Ranch.

Following on the heels of the Painting Workshop is the first of our Two For One Kids Specials, running from June 11 – June 18. Kids have so much fun here at our Family Dude Ranch in the Southern Rockies that we are encouraging you to bring them. Kids’ Counselor Zachary Hall is looking forward to romping with your children in the wilderness!

After June 18th, it’s business as usual at the ranch for a while. We’ll welcome guests from all over the country and the world to the ranch. Our Fishing Guides will take guests fly fishing and our Wranglers will lead guests on trail rides. Our Kitchen and Waitstaff will make sure everyone is well fed, while Housekeeping and Ranch Hands will keep everything ship shape. Through it all we’ll reconnect with old friends and make new friends.

Hope to see you at 4UR this summer!

More Fabulous 4UR Staff

May 18th, 2011 by Gail

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!

Kids Weeks at the Ranch

March 20th, 2011 by 4ur admin

We still have some space available during our special Kids Weeks this summer at our Colorado Family Vacation Ranch: June 11 – 12 and August 13 – 20, 2011.

Two kids age 9 and under stay here for the price of one child during our “Two for One” Special this summer. We hope this will encourage families who have never been to our Colorado Family Vacation Ranch to give it a try. We also hope some of our returning families will take advantage of this special.

It’s amazing to watch children flourish during their stay here. Many start the week a little shy, perhaps nervous about their first time on a horse. By the end of the week, they are thrilled to show their parents what they can do in the ring, and sad to leave their new friends.

Children having fun - that's what summer is all about.

Contact our Family Dude Ranch for more information or to make a reservation.

Business as Usual at the Dude Ranch

January 20th, 2011 by 4ur admin

It’s quiet here at this Colorado Dude Ranch during the off season. Those of us who live and work here year round are busy in the office, maintaining the ranch, and spending time with our families. This morning when we dropped the kids off at school in Creede we saw a beautiful red fox and a small herd of elk – nothing too unusual for these parts, but lovely all the same.

Owners Pete and Lindsey Leavell and Head Wrangler (and new papa) Damon Gibbons are away at the annual Dude Ranchers Association Convention, held this year in Tucson, Arizona. The Dude Ranchers Association, established in 1926, works to preserve the integrity of the Dude Ranch. In order to become a member, ranches must undergo a rigorous two year review; guests are guaranteed an outstanding experience, from the riding to the food and lodging. We expect they’ll learn lots about the industry as the Dude Ranchers Association celebrates 85 years of “Horses, Hats, History, and Hospitality”, and hopefully have a good time as well.

While Damon, Pete, and Lindsey are away, the rest of us are handling bookings and staffing the ranch for next season. We still have a few openings for the Quiller Workshop in June and the “Two for One” Special for Kids weeks in June and August, but they’re filling fast. It’s always an exciting moment when we realize we’re booked for the season – at that point, opening day of our Colorado Dude Ranch seems just around the corner.

Dreaming of summer at our Colorado Vacation Dude Ranch.

Horseback Riding Holiday

October 30th, 2010 by 4ur admin

Do you dream of running through a field of tall green grass on horseback, with the wind in your face?

We’ll help you realize that dream when you spend a week at our Colorado Dude Ranch. Spend your winter dreaming, and make those dreams a reality during the summer of 2011. Our horseback riding program is geared toward realizing our guests horseback riding dreams.

Turn your horseback riding dreams into reality.

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Family Dude Ranch Vacations Empower Children

August 3rd, 2010 by 4ur admin

Out here at 4UR Colorado Family Dude Ranch, we are all pretty excited. As anyone who has been here knows, Cole Christensen is the oldest son of ranch managers Aaron and Robin Christensen. Cole recently participated in the National Finals Little Britches Rodeo in Pueblo, where he won second in the world. We are all very proud of him!

Cole’s victory has caused us to reflect on the Kid’s Program at our Family Dude Ranch.

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The Best Family Vacation

July 26th, 2010 by 4ur admin

We are looking forward to welcoming families with children to our Colorado Dude Ranch- the week of August 14 – 21, 2010, when kids stay for free. Treat your children to the experience of a lifetime. They’ll go horseback riding, they’ll fish, and they’ll engage in one fun activity after another in the beautiful Southern Colorado Rockies.

Your children will never forget their Dude Ranch Vacation at 4UR.

Kids Stay Free Dude Ranch Vacations

January 7th, 2010 by 4ur admin

Do you have a blossoming equestrian at home? Bring your kids for free this summer!I was in love with horses as a young girl (a continuing love affair!), and not much would have made me happier than hearing my parents say, “We’re all going to a guest ranch this summer for a week!” Let us help you make dreams come true and create great memories during 4UR Ranch’s Kids Stay Free weeks. This is new special from us. During the weeks of June 5-12 and Aug. 14-21 bring your kids to 4UR for all the fun at no additional cost to you.

A stay at 4UR is more than a horseback riding vacation, we have an outstanding kids program where your tots will be hiking, playing and swimming. We even have a big sleepover night in the lodge! At the end of the week, the kids have a rodeo to show off all their new cowboy and cowgirl skills. It’s a great time for all.

Parents will also have plenty to entertain them during the vacation in the Rocky Mountains. We have delicious meals and fine dining every day, a tasteful selection of wines and spirits, and of course the hot springs are here. Ride, shoot trap and most important relax. Enjoy time with the ones you love the most, and do it at a great lowered price.

Make sure to call us for all the details on our kids stay free weeks at 719-658-2202.

Rocky Mountain Vacation

August 11th, 2009 by 4ur admin

August in the Rockies is a glorious thing! The weather is pleasantly hot during the day. It’s a great time to take a dip in the pool after a morning ride, or enjoy a cool drink in the shade.

August is also one of the nicest times of the year at 4UR ranch for your family ranch vacation. The fly fishing crowds start to thin out, and you can really feel like you’ve got the run of the ranch. We have a great kids program, and also a lot of spaces on the ranch that we have dedicated to a family experience, like our pool.

Come and explore Southern Colorado

Come and explore Southern Colorado

Come to the pool every Wednesday for a Mexican food fiesta. Our talented chef Wray Warner makes amazing guacamole, delicious sizzling fajitas and fresh grilled veggies. We also serve ice cold beers, margaritas, lemonade and tea. This little party is a great time to meet some of the other guests at 4UR as well as have a relaxing lunch by the water. It is these kind of small niceties that have kept some of our guests coming back for years, some of our guests have been coming to our family dude ranch since they were small children, and now they bring their own children to the ranch. It is these stories that we feel makes our guest ranch the most unique place to vacation in Colorado.

We still have plenty of time in the summer and into September for you and your family to become part of the tradition at 4UR. Visit the contact page for our Colorado Dude ranch to inquire about becoming part of the 4UR family!

Summer Dude Ranch Vacations

August 3rd, 2009 by 4ur admin

When summer finally arrives after the long winter here in Creede Colorado, we start gearing up for these few perfect months. We hire about 35 young folks to come and work the ranch for the summer. As far as I can tell, they all love it here almost as much as our guests! Some of our staffers have been coming to 4UR for the summer for 5 or 6 years straight.

Mesa Plateau at 4UR Ranch

Mesa Plateau at 4UR Ranch

They help us with all different aspects of the ranch, from basic maintenance to our fabulous dude ranch kids program. We treat them like members of the 4UR ranch family, the same way we do to everyone who comes down our driveway onto this magical place we call home.

One favorite past time for both staff and guests alike are visits into Creede. The little mining village is a short drive from our family dude ranch. This can be a fun change of pace from life at the 4UR for an afternoon. Bring the kids and head to the underground mining museum. Or maybe have a ladies outing; there are a surprising number of quality boutiques and artisan shops in Creede where a piece of jewelery or handcrafted artwork is bound to catch your eye.

Our staff is knowledgeable about the surrounding area’s attractions and must-see locations. So if you can manage to pull yourself away from the ranch for a day, there are really breath-taking locations all around our area of Southern Colorado. We want to make sure your family ranch vacation is a full as you want it to be: schedule an event for every day, or stay by the pool as others in you clan rush to Goose Creek for fly fishing or off to the stables for a ride. It is up to you: let 4UR ranch be exactly as much as you need.

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