In our last blog, we wrote on some of the buildings you can expect to see when arriving for your dude ranch vacation at 4UR. We continue this week with some of the older and more rustic spaces on the ranch.
The Barn: A lot of the magic of 4UR is nurtured inside this building. Most of our equestrian gear is kept here and the occasional horse. However, during these warm months, the horses prefer being in the field, where they can graze and frolic. The barn is where we introduce our guests to their mounts for their stay. Attached to the barn is the arena, where we practice horsemanship with the kids and children. One of my favorite things about the barn: the smells. Horsehair, leather, dust, hay and saddle oil. Breathe deep and realize you are more than 100 miles from anything that resembles a metropolitan.
The Magic of the American West awaits you at 4UR Ranch.
The Old Spring House: Although this building is not open to our guests, this adobe structure is a warm pink-brown color and was the location of the bathhouse in an earlier era of the ranch. When this was the Wagon Wheel Gap Hotel and the train dropped health-seeking guests across the river from us, this was where they came to bathe in the healing waters of the bubbling mineral springs.
The Mine: Another relic of history here at the ranch, the mines were very active and busy places in their heyday, with prospectors seeking feldspar and other minerals. Now, the wooden structures on the hill are little more than symbols of the past and a reminder of the many purposes this little valley has served. Charming and rustic telltales of the American history in the West, both recent and distant, are easy to find here.
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