Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!

This is what you picture the ranch looking like at Christmas time right? After all, it is the Rocky Mountains and it is December. Unfortunately and not to disappoint anyone, it does not appear that we will have a white, snowy holiday season here at the ranch. (However, for you skiers, the high country has been getting lots of snow which will make for a great time on the slopes) No worries...Even though we do not have snow, we are still most definitely in the Christmas spirit! The weather was perfect for Christmas tree cutting, our family tradition (see the picture of the kids carrying the tree). Light snow falling, the smell of musty leaves and the river edges glazed with a touch of ice and snow. We were a little late this year getting our tree as we waited for Hayley to get home from school and fitting into Tyler's busy schedule. Decorating the tree is always an adventure...pulling out ornaments that we have collected from all over. Tyler decided to choose the topper for this years tree....only temporary! We give it a "thumbs up." :)

Enjoy this beautiful time of year, when friendships are the best gifts.

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Ranch!!

Time To Reflect.............Part 2

As the Christmas season is fast approaching and December 1st is already here, I thought it would be the appropriate time to post the second part of our "reflection" pictures.

Our native bald eagle, "Baldy" has returned to the valley once again and was spotted soaring above the river this morning down here through the ranch. No matter how many times he passes through, he is always a site to see. We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is looking forward to the holiday season! We hope to see everyone next year at the ranch. http://www.northforkranch.com/

HAPPY TRAILS!!!!

Is That For Real?

Yes....you are seeing correctly. Karen is playing horseshoes!!! The fall Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Convention was earlier this week where all of the dude ranches within the state get together to discuss everything from the "dude ranching business" to marketing, the economy, etc. Many great speakers, great conversation, great people. One evening we had a horseshoe tournament where the ranches all competed against each other. North Fork Ranch was well represented and made it all the way to the semi-finals. Unfortunately we lost by three to advance to the finals. Karen was quite the natural accumulating many points for North Fork, including a "ringer." It was a lot of fun. Just wanted to show everyone yet again, that Karen can do it all. :)

Wonderful Video

Check out this link to a very powerful and encouraging video on behalf of Casting For Recovery that covers the retreats that take place here at North Fork Ranch. The first time you click on the link, it may cover some random news story or something for approximately two minutes. Please just wait for the story to finish and then the Casting For Recovery story will play.

http://www.krdo.com/video/25350642/index.html

Time To Reflect..........Part I

Part I:

As winter draws near, I thought it would be fun to look back on some new, great pictures that help to capture the mountains, Colorado, and the "experience" at North Fork Ranch.

He's B-a-c-k!

Well our "peculiar friend" (bobcat) has returned to the ranch. Or is at least making himself seen in public. We enjoy seeing him "strut his stuff" around the ranch and hope you enjoy seeing him to. Not a super great photo here, but our fishing guide, Jeff was kind enough to sneak a quick picture in while trying to help a client catch a fish. :) Thanks again Jeff. One of our southern guests actually was able to see the bobcat, didn't think it was to big of a deal, and described him as "You know....one of those cat thingies without the tail." Very cute. :)

You can see a better shot of our friend from an older post on January 8th while he was lounging by the pool.

Lookin' Out Our Back Door

Well as you can see....it is snowing here!! It started out just raining this morning, but then turned into gigantic, wet snowflakes, and now it's starting to stick! Wow! We'll see how much we get by the end of the day. Rumor has it though that it is suppose to warm back up this weekend. We sure hope so. :)

On a brighter note, those mysterious palomino trout have finally been caught! These are two great shots of the "mutant goldfish" that like to call North Fork home. Thanks Jeff! :)

Come And Get It!

Can you hear the dinner bell ringing? Karen is calling you. It's time to join us again for a meal here at North Fork! The famous "mexican buffet" is out and ready for you to come through the line. Dean is anxious to serve soup and Karen will be sure to fill your plates with hot tamales. Can you smell the deliciousness? :)

Food aside....we had another beautiful, fall weekend and hosted our third Casting for Recovery Retreat this year. Another amazing group of women gathered here at the ranch. It is always such a pleasure to have them with us. Here is a group photo of some of the participants after they enjoyed a wonderful morning out on the river.

Fall is Comin' Down the Mountain

We have been enjoying BEAUTIFUL fall weather. Very, very warm temperatures, sunny days, and the bluest skies you will ever see. All the aspens in higher elevation have turned to their notorious "gold," while we here at the ranch are still waiting to see our aspens change. We are patient though.....no hurry for winter here. :) We thought we'd give you an idea of what fall looks like here and will provide more pictures of trees here at the ranch once they change.

Enjoy these pictures of Ben Tyler Gulch as well as Kenosha Pass (just up from the ranch on the way to South Park) and Red Cones. They were all taken on one of the few days we actually have clouds. Sorry! :)

Last Hike of the Season

Well we just finished up our last week of "dude season" in our 25th year!! We had a great end to the season and Dean even got to go on the Square Top hike with some of our guests, and wrangler, Casey. They were fortunate enough to even spot some mountain goats that seemed to enjoy their company. Hey Kallie....here's proof that Dean made it to the top. :)

We are now hitting it hard with our meeting groups and corporate retreats. We are all starting to re-adjust our roles and responsibilities. Even some of our "wranglers" are now wait staff and dishwashers! We'll try to get a picture as they switch from cowboy hats to soapy hands. :)

Thanks to everyone (staff, guests, fisherman, etc.) for making this such a fantastic summer!

Stay in touch over the fall, winter and spring as we will continue to post to let you know what's happening at the ranch.

Girls Have Fishing Skills Too

Here you go ladies!!! The girls can fish just as good as the guys. :) Check this one out! This was this woman's first attempt at fly fishing, first time at the ranch, AND she caught this gigantic fish within 30 minutes of her first cast!!! Beat that boys! haha :) Monroe & Jeff (fishing guides)were great helpers of course.

More fun photos from our UK week

Our gracious hosts who instigated our fantastic week, Jane & Ian. Girls dancing to the music. Even our staff girls got into it and had their debut appearance on guitar & singing. :) And finally, the coach bus that took our wonderful friends from the UK for a city tour of Denver. Farewell Friends!!

What a Week!!

This has been such a wonderful 25th season here at the ranch with amazing guests and terrific staff. We can't believe we only have a few weeks left and then jump into our meeting groups! This last week, all of us at the ranch were treated to a wonderful group of guests, all from the UK. It was a 50th birthday celebration with all friends and family and they were just a fantastic group of people. Many, many laughs, new friends and great memories were shared. We were even treated to "concerts" several times last week as many of them were so very talented guitarists and singers. It was incredible!!! You've never heard the lodge so loud, filled with music, singing, and laughter! We were all "jamming out" night after night. So much fun! Please enjoy some pictures from the "sold out" concerts.

Newest Member of the North Fork Family

We wanted you all to see the newest member of our family here at the ranch. Her name is Lilly and she is so cute!!! She is a miniature mule that now resides in her new home at the petting zoo. And she LOVES people and is super friendly! This one isn't just for the kids folks.....all you adults out there will just fall in love with her as well. :) And funny story, the goats are TERRIFIED of her!! They just aren't quite sure what to make of this four-legged creature. :) They run completely in the opposite direction of her. But I'm sure they will warm up to Lilly soon and everyone will be friends. All of the other petting zoo animals are doing well and our baby ducks are growing up fast.

We are having a fantastic 25th season here at North Fork with many new guests that are having a wonderful time at the ranch as well as our faithful return guests. Thank you to everyone!

Extra photo is of some staff members (wranglers) who've decided to have crazy shirt & sunglasses day on our brunch ride.

See you soon! http://www.northforkranch.com/

Where Else Can You Do This?

Yes....the picture is for real. (Sorry Tyler's head is somewhat cut off, we were using a cell phone) If you haven't heard, we are offering a new program this year here at North Fork. Instead of "pony rides" we have "cow rides." It's true! :) Tyler's cow, Belle, has been trained and she can now be ridden! To funny seeing long-legged Tyler on a short, young cow, but she handled it well. Belle is very friendly and very talkative. She found her voice about a month ago and loves to talk and can be heard from one end of the ranch to the other. Join us this summer and enjoy a whole new experience!!! http://www.northforkranch.com/


We are so proud of our fishing here, we just had to share another prized trout from our water. We also still have elk around. The photo is of a very young one within the aspens on our property.

We hope to see you this summer for an unforgettable experience! Not only can you ride a cow, but you can also be a part of Dean & Karen's 25th Season!

Big Name Publication!

We have been published in an Orvis Book listed as one of the top fishing lodges in the state of Colorado!! We are so excited to have been selected! This is the cover of the book and we also had a two page spread seen here as well. They did a really nice job of "capturing" what North Fork is all about. You'll have to buy a copy or check ours out when you come to visit this summer! :)

http://www.northforkranch.com/

How Cool is That?!

Well...after receiving a foot of snow, we finally saw the sun today. It was wonderful! :) And we were welcomed with a surprise guest at the ranch.....A bear!!! Now we did not see the bear, but we were able to see his fresh tracks in the snow and his uncleanliness down at the trash dumpsters. He does not have very good manners and did not clean up after himself very well. :) Enjoy these cool pictures of the paw prints in the snow.