Did You Know?

Spring is drawing near and summer will be here before we know it. It's time to start thinking about summer vacation! :) Please join us for more than just a vacation....You'll walk away with an experience and memories to last a lifetime!

Here are some fun facts to encourage you to visit North Fork Ranch and the state of Colorado:

NORTH FORK RANCH

• Dean & Karen have welcomed over 15,000 guests and staff to the ranch
• 2,536 trail rides have gone out over 25 years
• 634--20 lb. turkeys have been served over 25 years
• 12,515 steaks have been grilled & served over 25 years
• 73,745 beds have been made over 25 years
• 33,285 toilets have been cleaned over 25 years
• 1,230,250 pieces of silverware have been washed over 25 years
• 2,643 vans have been washed over 25 years
• We are celebrating our 26th season this summer in 2011
• We sit at an elevation of 8,100 ft.
• We are the closest ranch to the Denver Airport
• We are an Orvis Endorsed Fishing Lodge
• You can take in all Colorado has to offer, all in one location at North Fork Ranch

STATE OF COLORADO

• Admitted as the 38th state on August 1, 1876
• Capital: Denver
• Nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it became a state 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence
• Colorado has 58 mountains that soar over 14,000 ft.
• Mount Elbert is the highest point at 14,433 ft.
• Colorado is the 8th largest state with a population of 3,294,394
• From the Spanish language, Colorado is the word for "colored red"

Blowing Snow & Sun

For over a week now, we have been experiencing wind all day and all night long. Well, this created a problem on top of the 12 inches of snow we had last week. When the wind blows down the valley here, it creates huge snow drifts in certain areas that we constantly shovel & plow. As you can see here, Dean is using the snow blower on the tractor so that our neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Gilman, can actually get in and out of their driveway! It's quite impressive! :)

Despite the wind, we did get to enjoy a few warmer days with wonderful sunshine. And of course, the cat with the most personality you will ever see took full advantage of the warmth. Here's Chloe basking in the sun and soaking up the rays!! :) She is ornery but how can you not love her? :)

Winter Has Finally Arrived!

As the snow finally fell here at the ranch this week, it provided a great opportunity to sit back and truly appreciate the beautiful setting in which we live. We are so fortunate to not only live in Colorado but also in the spectacular Rocky Mountains and on our beautiful ranch. Does it really get any better than that? The land is so un-touched and pristine with fresh snow, the trees are truly magnificent when freshly layered and the stillness and quiet that surrounds us is impossible to describe. It's absolutely beautiful in all aspects of mother nature.

The snow did provide a much needed relief to the -22, -25, and -30 degree mornings we had been experiencing. YES....those temperatures are not a misprint. Very true & very cold!! It seems like a heat wave when our temperatures are now at 20-35 degrees! :) The cold is much more welcome when it is accompanied by snowfall. This last storm provided 6-8 inches of much needed moisture as we have been very dry all winter long. Hopefully we will get a few more along with our typical spring storms to help rejuvenate our lawns, pastures, flowers, shrubs and trees.

Please enjoy a few pictures from our most recent snow. We are lucky enough to call it home.

We Have Joined the Social Media World!!

It's true. North Fork Ranch has joined facebook & twitter!!! Yes, we know....It's about time right? :)

We finally decided to take the big plunge into this new world and have been actively learning all the bells & whistles involved in this new age of social media. Don't worry, we will still continue to blog, but will also now keep you up to date with facebook & twitter.

Please just click on the following links to become a "fan" on facebook or a "follower" on twitter.

www.facebook.com/NorthForkRanch

www.twitter.com/NorthForkRnch

You will also find links to facebook & twitter on the upper left hand side of our blog.

We look forward to getting to know you all better, spreading the word about our special place here at North Fork, sharing more news, updates, special offers and more with everyone.

See you there!!

Test

As some of you may have seen or experienced, the latest post did not send out alerts to your email accounts that a new post had been made. We are trying to correct this problem, therefore this is a test email to see if it is working again. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you!

One Extreme to the Other

Wait a minute. How did we get from here to there? Winter to summer back to winter.

Allow us to explain. We just got back from the DRA (Dude Rancher's Association Convention) in Tucson, AZ. This association not only includes dude ranches from the state of Colorado, but also many from the western states including Canada. The DRA convention took place in Tucson, AZ at Tanque Verde Ranch. What a great opportunity to see another mountainous terrain, yet in the desert.

Similar to our CDGRA (Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Assoc.) conventions, we all gathered for a few days to discuss topics relevant to our industry, economic and recreation issues and so much more! It was a great chance to get to know other ranchers outside of our home state but also a great time to get to know our fellow Colorado dude ranchers a bit better. The weather was absolutely amazing! Lots of sun, 70 degrees everyday and no wind! It was the strangest thing to go from winter here in Colorado to summer temperatures in a matter of a two hour plane flight. Winter coats & gloves to sunscreen & short sleeve shirts. It's hard to describe. I think our bodies were in shock. :) We hope you all can experience one day going from one extreme to the other. More to come soon on "pigeon rolling." :) It does exist!

Happy New Year!!!

Is it mid January already? Since the New Year is now upon us, we are getting everything started for our 26th season. It doesn't seem that long ago that we celebrated a milestone in celebrating our 25th last year. Wow...does time fly!

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends, maybe

"Dancing the night away"

OR

"Playing games with friends & loved ones."

We hope you are enjoying the "ride" so far in 2011!

We hope to see you all this summer.

http://www.northforkranch.com/

Happy New Year from North Fork Ranch!