Hola!

Well it has been quite warm here at the ranch for the last week. Well....hot to us anyway. Eighty to eighty five degrees here and we are all complaining how hot it is. :) But the mornings and evenings still cool down which is nice.

Our family reunion group and the "Pond Contest" winners had a great week. The ranch was filled with lots of children enjoying pony rides, the swimming pool, the petting zoo and much more. There was always laughter in the dining room every evening with everyone recalling the days events. Friendships and memories were made and we hope to see all of them again next year.

Here's a great shot of two of our staff members this summer really "playing the part" at our Mexican Buffet lunch. They are quite the hosts. :) All the staff is doing a great job this summer and have enjoyed all of you that have stayed with us. We all look forward to meeting the rest of you as the season continues.

Update

We've had great weather here at the ranch the last two weeks. Warm temperatures, the afternoon showers have disappeared, and the Colorado blue skies are gorgeous.

For you fisherman out there, you'll be happy to know that all of the spring run off has passed through, therefore the water is clear, crisp and flowing at a great level right now. The fishing is unbelievable!! Come and visit us to "wet a line" and perhaps catch one of our famous, 18-22 inchers. :) We are an Orvis Endorsed Fishing Lodge as well. http://www.northforkranch.com/html/orvis_endorsement.htm

The winners of our "Pond Ice-Breaking Contest" are arriving today for their free, family vacation they won. We are very excited they will be joining us again! Their two little ones are eligible to ride this year!! We also have one of our family reunions that visit us year after year arriving today as well. We are glad to have them all back as well as some new guests this week.

It's going to be a great week! Come and EXPERIENCE North Fork Ranch! http://www.northforkranch.com/index.html

"Wrangling" at the Ranch

Wonderful excitement this last week at the ranch. Tyler went to the sale barn and brought home a baby calf and two baby lambs!!! They are so cute!!! Tyler rolled into the ranch on Wednesday evening with his new pets, but the calf decided to take a stroll through dinner while everyone was getting their steak outside....he then proceeded to the front of the lodge. EVERYONE was chasing the calf round and round! It was quite comical. :) Finally, one of our staff "wrangled" the calf to the ground, Hayley proceeded to hold down the hind legs, and Tyler put on his halter. Check out this great picture of the "event" that one of our return guests took.

New Happenings at North Fork!

We have a few weeks under our belt and things are going great at the ranch. We've had wonderful guests already and can't wait to meet the rest of you throughout the summer. The spring weather is still hanging around here....warm mornings like summer, then afternoon showers and cool temperatures. You just never know what the weather is going to do in Colorado. Our Wednesday hikers even got snowed on last week on their way up Square Top Mountain!!!

There are new arrivals coming to the ranch soon......lots of exotic, baby chickens!! We already have four chickens but decided to add more that are quite different looking than the rest. :) We are getting a variety of colors that are sure to look quite funny....yet very cute. We'll see if they like to roam around the ranch when they are older like our other ones. These of course will join our three goats and rabbits in the petting zoo.

Dean finished the bridge to Stonehenge that was being remolded and it looks wonderful! It is wide enough for the 4-wheeler to fit across so we can clear brush along the river and has copper piping below the railing that looks very sharp. You'll have to come and test it out first hand.

Dude Season is Here!!!

Well today is the first official day of dude season and everyone is so excited to begin the summer. Dean is on his way home with our first week of guests from the airport and we can't wait! The smell of Thanksgiving turkey and homemade pumpkin bread fills the kitchen.

Our horses are healthy and ready to ride, the fisherman are catching fish left and right, and everyone is geared up for square dancing and all of our evening activities. The anticipation and wait is over. :)

Chloe, the cat, (see right) is guarding the ranch and directing traffic to the office. Can you see her? She's waiting for you!

www.northforkranch.com

Ten Days & Counting!!

Things are really starting to move along here at the ranch. All the buildings are open and we've already had several groups at the ranch to help us prepare for summer. Horses are now here, lawns are being mowed, the pool & hot tubs are getting filled and we are anxiously awaiting for guests to arrive for the official start of the season!

Our new staff for the summer is also arriving. Our wranglers "reported for duty" on Sunday to begin our horse clinic and several cooks are already here learning Karen's wonderful menu for the summer. They have already perfected the popular "ice cream roll dessert" and Thanksgiving dinner. :) The rest of the staff will be arriving throughout the next week. We have a great crew lined up this year with a few familiar faces from last summer. We are very excited to have them all here and know you will enjoy them as much as we have!

Looking forward to another great season (25th in fact)!

The Horses are Coming!

The dude season is fast approaching and horses are coming in from pasture today!!

Hayley just returned home from college late last night and went out with Dave this morning to start bringing them in from our pasture in South Park.

Come and visit us this summer to see all your favorites as well as some great new horses Dave has added to the herd. Who knows...you may even be able to help name some of them. :)