The Three Amigo's!!

These three horses are some of the most loved & well known horses on the ranch. They are also some of the hardest working and have been for a long time. They are slowing down in their old age, but still love to come to the ranch and take our younger guests out on the trail. They each have their own special personalities but are as gentle as can be. They love to greet us every morning at the gate down at long meadow in the winter time and are excited to escort us down in the truck to their grain bins. It's brings a smile to your face every morning to see the three of them greeting us. :)

Bailey. This cute girl has been working hard at the ranch for many, many years. She loves her treats and loves to get personal affection from her riders. The cutest thing about Bailey....is her ears. Instead of holding her ears up and perky like most horses, she always has them out to the side. Does it get any cuter?

Idaho. This handsome man is an Appaloosa and has wonderful coloring. He is extremely sweet and loves to take care of our younger riders every summer. Idaho is "the man in charge" in winter pasture and the other two horses he lives with highly respect him. :) He has a very soft winter coat right now and loves to get a nice pat on the back for a job well done.

Jake may be one of our smaller horses, but has the biggest heart. This furry guy is very sweet and gentle and loves to work hard. He is very patient and always takes extra special care of his riders. He might be hard to recognize in the winter time because he gets quite a shaggy, furry coat, but we think he's cuter than ever! :)

Lions, Tigers and Bears. Oh my!

Well, maybe not the tigers, but we do have lions here in Colorado....mountain lions that is. And of course bears. These powerful animals do not like to be seen just as much as we do not like to have encounters with them. They prefer not to be in the spotlight which I think is a mutual feeling with humans. :) The bears are most likely beginning to (if not already have) left hibernation and will begin looking for food to satisfy their empty bellies. Attached is a picture from a bear we had visit the Homestead Cabin last spring (please also see the blog post from May 15, 2010). Also, here are some neat mountain lion tracks recently seen in the mud. The picture isn't great as it was taken with a cell phone and the print looks small but trust me, it's big enough to make you nervous!! :) The print is a little smaller than a woman's hand. Not a big lion, but not a small one either. :) Sorry about the quality of the photos.

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!