Posts Tagged ‘fly fishing’

Why Fly Fish?

Monday, July 19th, 2010

The fly fishing at our Colorado guest ranch is catch and release, so we’re not fishing for food. Why, then, do we fish? Why do people come to our Guest Ranch in Colorado with dreams fly rods in their heads? Why indeed.

Fly fishing is an art.

The first mention of fly fishing in recorded history is said to be by the Roman Claudius Aelianus, in the second century. He had heard of Macedonians luring fish to the surface with colorful imitation flies attached to a line and rod. They apparently took the idea from watching fish surface to consume strange flies that hovered over the water. Undoubtedly they did so for food, as people have been doing for thousands of years.

In the Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle, written at the end of the 15th century, the author firmly states the fishing with an angle is the best form of sport – the least uncomfortable and the most pleasurable (when compared with hunting, hawking and trapping). The author goes on to discuss crafting the ideal rods, hooks, floats and lines for various waters and fish.

Fly fishing may not be too taxing, but it certainly requires skill and knowledge, from creating the proper equipment to understanding the fish and fishing conditions in each location. This, perhaps, is why it appeals to so many. Each minute spent on the water with rod in hand is a chance to better oneself. Each cast is a new start.

The guides at our guest ranch, lead by Andy Lee, know the waters and the fish that dwell in them well. They are expert teachers, adept in the art of bringing forth the angler in every man and woman. That said, fly fishing is ultimately a private sport. Only you can catch the fish.

We think that’s why people come here to fish. They want to stand in a gloriously beautiful setting and rise to the challenge of each minute. They feel that somehow, no matter the outcome, just being here and trying their best makes them a little bit better.

Spontaneous Colorado Dude Ranch Vacation

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Doesn’t it sound romantic? You call your sweetie and say, “Drop everything. I’m whisking you away for a romantic and exciting Colorado Dude Ranch vacation. We leave in 3 days.” Won’t he/she adore you even more for that?

Fishing tips from Kid's Counselor Emily.

Or imagine this: at dinner tonight you surprise your spouse and children by announcing you’re all going on a family dude ranch adventure the last week of July. They cheer, they applaud, they jump up from the table and dance a jig. Family bliss. You have just enough time to prepare.

Our luxury fly fishing resort has some last minute openings the weeks of July 17 – 24 and 24 – 31. This is a wonderful opportunity for friends, couples or families to immerse themselves in nature: partake in hikes and horseback rides in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado; treat yourselves to an angling adventure like none other, on seven private miles of Goose Creek; splash and play in our pool. (more…)

Who You’ll Meet: The Guest Ranch Staff

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

There will be quite a few amazing people at the ranch pretty soon. I’m not just talking about our wonderful guests and the families who haven chosen us to host their horseback riding vacations for several generations. There will also be several dozen great college students taking care of your children, serving your meals and insuring that your vacation is safe, fun and relaxing.

The real roots of the 4UR Ranch are our core staff; we rely on them make people’s Rocky Mountain vacations unforgettable.

Aaron and Robin Christensen, the unstoppable couple who manages the ranch year-round and knows this valley’s nooks and crannies. It is their expertise and wonderful operational skills that keep our valley healthy and help us be stewards of this land for the next generation.

Our head guide Andy Lee, who will help you take advantage of the many activities to be enjoyed during your family ranch vacation. He knows depths about Goose Creek, our private tailwaters, that are ideal for catching large, glimmering trout.

Wray Warner, our head chef. He will keep your appetite satisfied while making sure you enjoy exceptionally prepared and delicious food.

Damon Gibbons, our head wrangler. He has helped 4UR Ranch become not only a one-of-a-kind fly fishing lodge, but an exciting and well-run Colorado dude ranch. His practice of natural horsemanship allows all of us to learn from our horses, while we become better riders. He helps to guide a wonderful youth riding program.

And of course Kathy Adleman, who makes our front desk run smoothly and shares her great knowledge about the ranch and our area with curious callers.

Thank you to all of you that give every guest a great experience at the 4UR, and we look forward to another amazing season with you.

Thinking about Colorado Dude Ranches?

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

There is something very special about Colorado. Along with the rich history and stunning landscape, Colorado holds a balance between the wild west and the new west.

We love our horses, and wide open spaces, but we also practice sustainable land practice, and natural horsemanship.

We have a delicious steak ride every week. Steak ride is when we jump on horseback and ride up the valley to a delicious cook-out dinner with our chef Wray Warner. But steak ride also means fine wine and cocktails, a delectable array of cheeses and snacks, along with big, juicy steak.

Our Rocky Mountain Vacations also include fly fishing in some of the most pristine waters you could hope for. In what is called “private tailwaters“, we have only catch and release fishing. So we give every angler the excitement of the catch.

Come and experience a more than a horseback riding vacation -  4UR ranch will bring you back in time while caring for the land so that it will be pristine for your grandchildren and ours.

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What makes us a Colorado Luxury Dude Ranch?

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

There are dude ranches, and then there are luxury dude ranches. That’s 4UR. We are way beyond your basic BBQ & beds setup. Here are some of the small details and big amenities that make 4UR ranch more than your average guest ranch.

Dining: We recruited our chef, Wray Warner, from the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole. Some of his specialties include unique home-made ice creams, and ambitious pasta, beef and fish dinner entrees. One of my favorites is a mushroom pasta that has been prepared to allow the delicate flavors of the fungi to come out.

It’s not just about dinner, breakfast and lunch are stunning as well. I love to start breakfast with the home-made granola and yogurt, along with hot, strong coffee. We also serve unique cook-to-order breakfast dishes. Breakfast is a very personalized meal, and we want you to feel right at home.

Even lunch is a special affair, esp. on Wednesdays when we hold our Mexican luncheon poolside. We have fajitas, chips, guacamole, cold Coronas and margaritas. Box lunches are also available to take out for your fly fishing trip.

Bathing: We have great “watering holes” – literally! Our pool is large and refreshing; there is plenty of deck space for lounging or playing games with family. We have tables if you want to sit in the shade umbrellas and have a cold drink or a snack. The pool is the place to be, if you ask me!
The hot springs are what Wagon Wheel Gap was originally famous for. In the early 1900s, General William Palmer founded the Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs Resort. The Hot Springs were thought to have medicinal qualities; we still have the historic bath house on property. You can still enjoy the Hot Springs, they are just adjacent to the pool and may still have the power to cure what ails you.
The sauna is here for you to enjoy as well – it is also in the pool area, and next to it is our massage parlor. This is relaxation central, and something that makes 4UR quite luxurious.

colorado fly fishing

Catch a beauty in our "Private Tailwaters"

Fly Fishing Vacation: Our fly fishing is renowned as spectacular. We divide our pristine Goose Creek into 15 “stations”, each a 1/3 mile, which are assigned by lottery in the evening. This system keeps everything fair, and assures each fisher-person prime waters at a prime time nearly every day.

Along with Goose Creek, there are four stations on the Rio Grande and one in the Weminuche Wilderness. You may also take a guided fishing trip above timberline to Lost Lakes for rare Rio Grande cutts, or fish Station 21, a trophy pond in the ranch valley. All waters are catch and release fly fishing only, except for Walton Pond, which is a great place to start practicing with your little angler.

Goose Creek’s drainage is quite unique. Flowing from the Weminuche Wilderness, it passes through only two private properties before reaching the Rio Grande; the 4UR Ranch and our neighbors upstream. Our neighbor’s reservoir feeds the creek from its cool waters via an 80-foot dam, making this creek one of only a handful of private tailwaters in America. Andy Lee and Aaron Christenson have spent their years with us managing the stream rigorously. This, along with our catch and release practices make for some surprisingly big, well-colored trout. Look forward to seeing rainbows, browns, snake river cutts, cutt-bow hybrids and even brookies.

As you can see, 4UR Ranch is more than boots and dusty arenas – come here for something completely unique.

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Guest Ranch Fishing Guide in Local News

Friday, December 11th, 2009
Drew Silvernail may help you catch the big one this summer!

Drew Silvernail may help you catch the big one this summer!

Our very own Drew Silvernail was featured in an article in AL.com, a web site covering local Alabama news. This is his home state and they were interested to hear how he had fallen in love with fly fishing in the Rockies.
He came to us to assist as a fly fishing guide for our Rocky Mountain Vacations over the summer, and was a great asset. He has stayed on to help out a little on the ranch and assist Aaron with the boys basketball team.  He is also coaching the pee wee basketball team. The story covers his experience and education in Alabama, and his first experience fly fishing in Alaska. It is quite an exciting story, and we don’t blame him for falling in love with the art of the fly rod! We try to share these same kind of exciting and unforgettable experiences during our summer Western Vacations, both on the stream and elsewhere on the ranch.

We are happy that Drew is still with us, and look forward to another summer with him during family ranch vacation season. He is great with the kids. You can see the article on Drew here.

Preparations for Family Ranch Vacations

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Aaron and the guys just finished an extensive facelift on Station #7. The changes will create more holding water, and we are all excited to see what affect the changes will have on guest ranch fishing next year.

Cozy 4UR Rooms with new matresses and linens

Cozy 4UR Rooms with new mattresses and linens

On the other end of things, we are taking care of all the lovely amenities you have come to expect during your horseback riding vacations at 4UR Ranch: new linens and a new finish on the pool. It will be extra sparkling blue next summer!

Speaking of new improvements and changes for 4UR, did you know we have a Facebook page now? We also just began importing our blog posts into the page, so you can look both on the Facebook page or here to keep up with the winter in Creede.

We attended the Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch Association (CDGRA) convention last month. It was a great time to reconnect with other Ranchers in the area, as well as learning a lot of valuable information.

On a personal note, the guys are playing basketball during these cold winter months to stay entertained. It is now about 0-10 degrees in the morning, and the cold weather is making the horses quite sassy!

We hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we will keep you posted on new things happening at our Colorado Dude Ranch over the winter.

Colorado Guest Ranch

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Fall is in the air! At 7,500 feet elevation, you can feel it come on quick here! It is crisp everywhere, and our Hot Springs are more and more delicious in the cool evenings.

Soon it will just be our core staff at the ranch, and the horses of course. This is an important time to allow for Goose Creek to re-coop for next summers Fly Fishing Vacations. Soon the town of Creede will be reduced to the few steadfast year-round residents.

The Creede Repertory Theater closed at the end of August, so all the big stars are out of town as well. Soon we will have the San Juan Mountains all to our self. We work hard to maintain this precious land for the year to come. We want the fields to be green and plentiful to supply the horses in the spring and throughout the summer if possible. Plus, the better care we can take, the better the valley will look for horseback riding vacations in the summer.

Wet winters and Summers make for Wildflowers and Green hillsides

A wet winter and spring make for wildflowers and green hillsides

Soon the snows will come, and there will be a whole new reason to visit Colorado! The skiers and snowboarders will ascend the mountains in search of thrills. We will watch our beautiful valley change as the snows come, and wait, not too differently from hibernating bears, for the spring to come again.

Please feel free to contact us over the winter; we will still be here to answer phones and emails about summertime Rocky Mountain Vacations. We’ll just be carrying hot chocolate instead of ice cold pop.

Family Ranch Vacations in Colorado

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Fall has arrived at the 4UR Guest Ranch, and the morning temps are hovering around the freezing point already. That’s what happens when you sit at over 8,000 feet elevation! It gives you some smokin’ hot and sunny days and cool nights and early mornings. Great for the tan, we always tell our young lady guests – just don’t get burned!

We aren’t seeing any changing leaves or fall colors yet – but that is just one reason to take your fly fishing vacation later on in our season. The fish are still biting, with some nice plump big boys being caught! Our varied waters hold an abounding array of trout: rainbows, browns, snake river cutts, cutt-bow hybrids and even brookies.

We are starting some renovations and construction on our Cabin at Lost Lake, one of our more secluded lodging options here at the dude ranch. Couples seem to really enjoy that cabin during their rocky mountain vacation.

Thw Wildflowers have been hanging in - it was a nice wet summer

The Wildflowers have been hanging in - it was a nice wet summer

We continue to have some exciting wildlife sightings. One of our fisherman saw four bull elk swimming across the lower lake. He was really excited about it, I think it must have been quite a sight! We have also continued to see our friendly black bear, and some guests have seen moose. It was been a wonderfully full and busy summer. Lots of families enjoying horseback riding and the kids especially have been doing a great job in their horsemanship and riding classes. Lots of kids have been in fly fishing school as well this summer.

The first of our staff is heading back to the “real world”: medical school, nursing programs and accounting studies. We will miss them, we had such a great group this year!

Next month we are looking forward to hosting an undersheriff convention, it should be a great time!

Dude Ranch Vacations in Colorado

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

What are the ingredients for a perfect family dude ranch? Well, we think that excellent and inviting accommodations are the first step.

We have a variety of lodging options that our dedicated staff work hard to plan perfectly for your family trip. For example, we try to put couples in the same lodging area, and families in another, so that kids can become friends with their neighbors, and no one has to worry about a sleepless night.

Some 4UR Guests Relaxing in front of the Lodge

Some 4UR Guests Relaxing in front of the Lodge

Most of our lodging is structured Adirondack-style, with a long shared porch. The lodges are centrally located by and large; close to our dining room, lodge and pool area. However, we do have some homes that are pulled away for the rest of the ranch, and offer a quiet and secluded option.

Step two for a family ranch vacation is a great variety of activities to keep everyone in the family happy and entertained. We have Goose Creek of course, our world-class fly fishing creek, with seven pristine miles of private waters for anglers of all skill levels. Our head guide, Andy, can often be seen on the lawn in the morning with a group of young folks, showing them fly fishing techniques and tricks.

Then there is our equestrian program, which we are so proud of! Head wrangler Damon is trained in natural horsemanship, and when you come to ride at 4UR, you won’t just plot along behind the next horses’ bottom. We will lead you through our beautiful valley onto mesas and mountaintops for stunning views or delicious meals, like the Steak ride and the Fish Fry. We have a great riding program for the kids as well, which culminates in a hilarious kids rodeo.

There is our pool, and hot springs, as well as massage and yoga classes to partake in.

The last step for a great dude ranch experience is, or course, relaxation. With the quiet and peace of our little valley here at Wagon Wheel Gap, you are sure to find pure moments of serenity. After all, people have been visiting this valley for just that purpose for more than 150 years. I guess that is what keeps folks coming back again and again to our Guest Ranch. We provide a place for effortless and pleasant memory-building. That is what 4UR Ranch is all about.