CHIEFTAIN PHOTOS/KARI COLLINS
Echo Canyon Guest Ranch visitors (from left) Kelly Way,Chris Hilderhof, Jan Ducy and Kolten Ducy take a trail ride past a gap in the Devil'sStairsteps, which provides a view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Echo Canyon, one ofColorado's many dude ranches, is located south of La Veta and also offers activities likefishing, hiking, cattle drives and archery.

West Stop

Visitors enjoy a little rest and relaxation, ranch-style

By AMY MATTHEW
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

LA VETA - Porch-sitting is a fading art.

People have become experts at sitting in cars, on couches and in front of TVs, but that porch tradition is getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. However, for those who want to shed the modern world for a while, there still are places where the tempo rarely gets above "amble" and the porch reigns supreme, and Colorado is home to quite a few of them.

Guest, or dude, ranches are a popular vacation option for people from the East Coast and foreign countries. There might even be a Coloradan or two among the visitors. Whatever their geographic starting point, they're all at the ranches for one reason.

"We're providing that western experience," said Charles Henry, executive director of the Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch Association.

Personal attention is a priority at guest ranches. The Echo Canyon property includes a modern main lodge and several cabins, which can accommodate about 40 people, but ranch owner Dave Brown prefers to keep the number to 25 or fewer.

Roughing it? Not really

Dude ranches became popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s as more people traveled to visit the West. Working ranches started accepting guests, who would in turn take part in daily ranch activities. That's changed a bit. Guests are still welcome to help out with some of the daily chores, if they choose, but the focus is on providing a memorable getaway for them.

"We're protecting an experience people want, but they don't want to be bored, either," Henry said.

Henry said about 13,000 people visited Colorado guest ranches in 2005. The industry brings in $15 million each year, he said.

A sample of the ranch experience can be found less than 100 miles from Pueblo at Echo Canyon Guest Ranch, south of La Veta. Snuggled at the base of the Spanish Peaks, the ranch provides everything visitors expect: horses, cowboys, fishing ponds, stunning mountain scenery, good food and a huge front porch lined with chairs. Rooms and cabins are comfortable and modern, but there's no cell phone reception or TV, and you won't be bumping elbows with anybody unless you sit too close to them at dinner time.

"I think size is so important when you go somewhere like this. I don't like crowds," said Dave Brown, owner of the ranch.

Colorado's guest ranches offer a chance to unplug from city life. Visitors at Echo Canyon can take part in a weekly cattle drive, pictured here, and are also given lessons on roping and penning the cattle.

Family affair

Brown bought the property nine years ago. His wife, Rosemary, told him he needed something to give him a break from their successful home-building company in Phoenix.

"She said I ought to have a hobby. Well, I sure have one now," he said. "I love the lifestyle and that's why I'm here."

Echo Canyon can accommodate up to 40 people, although Brown likes to keep the number around 25 to keep things more personal. Like most guest ranches, Echo Canyon is open from May to September, and Brown moves to the ranch for the whole season. He brings along Bernie, Libby and Bunky, his three golden retrievers, who are the ranch's official ambassadors. Henry said it's personal touches like that that make a ranch vacation special.

"We've got a unique group of members. All of the ranches are family-owned. It's a fun bunch," he said. "All the ranches do (essentially) the same things, but every ranch delivers them in a different way."

The Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch Association has 30 members, all of which offer all-inclusive packages that offer horseback riding and are family-oriented, Henry said. Their median capacity is 32 guests. The state also has other ranches that differ from what association members offer; some are adults-only, for example, or aren't horse-oriented.

Ranch vacations aren't cheap, but since so many of them include lodging, meals and most activities, they turn out to be a pretty good value. A week at Echo Canyon, which is competitively priced with other Colorado ranches, will top out at $1,500 for an adult; children get a 20 percent discount. Because of the types of activities it offers, Echo Canyon has a minimum age requirement of 8, but many ranches are open to all ages.

Rocky Mountain high

Colorado, Montana and Wyoming are the three most popular guest-ranch destinations, but Colorado has an access advantage because of Denver International Airport, said Henry. Christy Martinez, Brown's executive assistant at Echo Canyon, said most of their visitors come from Texas, the East Coast and the United Kingdom. "People from the U.K. are interested in dude ranches because that's America to them; we're western," Martinez said.

True to that image, rustic-looking log buildings dot the Echo Canyon property; western art graces the walls; and there are plenty of cowboy hats for sale in the gift shop. The cowboy image isn't a requirement for guests, however.

"Eighty-five percent of our guests have never been on a horse," said Brown.

Since most guests stay for a week, they're introduced to their horses on the first day and have an orientation about riding safety. People usually ride the same horse for the duration of their stay. Echo Canyon owns about 50 horses and all of them stay at the ranch year round, Brown said.

Most ranches offer riding opportunities every day of the week. Other typical activities include hiking, archery, target shooting, swimming and fishing. Ranches that allow children often have age-specific programs created for them.

Henry said lots of parents worry that their kids won't have enough to do without TV and video games, but quickly find out there's no limit to what they'll discover on the ranch. At the very least, it introduces them to the natural world.

"Kids don't see grass anymore unless it's a soccer field," Henry said.

The Ellingsworth family of Delray Beach, Fla., recently enjoyed their first trip to Colorado, which included time at Echo Canyon. Maria Ellingsworth said the experience was a tremendous one for her pre-teen children, Sofia and Coleman. Sofia spent much of her last day at the ranch trying to figure out a way to transport Tequila - her ranch horse, not the liquor - back to Florida.

"They have loved it," Mrs. Ellingsworth said. "We hate to leave."

Chris Hilderhof (left) and his girlfriend, Kelly Way, both of Overland Park, Kan., share a moment before a trail ride at Echo Canyon Guest Ranch earlier this month. Hilderhof has been to the ranch three times, but this was Way's first trip.

Making memories

Sue Kendall, a flight attendant from Illinois, first brought her son, Chris Hilderhof, to Echo Canyon when he was a teenager.

"I tried to think of something a 16-year-old boy would be interested in. Some people on a flight mentioned they'd just been to a dude ranch, and I thought, ‘Aha!’ ” she said.

When they arrived for the first time, "We drove up the road and they greeted us and said, ‘You must be Sue and Chris,’Ê” she said. "That was so neat. They know you."

The trip has become a tradition and they just had their third visit to the ranch, this time including Kendall's husband, Bart, and Hilderhof's girlfriend, Kelly Way.

"It took me about a half hour to decide I liked it," said Bart Kendall.

"We made another memory," said his wife.

Henry said guest ranches are increasingly popular with women, especially moms.

"It's one of the unique vacations where mom gets a break, too," he said. "Someone else does the cooking, we don't get people up at the crack of dawn and you don't have to be anywhere if you don't want to be. There's no planning to do and no driving."

Guests at Echo Canyon may go separate ways with different activities during the day, but they're all together at mealtime, gathered around long tables, discussing the day's ride, or who caught the most fish. They quickly become friends with their fellow ranchers and the attentive staff, which includes the owner.

"This has turned out to be an ongoing social event," Brown said. "The people are so neat. Our guests have turned out to be our very good friends."

After dinner, there's only one place to be: out on that front porch, keeping that tradition alive. Guests swap tales as they watch a swarm of hummingbirds wreak havoc around the feeders that hang from the eaves. It's a fine place to take a deep breath and do . . . absolutely nothing.

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