For complete information about activities, rates,  and reservations
visit the
ELK RIVER GUEST RANCH website

About the
Author

Alexis Fogarty lives in Loveland, Colorado and has grown up on working cattle ranches. She has a deep appreciation for the culture of the ranching West, and enjoys sharing her experiences with others.

Aside from writing, Alexis enjoys traveling, riding horses, and driving her pickup. Her experience of working on various guest ranches in Colorado and Wyoming provides her with a unique insider's understanding of such operations.

About the Photographer

Sarah Fogarty lives in Fort Collins, Colorado and has an internship during the summer months with American Western Magazine. She has also been an important contributor to the ReadTheWest.com Ranch Cam, often supplying seasonal photography.

Sarah likes to study photography and loves expressing herself artistically through a variety of outlets such as painting, songwriting and playing her acoustical guitar.

Send This Page To a Friend

If not for one cold night, a bundle of old newspapers, and an idea struggling to come to life, Bill and Kathy Hinder would not have discovered their destinyElk River Guest Ranch.

Elk River Guest Ranch is a small, four-season resort hidden by the tall lodgepole pines within the majestic mountains surrounding Clark, Colorado. Located about 20 miles north of the ski town of Steamboat Springs, this idyllic setting offers a simple, clean feeling and influences time to come to a standstill.

Before the Hinders discovered this secret haven and its potential, they lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both were living the corporate American Dream with steady jobs and a beautiful house overlooking the city. Their concepts of better living changed, however, when their son, Austin, was born and their jobs would not compromise sharing time with a child. Soon Bill and Kathy found themselves spending more time at the workplace than at home and realized that was not the life they wanted to live.

Kathy Hinder thinks back to that convoluted period in her life. "Everybody above me on the ladder that I was supposed to be climbing was divorced and really wealthy, but so unhappy. They had all sorts of fun toys and really nice cars and houses, but that was it. And to me, that is not the way it should be. It's better to pick the people you want to be with."

Feeling stuck in dead-end careers, the Hinders were at a major crossroads, trying to figure out the best possible route to their family's happiness. Bill and Kathy understood the importance of a strong family structure and were determined to preserve the amount of quality time spent together.

The Hinders have always had a love for horses and often would influence their workplaces to hold corporate getaways at guest ranches. After all, what better place to get away and clear your mind for new ideas than out in the country. Though some of their fellow employees left the visits somewhat saddle-sore, their revived energy and inspired minds made it well worth the trip.

Their inspiration of operating a guest ranch grew from that experience.  "Why don't we do this?" Kathy wondered aloud to her husband. But treading new territory is often accompanied by doubt. "We kept thinking no, no, this is impossible. You'd have to either be born into it or win the lottery or something. It would have to be something big that makes you get there."

As it turned out, initiative and imagination were the starting blocks needed in accomplishing their dreams. The Hinders took to researching what it would take to get started in the guest ranch business and in no time they were on their way. They began by looking at potential ranch properties, and for the longest time could find nothing that met all of the criteria they set forth.

After about nine months of frustration, Bill and Kathy temporarily put the search off to the side and rented a cabin for a weekend. Later that evening, Kathy was alone in the cabin and began building a fire using some old newspapers that were left behind. She was crumpling up an old USA Today newspaper, ready to throw it into the flames that had just begun to rise.

Kathy recalls, "I'm just about to stuff the paper in the logs that are already going, and right there in my hand, just between the nook right there between the thumb and the forefinger is this little ad that said 'Colorado Guest Ranch for Sale.' It was just flashing at me."

Not wasting a single second, Kathy headed for the phone and dialed the number in the ad. A woman answered and confirmed the ranch was still for sale.

"A remarkable thing about this," says Kathy, "is that the ad was only placed in the USA Today paper for one day, and not one call was received about it."

And there it was, after nine months of searching they had miraculously found their new beginning.

Before the Hinders began renovations of the Elk River Guest Ranch, the place was more like a "run down KOA," as Bill describes it. The pasture where the horses are now kept was a massive junkyard that took what seemed to be an eternity to clean, as they took special care in removing all horse hazards. The cabins were really more like giant splinters with sleeping quarters, and the only kitchen available for all of the activities of the business was the one in their own house. Their front door was constantly swinging back and forth to the entrance and exit of hungry wranglers and cooks, hustling to prepare meals for the guests and for the dinner rides. With shovels, paintbrushes and hammers, Bill and Kathy worked day and night, slowly molding their small ranch, transforming their dream into reality.

Now their thirty-some horses roll and play in the corral. When the season ends, the herd is let out into the adjoining pasture; the horses explode from the gate into the field of wildflowers, kicking and neighing as they throw their heads back, almost as if in laughter.

The cabins are homey and comfortable enough for a king (or a hard-working businessperson). The bed and breakfast is now the main area for meal preparation, leaving the Hinders with some peace and privacy. The  saloon serves as the center of activity as people get ready to go for dinner-rides up the mountain, or nighttime wagon rides out to the towering tepees that are tucked among the aspen and pine.

However, even with all of the activities going on, from horseback riding to hunting, the Elk River Guest Ranch remains a solemn place for retreat. The river that runs alongside the ranch offers a rich serenity as it bubbles soothingly upon its course. The tall grass waves in the breeze, whispering a secret prayer to the song of the crickets. But you don't need to close your eyes to notice the presence of nature. The expanse of space stretches around you and holds the mountains close for you to admire. The Colorado evening sky resembles a child's hand print smeared against a painter's pallet, rendering a unique composition of colors that are always changing and always so amazing and breathtaking. Who needs fireworks when all you have to do is look to the clouds at twilight and actually feel the various shades of orange and yellow, pink and red, purple and blue, mixing with the many shades of shadows as they slowly dissolve into one another as the evening comes to a close. And then, when darkness cuddles up to you and you're sitting around the campfire with the other guests and the staff, how wonderful it is to witness that everyone's eyes are focused on the mirage of stars caught in a slow dance around all of humankind.

It's no wonder why the Hinders have fallen in love with this piece of land. Of course their journey was never easy, but nothing worthy ever is. Constantly facing new challenges and unforeseen obstacles, Bill and Kathy managed to hold everything together and give the guest ranch a new life that none of the previous owners were able to sustain.

"This thing is going to test you every which way any job could test you," Kathy reveals.

The Hinders worked through all the minor quirks and catastrophes, that tend to accompany any major project, and used them as lessons learned, strengthening their will to succeed. After most of the major storms had past, things finally began to settle down. The Hinders are now finally able to sit down, relax, and most of all appreciate their accomplishments.

One of the greatest perks of operating a guest ranch is having the horses and other animals around. Ever since she was a child, Kathy has been enthralled by horses and had spent most of her time around them. Spending time with the horses, she says, is "definitely something where you lose track of time."

As Kathy sits in the Silhouette Saloon one of the barn cats jumps onto her lap, begging to be pampered.

"The animals are the best," says Kathy. "You can always count on them. The horses are our best staff. They are always there, they always volunteer, they're there everydaythey want to be there. And I understand them. I know what they will do and what they can't do."

A major attribute to the couple's success was their unbroken determination. Bill and Kathy Hinder have the enthusiasm much like that of bright young students, fresh out of school and craving to live their dreams. The couple has worked extremely hard to get where they are at and consider it all worth it because of their love for the ranch and the lifestyle it offers.

Reflecting on all of the time spent trying to get where they are now, Bill remarks that for him, his favorite thing has also always been the horses. "...going out and catching them, getting them ready to go out. For me it's really relaxing because they're all like pets and they each have their own personality so it's always like greeting your friends in the morning."

Bill feels the same about the guests. "When every thing's done and you can sit down and visit with the guests and relax, that's always a lot of fun because we get people from all different walks of life and all different parts of the country and the world."

The Elk River Guest Ranch has become a much-welcomed change in lifestyle for the Hinder family.  They are grateful for the getaway they have created and are eager to see it grow. Already they have developed quite a following, year-round. Country music star Alan Jackson is among the noted guests who have experienced the enchanting Tepee Sleigh Ride Dinner the ranch offers during the winter.

"I don't think of it as a job at all because it's my life," says Kathy. "To me it's a place where we've set up a nice environment where people can get away if they live down in the city or even just in nearby Steamboat Springs. This is a place where they can come with their families, and have some time-out. It's quiet and comfortable here, and it helps people have some time to themselves and there's no cell phones and TVs and things that interrupt and take away, and I think that it gives them a chance to share real time together."

Quite often, many people find themselves caught up in the confusion of life, struggling to stay ahead of whatever game it is that we're supposed to be playing. So for those who would love to slow everything down, but instead find themselves speeding around in their cars, losing time with their families, and walking two steps ahead, in fear of being dragged behind...this is your story. This is your chance to find real time.

Copyright © 2003 Alexis Fogarty. No unauthorized reproduction or transmission by any means whatsoever permitted under federal criminal law.