Spring Break 2006
We had a wonderful time!! The snow was an added suprise!!
We've decided that Sundance will become our annual spring break vacation.
It's a pleasure to finally see people living their dreams!!
Tell Leo hello from Jeremy.
Penny and Roy
Dallas TX
Monday, March 20, 2006
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Dear Dan and Ellen,
It's been several years since we visited your
ranch. Since then we have gone to other ranches,
and although we've enjoyed each of these, Yours is
the BEST!
If you can remember the first time we came out, I
was quite afraid to get on one of those four legged
beasts you call horses, and insisted on Woody.
Within just a few days not only was I comfortable
riding this gentle horse, but came back the
following year to continue our first adventure. Your
staff makes all the difference. The other ranches
we've been to don't seem to care as much about
the saftey of their clients or the horses. And you
do a much better job of screening your help to
make it enjoyable for everybody.
And the food, yours beat the others hands down!!!
Andyou gave the adults a night to themselves by
taking all the kids out for the sleepover....that was
a wonderful feature.
Miss your ranch, and I hope we can come back in
the next year or so.
Karen Wyman (and Bill and Sean) from Bethel Park PA, on Friday, December 9, 2005
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Hi Ellen and Dan,
I want to say this was one of the best vacations I have ever had. Thank you for such a fulfilling and memorable week on your beautiful ranch.
I miss the ranch, the morning rides, the hikes, the views, the rest when you wanted it, the incredible food but most of all your staff. Rocky, Alijosh, Pete, Andy, Jim and especially you Ellen.
Thanks for taking such good care of us.
I will never forget riding my horse Sage and seeing all the beautiful countryside on horseback, the picnic lunches while riding, Lynn's unscheduled dismount from Fudge, the abundant, healthy, home cooked meals, fabulous deserts, the delicious coffee, the goats getting into the parlor, the goats sitting on the backs of the donkeys, the 3 beautiful kittens which helped all of us from missing our own cats, the Western poetry night with roasted marshmallows, Rocky's jamming session with us on our last night and just so many laughs and good times. We were all so well taken care of.
You have a very special place that I know we will all be coming back to. I am planning on coming back next year.
Thank you for the memories.
Love, Christie
w.blake@ctconnect.com
September 2005
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Ellen, Dan & the gang
It is Monday & back at work !!!!!
Ten years I had waited for this type of vacation & it was over in a flash & it met my every expectation. Ian is still going on about those bloomin bears !!!! say a big HI to Rocky, Jim & we
are missing Peter's cooking already !!!!!
We have already received some photos from Laurie & that disc was brilliant. We can't thank you or express enough what a great time we had & we are trying to work out when we can come again. I know it wont be the same with the great company we shared with all that were there but I am sure yourself & Dan
would still make it very enjoyable.
I hope Jim gave Artimis a good rest & can you get him to give her a huge pat from me & I
am looking forward to seeing the photos when she has her foal.
Missing Colorado already
Liz & Ian
liz.fisher@bksv.com
Bedfordshire
England
September, 2005
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All of us are in agreement that this was
the absolute best family vacation we have ever had,
and we are thrilled to have come during "Dog
Week," as well as Jay's birthday week. Ha! Great
new friends, beautiful scenery, wonderful horses all
added up to a wonderful family vacation.
We were
planning to go to DisneyWorld next year for Nick's
10th birthday, but he refuses to entertain the idea
any longer, as he only wants to return to Sundance
Trail to be with Bucky, except he wants to stay 2
weeks, instead of just one.
Thank you all for a most unforgettable family
experience! We are blessed to enjoy an annual
family vacation, and the memories we have from
Sundance will be treasured by all of us.
Love to all, especially Thomas, Clyde, Bucky & Doc!
The Czar Family--Jay, Dineen, Nick & Polly
djczar@charter.net
July 2005
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This past Christmas we wanted to give our daughters a nontraditional
present that they would remember for their life time. So we decided on a
trip to a dude ranch for a week as their present. As a family, we
researched dude ranches and found that Sundance Trails had everything we
were looking for in a vacation. Between December and June, the girls'
excitement about the vacation built and we began to worry a bit about their
high expectations for the week.
From the minute we arrived at the ranch, saw the horses grazing gracefully
in the pine-tree-lined meadow and were greeted by Jack and Hotshot (the
dogs), the four kittens, and the wranglers, we knew that we had nothing to
worry about.
Our 10 year old daughter enjoyed her week playing with the kittens, riding
her horse Cheyenne, joking around with the wranglers and sitting on the
porch reading her book. Her favorite memory was watching wranglers Jim and
Josh ride the stick pony around the barrels at the rodeo games.
Our 7 year old daughter enjoyed the evening hikes, rock
climbing, white water river rafting, feeding the chickens, bunnies and goats,
and riding
her horse, Fudge. We hardly saw our usually clingy daughter the whole week
as she was having so much fun playing with the other children at the ranch
and spending time with the kid's wrangler, Sarah. She also thought the
evening campfire was pretty cool when she got to play the wash board and is
still singing "Grandma's Feather Bed."
Darryl's favorite memories include not only shooting the
50 caliber black
powder gun, but watching "the wife" lunge backwards when shooting it. He
also enjoyed trying his hand at skeet shooting. He will also remember the
help his horse, Clyde, tried to give him with the video camera ? peering
through the screen to watch what he was taping and trying to move him
around to the "perfect" angle.
Tana enjoyed the gorgeous views from the mountain trail rides and was
surprised to learn that she liked white water rafting. She also loved the
home cooked meals ? especially the yummy brownies ? and not having to worry
about cleaning up afterwards. Her favorite memory was getting the
family's best time during the barrel racing at the rodeo the last day.
(Even if she and Cherokee cheated a little by only going right around the
barrels).
As parents, the memory that will linger the longest for us is when both
girls thanked us for taking them on the trip and told us that they'd like
to get a trip to Sundance for their Christmas present again next year.
Thanks Ellen and Dan for an action-packed, yet relaxing vacation we will
always remember and cherish.
Tana, Darryl, Morgan and Lauren
Scottsdale, Arizona
darryl.harlan@cox.net
2005- June
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What I remember most about the sundance trail dude ranch
was when I was on Trigger on ou way back from lunch and
we were letting the horses get some water and little did I
know that Trigger was quite the water lover so he starts
splashing and I knew that right then and there that I was
done for. Two good dips in the water and I was Soaked to
my knees,luckily my camera was just inches from
soakilyhood (thats a word right?). Everyone spoke about It
From Then on.
Another memory I was so grateful to
experience was getting to meet the two very special
housekeepers. One was so greatly generous as to give me
her fathers hat and felt better that I had it in my possession
than it just sat on a shelf catching dust and for that I thank
you, thank you, thank you Marlene(hopefully I Spelt That
Right). The Other housekeeper....ahh what can I say other
than without her this whole vacation,this whole
happening,this whole experience would not have been the
same. Someone to laugh (either truly or through pity-in that
case thanx anyway) at my jokes. Someone whom never
knew of such a thing as a bad hair/outfit day. Someone to
lean on (just kidding). Someone of great motivation.
Someone who I could never get tired of being around or
listening to. And Someone who I only hope to see again next
year. The other housekeeper by which I mean is Janie. I
thank you from the bottom of my heart and may we cross
paths again.
Kevin Rupe
hanylokyman@hotmail.com
June 18, 2005
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Our girl scout troop has been anticipating our
camping weekend at Magic Sky for over a year.
The girls, all 4th graders, have been begging to go
horseback riding since second grade. We had a
great day riding in the snow and learning hands on
about tack and grooming. Thank you to Dan and
the wranglers for a wonderful experience and we
hope to see you next year!
Laurie Rozendaal
scolau@aol.com
April 12, 2005
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We arrived at Sundance Trail Ranch in Colorado on a Sunday
in August. My husband, Robert had won the trip at a live
auction TWO years ago and we finally went.
I had intended to just read, sit and maybe work on some
small paintings. Brought 4 books even. He was going to
fish.
Upon arrival we realized we were in the middle of
a ranch specifically geared for those who LOVE to ride...on
horses!
Being the curmudgeon that I am, I thought...okay, I'll
go on that first ride tomorrow to be polite but that's
IT! I was hearing things about "the 2 hour ride on
Tuesday and the 5 hour ride on Wednesday"....uh uh,
no thanks, I'd never make it, I'd die on the trail.
Very long, WONDERFUL story
made short.....there I was on top of my dear horse (Diamond)
on Wednesday ready for
that 5 hour ride to the falls for a terrific lunch packed
in by horse. The scenery there is spectacular...we'd get
a little rain and thunder every afternoon and the meadows
were filled with wildflowers...the horses were all perfectly
wonderful and we made fast friends with 2 other couples
who were there with their kids. ANYway, when we arrived
at the falls for lunch (2 1/2 hour ride) it started to
POUR. I mean CURtains of rain. And hail. And cracking banging
thunder. (Woo! opppiiieee! My favorite ! ) So, there we
were high in the Rocky Mtns. (about 15 or so of us, the
horses, and 2 dogs). We grabbed our lunches and bright
yellow cowboy slickers and ran for cover...under huge boulders
and into the trees. Poor Hot Shot (dog) was all in a lather
from the thunder and trembling till the earth trembled
with him. It was great fun. When there was a bit of a break,
the guides figured we'd better get out while we could,
so we mounted up and set off back across the meadows, and
up over the craggy peaks. It was POURING. I had, thank
GOD, bought myself a cowboy hat at the start of the trip
and it saved me. I was all hunched over in my rain slicker,
and the water was cascading down off the front of my hat.
( What wonderful inventions these cowboy hats! ) We'd pull
into trees for cover when the cracking-banging got worse,
and I would squeegee my horses neck with my hand to try
to keep him a bit dryer. It was the best experience of
my life really. !
Our bunch had one trail guide at the front, (Rocky Hadar
Bob), with no slicker cuz he gave it to Robert, singing
all the oldies he could think of. (I think he did it to
either distract himself from being cold and wet, or to
give us all the impression that he wasn't worried at all)
The guide at the back of us (Josh) didn't find all this
singing amusing,and kept hollering to quit singin and git
movin!.
I couldda stayed out there a week. We did get back safely
in time for dinner and the evening's entertainment - a
couple came over from a neighboring ranch to sing OLD cowboy
songs, play the guitar and fiddle. It was terrific.
I've never had a better vacation. The ranch is so well
run, the staff is excellent (college kids working there
for summer) food great, new friends made, and experiences
I will never forget. We learned to groom, saddle, cinch,
mount, ride, coax, and love our horses.
We trotted, loped and sometimes galloped along beautiful
trails. (Precise instruction included for those who may
have been a bit rusty at all this...) And I learned to
let new opportunities sweep me up and carry me off once
in a while.
I'm going back.........soon.
Mary Hendrix
H2Ocolourmom@aol.com
Oak Park,, Ca. USA - Thursday, August
12, 2004 at 19:52:52 (CDT)
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We had a fantastic vacation. We live five minutes from
Walt Disneyworld where there are always lines and crowds.
I wanted to take my daughter away from the crowds to
a beautiful place where she could run free without
my having
to constantly keep an eye on her. Everyone at the ranch
did a superb job with us. This is not a *Have it our
way* franchise place. All activiites were tailored
to our and
other guest's desires. I figured I would be doing kiddie
rides with my 6 year old. She got to ride Woody and learn
the beginnings of horsemanship while I felt free and
safe to ride and do a few things on my own. Kristi
made new
friends, some that she got to see and visit with a few
weeks after we got home to Florida.
We flew to Denver and took the shuttle to Fort Collins
and never had to rent a car. Dan and Ellen and their
gracious staff provided everything else from stopping
at a grocery
store for refreshments (Diet Coke) to showing us around
the area. I was happy to stay at the ranch the entire
time. Oreo was an energetic kind horse that followed
direction
and was a lot of fun to ride. This was a REAL vacation!
Lisa and Kristi Ericson
CGFlicka@aol.com
Celebration, FL USA - Sunday, November 30, 2003 at 16:13:47
(CST)
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I don't remember if I already subscribed or not, but
please add us to your emailing list. WE HAD A WONDERFUL
TIME!
We are talking about making this an annual event and can't wait to return.
I'll send you some photos (digital) as soon as I have time to fool with that.
We got some great photos.
Jason is hoping to come again soon. It was a great chance for him to relax,
unwind, study, hang out with his parents, etc.
We just can't say enough about the good food, lovely accomodations, friendly
and helpful owners and staff, beautiful scenery and I could go on and on!
Thank you so much for everything; we're just sorry we couldn't stay longer
- maybe next year!
Fondly, Ellen Halsey
The Halseys
blazenjazz@aol.com
Woodstock, VA USA - Saturday, September 27, 2003 at 07:36:03
(CDT)
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Hi Dan and Ellen, Wranglers, Important Staff and Horses!
We made it home from our
GREAT vacation. Both Rick and I agree we can’t remember feeling this relaxed after
any vacation in recent memory. We all three had a wonderful
time – everything we imagined it would be and more.
We had an enjoyable couple of days in Denver (took Savannah
to eat at the very kitschy Casa Bonita, which she loved)
but it can’t rival Sundance Trail. Savannah says
she has dreamed about riding Bucky every night since we
left.
Tell Bucky, Clyde, and Sombrero hello from us.
Rick & Sherry & Savanah
Rhodes
USA - Tuesday, September 02, 2003 at 08:02:47 (CDT)
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We were looking for a place to go on vacation Where our 14 year old son would
not be bored. And we found that at Sundance Trail .It was the best vacation
that we ever had. So much fun and everybody was so friendly. I can't remember
when I laughed so much.My worst memory was the rooster and when Bucky jumped
the rocks.It was just like being with family .Vince had a great time and we
will be coming back. When he is older he may come back as a wrangler,if Dan
and Ellen want him. Annetta
Annetta F. Alms
Sherman, il USA - Friday, August 22, 2003 at 22:52:13 (CDT)
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This ranch is truly an authentic ranch. The People, The Horses, The Mountains
all are truly a spirit of the west. They say that less is more and in this
case it is completely true. Because this ranch only suits up to 7 families
you really get to know your wranglers and the other families. When your hiking
up a mountain and you finally reach the top, you will be at a lose for words
the view is breath taking. Words cant even explain the feeling you get when
your loping through the rockies and you get the sensation that the pioneers
had back in hundreds of years ago. Everything about Sundance Trails is great
and I will look foreward to going their again. The best thing about this ranch,
is that their isnt JUST one good thing. Dan and Ellen are great hostesses and
the Wranglers(marc,rifka,Jon,Janja) are awsome. But the real hereos are the
Cooks(jon,pat)Because of the long days of riding one can really work up a hunger
and they satisfied that need for food. All in All i would have to say the trip
was great and I count down the days until i visit SDT again
-Mike
Mike M
West Nyack, Ny USA - Friday, July 25, 2003 at 23:07:44 (CDT)
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The time we spent at Sundance is definitely the best ever holiday, the company
and the atmosphere just great. Too many wonderful memories to tell all, but
maybe the high light, high literally, was riding up to Foot Rock with Bridie
and Liz and climbing to the tips of the toes of Foot Rock. It is not too difficult
climbing the back of the rock. When Liz and I reached the top we realised that
it is windy up there above the trees and we hollered at Bridie, who had the
good sense to stay on the ground and hold the horses, to get on and take the
photos before we got blown away. A bit scary but the photos of dad and daughter
atop Foot Rock bring back a host of great memories.
It's a long way from the prairies of East Anglia in England to the Rockies
but we intend to make it back to Sundance someday soon.
Best wishes to Dan, Ellen, and all the gang.
Richard Burgess
rburgess@lotuscars.co.uk
Norwich, No England - Tuesday, June 03, 2003 at 10:40:12 (CDT)
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My family and I went to Colorado to go West ( that is the farthest west of
the Mississsippi R. as my whole family has been, besides buisness). When we
arrived we were amazed to see the beautiful scenery. Dan came right up to us
and gave us a tour. We got to see all the horses and the gameroom and the lodge!
We spent the next 3 days riding horses through the canyons to view Colorado
from the mountain tops! The horse riding was fun, We also got to raft down
the pouder river,rock climb, and relax in the hottub and hammock. The crew
at Sundance Trail was terrific. They made it fun and made us feel at home.
They even made us homemade cookies for the long ride home!!!
Andrew Kiler
Rowley, IA USA - Sunday, June 01, 2003 at 18:07:49 (CDT)
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Our extended family of ten wanted to go on a group vacation that provided familly
activites, children activites away from the adults, a place to get away from
the hustle and bustle and the crowds, and give the teenagers something to do
that wouldn't get them into trouble. That’s exactly what we found at
Sundance Trail. As a bonus we felt as if we became part of the staff family.
It was a week all ten of us will treasure forever!
Shryl Tidmore
Dallas, TX USA - Friday, May 30, 2003 at 07:50:24 (CDT)
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Jason and I went to Sundance Trails for our honeymoon. We wanted to do something
different from the norm, but yet something we both enjoy and liked. Dan and
Ellen at Sundance were outstanding. The courtesy they showed us was above what
was to be expected. Their ranch is set in northern Colorado away from the hustle
and bustle of the city. Their staff had the capabilities of working with people
who had little or no experience with ranching as well as those, like us, who
were raised in such an area. We had the most memorable honeymoon. We enjoyed
hiking, horseback riding, and relaxing. Jason and I both agree that the family
style meals and conversations were the best because we related to one another
and told stories about ourselves. We when left, we firmly believed that we
now have 'family' in Colorado. We ARE definately coming back. Sundance is beyond
a doubt, a mountain top paradise!!
Jason and Lynnette Mohr
San Antonio, TX USA - Friday, May 30, 2003 at 07:48:54 (CDT)
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We had our first experience at Sundance last June -- but definitely not our
last! It is truly the right combination for a family escape. The lodge and
setting are scenic and beautiful; the staff is friendly, flexible, and involved;
the family-style meals are excellent! Add to that the horseback riding - individually
tailored to any level; the breathtaking hiking and climbing; the white-water
raft trip; the kittens, chickens, and other critters -- and the many options
for children....you end up with the perfect vacation! We recommend Sundance
highly.
Becky, Toni & Kaitlyn in Tyler, Texas
Tyler, TX USA - Friday, May 30, 2003 at 07:47:16 (CDT)
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Fall Bed & Breakfast Memories:
My favorite thing to do at the ranch, besides ride, was to sit on the porch
and stare at the blue sky. NJ does not have a sky that blue. The ranch was
the best place to "mello out". No cooking, no cleaning, no anything
besides rest!
Dude Ranch Book
of Memories
