Name: Patricia Coyles
Message: I stayed at RTR years ago, and it was the best
week in my life. I made such good friends, and the staff were
so friendly. Whenever I think about RTR it fills me with joy
and good memories. I was quite young and don’t remember
everything, but I do remember a man who walked around serving
coffee who rubbed the coffee pots on my shoulders every morning!
I also remember catching a trout and eating it that very night
(delicious!). My horse Winchester was the best! Everyone is
so caring and the really know what they are doing! I hope to
return there some year and relive those wonderful experiences!
Name:
Peter & Judie Pachomski
Message: We've been to 10 ranches
in Colorado and Montana looking for the perfect place to return
to every year. We have finally found it at Rainbow Trout Ranch.
Great location, great food, excellent fishing, fantastic riding
program, awesome cabin, but most of all--Doug & Linda, you
are the perfect hosts. You have done everything to make us feel
special during our stay and we are so grateful for the time
spent with all of you and your excellent staff. I'll definitely
talk up your ranch with everyone we meet that inquires as to
where is the best place to go out west for a great dude ranch
experience! See ya'll next year!!!
Name: Julie Hansell
Message: I
just returned from my fourth visit at RTR, and my best! Every
time we go there is wonderful staff, food, horses, and activities.
My family has thoroughly enjoyed every week we have been there.
I can't even explain how much I love this place. Whenever I'm
there, everything just feels right. RTR is an amazing place
for anyone. No matter who you are, you will love it, and find
yourself coming back year after year just like my family! I
can't wait till I will be able to come back. To my buddy Horseshoe,
the Van Berkum family, and all the 2004 staff at RTR, I miss
you and love you all!s
Name:
Garrett Hedrick (13)
Message: This year at Rainbow Trout
Ranch was the most wonderful vacation ever. My family and I
set off From NC in boots and cowboy hats only to be looked at
strangely until we were in Denver. We then had one of the funniest
times getting from the airport to the ranch from going the wrong
way 45 minutes and then getting a speeding ticket only for poor
Owen (maintenance person) on his 2nd week of the job. I have
to say that once we arrived at the ranch it was splendid. Everyone
was so nice and willing to do anything for us. My horse (Elliot)
couldn't of been a better horse. Jane and Dave did a great job.
The overnite was a great experience and the food was the best
part. Dinning at Rainbow Trout Ranch is excellent. Sit at Shannon's
table, she is very nice and funny. Don't forget to go fishing
and most importantly have a great time at the ranch. I could
say plenty more but I have already taken up enough of your time.
Have a wonderful stay. PS. - Listen to the wranglers they know
what they are doing.
Name: Jane,
Jeremy, Sophie, Saskia, Teddy Knowles
Message: Two grandparents and their
three grandchildren (one aged 9 and two aged 5) came to Rainbow
Trout Ranch not knowing what to expect. What we found was a
unique experience and a magnificent vacation for each of us.
We will never forget the kindness and hospitality of the Van
Berkum family who have created a magical place; the fun and
friendship with the other guest families; and the extraordinary
care and good company of the staff, whether wranglers or counselors,
maintenance, cabin or wait staff, cooks or dishwashers. Did
I say that neither grandparent had ridden for 50 years, but
somehow won awards for "coolest cowboy" and horsemanship?
At the end of a wonderful week the grandchildren could hardly
be torn away from their new friends and their horses.
Name: Addy Patterson
Message: I began to beg my father
for a horse when I first came to RTR in 1996. It amazed me how
Jane and Dave could communicate so well with them. It is now
seven years later and I have given up asking for a horse, but
I still love them and know that every two years I will get to
see them again at RTR. My mother says we go back because it
is the only place my dad can relax, but I know it is because
we grow closer as a family. Whether you come for the fishing,
dancing, or riding, you will not be disappointed. This year
was my fourth time at RTR, and it has been the best yet. My
little sister, Anna, finally broke out of her shyness shell
and danced with people besides her family. My mom learned how
to lope on a horse and my dad caught a 21" trout! Every
year it gets more exciting. This is my family's favorite vacation
spot!
Name: The Fledderjohn
Family; San Diego, California
Message: There
is no greater place for a family vacation. Rainbow Trout Ranch
has become our summer home away from home. We have been fortunate
enough to enjoy 3 summers with the Van Berkum/RTR family and
are looking forward to our 4th this summer of 04'. A week at
RTR is better than anything we know. Riding the horses, hiking
in the beautiful mountains, relaxing on the porch while the
humming birds fly by, watching our children learn and grow and
enjoy life in a completely different environment then what they
are used to! Meeting new friends from all over the country,
riding in the Rodeo and the food....the food is fantastic and
there is lots of it!! Our souls are renewed every year. We highly
recommend RTR - if you want a great vacation, this is where
you want to be!
Name: Deen, Leslie, Jordan
& Nick Buttorff
Message: Our family has spent a
June week at Rainbow Trout Ranch for the past 6 years, and we're
eagerly anticipating year #7 as if it were our first. Amazingly
enough, the duldrums have never set in, except when Sunday morning
is lingering ever more present on the horizon, and we have to
leave our private bit of paradise at RTR for yet another year.
Over the years, we've each found our own rhythm. Yet nothing
ever seems to be just as it was during the previous years. Oh,
we repeat many an activity mind you, but each is always fresh
and vibrant. Whether it's rafting down the Rio Grande River,
traversing the Beaver Ponds during an all-day ride to the cascading
waterfall, two-stepping in the lodge with Doug & Linda,
catching that first Rainbow Trout down on the Conejos River,
or yee-haaing during the Saturday afternoon rodeo, the level
of enjoyment remains that ever elusive Perfect 10! There isn't
sufficient time left in life to get me on too many rides through/to
Lone Pine Meadow, let alone enough to stop marveling at the
sheer majesty of it all up in the Back Country. Best meal of
the week: without question it's the cookout on the Overnight.
Oh, my goodness! Leftover peach cobbler and fire-roasted coffee
for breakfast around a roaring campfire is in and of itself
reason to return year after year.
Colorado is our home sweet home, but this is a slice of our
state well off the beaten path that few ever experience. If
I can borrow a line from Meredith Wilson's musical "The
Unsinkable Molly Brown":
The're ain't 7 wonders. The're
only 3: The stars and the mountains fars a man can see. And,
somewhere a wee bit of paradise shared by the Van Berkum Family
called Rainbow Trout Ranch.
Oh, yes, and did I mention Lone Pine Meadow? Just kidding!
I'm already tasting the Sunday evening steaks.
Name: Joe and Pat Price
Message: We were looking for a
unique family vacation and it turns out we found "home"
instead. Our two daughters were 10 and 12 respectively and the
youngest said she wished we could go someplace to ride horses.
I began investigating and before long had the choices narrowed
to two Colorado dude ranches. It was talking with Jane on the
phone that swayed our decision. "I'd be so delighted if
you'd come," she said in her irresistible British accent.
It turned out to be true. The Van Berkums welcomed us with genuine
hospitality. We met fellow travelers who, along with us, learned
how to ride, fell in love with the scenery, the food, the overall
companionship we found at the RTR. There was one thing we knew
for sure----we had to return. We have too; families from all
across the country meet each year the same week, to enjoy the
magic that is the RTR. Our children have grown up there with
a strong circle of friends and we've made some of the best friends
of our lives---including the Van Berkums. When Sunday rolls
around and we have to go home, we all say, "Only 51 weeks
and we'll see you again."
Name: Cory, Karen, Alexa
and Ryan Ward
Message: Our family spent a week
at the ranch 3 years ago and we haven't stopped talking about
it since. We are returning again in June and bringing some friends
along. Each time we receive a newsletter it reminds us of the
wonderful week and the fantastic people who made us feel like
family. We are so excited to visit again and look forward to
seeing the Van Berkum family. Rainbow Trout Ranch is the best
vacation spot ever!
Name: Kyle Hicks
Message: Message: Rainbow Trout
Ranch is not just a vacation spot. For me, it has become part
of who I am. I have been spending a week in Colorado each year
for ten years of my life. Being only seven when my family first
discovered this wonderfully preserved secret, I have been greatly
influenced by my experiences at Rainbow Trout Ranch. There is
no way that Rainbow Trout can be explained without doing the
Van Berkum family a great injustice. Nobody is treated like
just another guest when at Rainbow Trout. When you are at RTR,
you are family. Over the years, I have seen many people my age
at Rainbow Trout arrive with a bad attitude. They are the kind
of teenagers that are determined to displease their parents
by being miserable. This never lasts long. The wonderful horseback
riding program, the enthralling activities, and the exuberant
staff are enough to make anyone, no matter how much they miss
their video games, enjoy themselves. Since that first week at
RTR, ten years ago, each year has been thought of differently.
There is only the time at the Ranch, and the time away. Rainbow
Trout Ranch has not been a vacation spot for me. It has become
my home.
Name: Sarah Deitch, age
9
Message: These are the things I
love about Rainbow Trout Ranch. I love riding. Jane always picks
a good horse for me. I love fishing in the Conejos River. I
love swimming in the pool. I love the line dancing, square dancing,
hayrides and riding the Belgian Horses. It is my favorite week
all year. I can’t wait to return this August.
Name: Ann Marie Shields
Message: Best vacation for the
whole family!
