View from the A Frame

Today is June 27, 2009.  I have been away from Ute Trail Ranch for 17 days and I am wishing I were back at the ranch.  The weather in Dallas has been unusually hot for June with 4 or 5 days of 1oo degrees or more.  Nancy and I go to Colorado on July 8th so I have 11 more days before I return.

My son, George, and his family(Sarah, Margaret , George and Elizabeth) just returned from Ute Trail and they had a good time.  They agreed with me that the camp food is excellent and they enjoyed river rafting, horseback riding and hatchet throwing.  George will be coming back with a group in September.  George has been a great encourager about the camp ministries and he and Sarah have added so much to our program and facility.

When I read my John Stott Thought of the Day it stressed that we Christians are servants and we have ministries which help other people.  It was very good!  John Stott understands and communicates Jesus better than any writer in my opinion.

We have completed 4 weeks of the 11 weeks of camp.  Right now the staff is off until the new families and groups come in tomorrow.  I hope they are getting plenty of rest.  George and Sarah told us that they thought our guests were really enjoying the camp program.  The Morgans are doing an excellent job.

I just finished reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.  This book is about Chris McCandless, a young man from Atlanta, who began an odyssey when he graduated from college that took him all over the western United States and ended when he died of starvation and possibly poisoning in Alaska in August of 1992.  Chris hiked into an area called the Stampede Trail in upper Alaska and survived for 109 days on his own with a 22 rifle.  He shot squirrels, duck, ptarmigan, grouse, a moose and some other animals and he gathered and ate berries and other edible plants.  He wanted to be free of civilization and live in a natural state.  It is a sad ending.  It made me realize how important it is to be able to call for help.  On our wilderness trips we have satellite phones and our trips are always led by well trained guides who are in excellent physical condition.  Our wilderness coordinator, Thomas Ufer, was among the first guides in our program in 1997 and has worked for this ministry almost every year since then.  He is a good combination of wilderness guide and Christian leader.  We are fortunate to have him.  He is assisted in leadership this summer by Amy Dalton, who also has a good amount of experience in leading young people in wilderness settings.

Jon Krakauer(sp?) is a good writer.  I also recommend "Into Thin Air" by him.  It is about the Everest climb 15 or so years ago when one of the guides died and Dr Bek Weathers suffered frostbite and some blindness.  One other book I recommend is "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose.  This is a very good book about the Lewis and Çlark expedition 1804 to 1806.

I am pleased to know that a few people are following this blog.  I hope you find it interesting and informative.  I am trying to keep it fairly short.

We just received another approval on our wastewtp and I hope we can finish this by November 1st.  We have as a guest this week, David McWilliams and his family.  David is the former head football coach at the U. of Texas Austin who led the team to a conference championship in the early 1990s.  

david and his wife, Cindy, and their four children are dedicated trout fishermen and love fishing on the Lake Fork.  David was a frequent guest of my Uncle, Charles Seay, when he owned the ranch from 1978 to 1993.  We are glad David still likes to visit the ranch and fish

Until next time stay relaxed and loose and enjoy life.

George Seay

View from the A Frame

Today is June 23, 2009, Tuesday.

We are in the 3rd week of camp with family camp, Quest/Sigma and wilderness camp all underway. We have 9 new kayaks for our family camp program and 2 new canoes for it also. We have opened Powderhorn which is now a duplex with a 3 washer/dryer laundromat and we have completed our new stonewall, soccer field, pond, softball field and horseshoes layout.

I was there the first week of camp and the food was delicious. Gary and Deena Morgan and their staff had the camp looking as good as I have seen it. We now have a new store with great merchandise and drinks and snacks and we have a barn/museum which has pictures of old Ute Trail days and information on the US migration west. We hope all guests and visitors will want to visit both places.

In August(25-27) we will have the Ute Trail Boys Camp Reunion which will include a concert by Karin Marie and Pony Express, a Buena Vista western singing group. Karin is the Colorado state yodeling champion and very good singer.

Please drop by this summer if you are in the area and see our improvements.

George Seay

History of Ute Trail

Last Friday evening I spoke to the Sky Ranch Ute Trail staff about the history of Ute Trail Ranch and afterwards answered some questions. The following is from the handout that I gave to them:

History of Ute Trail Ranch
1883-2009

The Ute Indians, Westward Migration, and Surveying

Native Americans (Indians) were the earliest inhabitants of this area. They first came from Asia into the Northwestern part of North America sometime between 20,000 to 10,000 B.C. In 200 A.D. the Anasazi began to live in the Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona area and were here until 1300 A.D. when they left due to the lack of resources or invaders. Numerous tribes descended from the Anasazi including the Pueblo. The Ute Indians were most likely descendants of the Anasazi and the Utes are now the longest present day inhabitants of Colorado. Originally the Utes lived in small bands and would spend the warmer months in this area and during the cold months they would move to a lower elevation. When the Spanish explored into Colorado in the 1500s they introduced horses and by the 1630s the Utes had their own horses which allowed them much more mobility and hunting prowess. The Utes fought with the Navajo and other tribes and were competent warriors and horseman. The Westward Migration of the White Man led to the treaties which decreased the Utes lands and eventually the Utes being confined to reservations. The greatest Ute Chief was Ouray who was part Ute and part Apache.

The main reason white men and women came to this area was the discovery of silver and gold. Minerals, The Railroad, The U.S. Homestead Act and the encouragement of the U.S. Government brought settlers to the area.

Before 1836 the land which is now Ute Trail Ranch was in an area claimed by Mexico and Spain. From 1836 to 1845 Ute Trail Ranch was part of the Republic of Texas, then from 1845 to 1876 it was part of the Colorado Territory. In 1876 Colorado became a state.

Most of the land in Colorado is surveyed by the use of Townships and Sections. A Section is one square mile of land. There are thirty six (36) sections in a Township. Townships are measured by using the New Mexico Prime Meridian as a starting point. So a section is 640 acres, a quarter section is 160 acres (Harry Youmans original claim) and a quarter quarter section is 40 acres. A section is divided into a NW quarter (160 acres), NE quarter, SW quarter and SE quarter.

Original Homesteads: “Youmans Ranch” and “Benson Ranch”

In the early 1880s Harry Youmans moved from New York to the Powderhorn Valley-Lake Fork of the Gunnison River area. He moved to Ute Trail Ranch in 1883 and claimed 160 acres, a quarter section, under The Homestead Act which allowed individuals to receive a deed to land from the U.S. Government if they lived on the land and “homesteaded” it for a number of years, usually 5 to 7. Youmans owned the ranch from 1883 to 1903 when he sold it to Karl and Emma Benson.

The Bensons had emigrated from Sweden to the United States and had come to Lake City where he worked in the mines and she was a waitress at the mines. The Bensons married in 1903 and paid Harry Youmans $2500 for the 160 acre Youmans Ranch. The Bensons had six sons and owned the now “Benson Ranch” from 1903 to 1946. They expanded the ranch from 160 acres to 1200 acres under The Homestead Act. They built a lower homestead cabin which is across the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River on the second bench (plateau) and they built an upper homestead cabin in the eastern high country. These two cabin homesteads helped them obtain title to the 1200 acres. The Bensons operated a cattle ranch during these forty four (44) years and eventually had a herd of 500 cattle. They were a Christian family who raised their six (6) sons on ranch work. Karl Benson built the barn with his sons in 1919 and selected the “/ reverse F” brand still used today.

Hopkins, Bowers and Ute Trail Boys

In 1946 the Bensons sold the 1200 acre ranch to Alton (Hop) and Susan Hopkins and Dr. Malcom and Virginia Bowers of Dallas, Texas. The Bowers and the Hopkins were members of the same Sunday School class at Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas and vacationed together to Lake City in 1944. They had such a good time they decided to try to buy the ranch and bring boys to the area to have the same experience their families had. The ranch became the Ute Trail Ranch and Ute Trail Boys Camp was started in 1946. Hopkins and Bowers built 3 cabins (still here today) and began a camp for boys which lasted 28 years. For the first thirteen (13) years they had no electricity so they had wood fires for cooking and for heat. They ran the ranch as a cattle ranch and brought in hunters in the fall. Most of the boys came from the Dallas area. In the 1960s the Lodge was destroyed by fire and Hop Hopkins and his family built the present lodge in about six (6) weeks. They added two (2) more cabins and a storage/store cabin. The camp stressed horseback riding, fishing, camping, rafting and other mountain activities. Hop Hopkins built the A Frame Lodge for the Bowers in the early 60s.

The Seay Family-The Early Years

In 1973, the Hopkins and Bowers sold the camp and ranch to Nancy and George Seay, of Dallas, Texas. The Seays continued the camp for six (6) years and then sold the camp to their uncle and aunt, Charlie and Sadie Seay. At this time the camp was discontinued and The Seay Family enjoyed the ranch with family and friends.

The Rock at Ute Trail Ranch

In 1993 Sadie and Charlie Seay sold the ranch back to Nancy and George Seay and their children, George and Pauline. They decided to bring a Christian camp to the ranch and in 1996 entered into a lease agreement with Presbyterians for Renewal Youth Ministry. PFRYM operated The Rock at Ute Trail Ranch for eight (8) years and specialized in one week backpacking trips for church youth groups. Groups came from over 200 churches and 30 states.

Sky Ranch Ute Trail

In 2005 The Seay Family entered into a new agreement with Sky Ranch at Ute Trail Inc. Sky Ranch Ute Trail now operates three (3) ministries, one for families, one for Quest/Sigma (youth leadership) and one for wilderness ministries (backpacking, kayaking and adventure trips).

PFR, Sky Ranch and The Seay Family have improved the property so there are now sixteen (16) additional cabins, a large pavilion, shower house, ropes course and recreational area with a pond. Additional cabins are planned for 2010. The current owners and operators desire that the camp serve to glorify God, edify others and evangelize and disciple youth and families to Jesus Christ.