Summer is here on the Ranch. The wild flowers are popping up everywhere and the deer are all over the place.  This spring things seem to be greener than I can remember for some time. Currently no burn ban is in place but of course that can change rather quickly with the hot weather and strong winds. Of course if or should I say when a burn ban becomes necessary it will be posted at both ranch entrances. As a reminder, having a campfire regardless if you have a developed lot or vacant lot requires that you have a burn permit and notify Hartsel Fire anytime you have a campfire. You can purchase them on line or at the Hartsel Fire station in Hartsel. During a burn ban all campfires and charcoal grills are illegal but gas fire pits and gas grills can still be used.  As I write this we have three wildfires burning in Colorado with more in surrounding states and the smoke haze from them is very evident here in Park County.  So please be careful with fire up here.  Our lives depend on it.

As things begin to get back to normal as we come out of the pandemic there is  good news. This year will be the first ever Ranch of the Rockies Car Show at the Pavilion on July 3 starting at 10:00am. Custom, new performance, and special interest cars and motorcycles are welcome. Food will be provided by Hartsel Fire Auxiliary. Games and Prizes! No registration required. Also this year we are planning on resuming with the tradition of a ranch picnic after the Annual members meeting the second Saturday in August. More details will be forthcoming. Please consider attending the meeting this year. It’s a great time to hear firsthand what is going on at the Ranch and reunite with your neighbors.

The annual RORA document review meeting was held in March. There were only a couple of changes that are being considered this year. The proposed changes have been posted to the ROTR web site for review and comment by members. If you would like to comment on either of the two changes you can send an email to rorahoa@ghvalley.net or mail your comments to the Ranch office at RORA,  492 Ranch Road, Hartsel, CO  80449. Please include your name, lot number and address so we can document your comments. The Board will vote on the proposed changes at the July board meeting.  As a reminder the Board meeting minutes are always posted to the web site after they have been approved at the following meeting.

This year there have been 4 members who have asked to have their name placed on the ballot for the two Board positions that will be open. They are Rob Cleve, Suzan Gebow, Andy Nickel and Tom Grommet. Their Bios will be included in the Ranch Quarterly newsletter that will be coming out shortly and it will include the ballot as well. You can vote either in person at the annual meeting or by mail or proxy.  Both myself and Niki Griffin have served our three years and will be retiring from the Board in August.

Last year Park County Road and Bridge tried something new for two of our main roads, Ranch and Windmill. It almost seemed like they had been paved with the application of a special black coating to reduce dust and the wash board effect. This year Park County has again applied the coating to parts of these two key roads. It sure is nice while it lasts. All the roads in the Ranch are county roads and are maintained by the county. That is a nice thing for all of us because if they were Ranch Roads we would have the burden of the tremendous cost of maintaining them including snow plowing.  

Well that’s it for now. Hope you all have a safe and wonderful summer.

Mark Wefler

Secretary of the Board