Horses and the story behind 4 Eagle Ranch where Wild West Day happens: Kids Corner for the week of 6/22/20

News | Jun 22, 2020

Editor’s note: The Vail Daily’s weekly kids section is chock full of games, toys and activities to keep the young and the young at heart entertained during the pandemic. If you have an idea for the section or would like to get involved, email Entertainment Editor Casey Russell at crussell@vaildaily.com.

Riddle me this

Test your wits and smarts with these riddles. Check for the answers by scrolling down.

Easy

What 2 things can you never eat for breakfast?

Which word becomes shorter when you add 2 letters to it?

An elephant in Africa is called Lala. An elephant in Asia is called Lulu. What do you call an elephant in Antarctica?

Hard

What kind of room has no doors or windows?

What travels around the world but stays in one spot?

What is full of holes but still holds water?

Time Travel

**Today, 4 Eagle Ranch hosts events, including the annual Wild West Day fundraiser for Eagle County elementary schools.**
*Ellen Stone | Special to the Daily*

Learn about Eagle County’s history with tales from local ranches.

In 1878 John and Mary Welsh and their daughter Sallie succumbed to gold rush fever, moving from Michigan to Leadville. They remained there until 1881 when they moved to Red Cliff to open a dairy in the new mining town. When the price of silver fell in 1883, many mines closed and the dairy was no longer profitable. In 1885, the family preempted 160 acres north of Wolcott and purchased an additional 400 acres. They transformed the land of sagebrush and grass into a large cattle and sheep operation, which is now known as 4 Eagle Ranch.

Sallie and her husband George Hartman took over and operated the ranch until 1929. They built the original white farmhouse and the carriage house that remain on the property today.

Their daughter, Francis Hartman, married George Watson, thus combining two of the largest ranching families in Eagle County. The Bowen family then occupied the ranch from 1929 to 1955.

In 1955, J. Perry Olsen, at one time the largest landowner in Eagle County, purchased the ranch. It became part of J. Perry Olsen’s 30,000-acre holdings in western Eagle County. His additional sheep and cattle grazing rights extended all the way to what is now Vail Pass, Piney Lake and the back bowls of Vail Mountain. In 1985, Olsen sold the ranch to the Denver Water Board.

In 1991, Tom and Tess Backhus leased the ranch, turning it into a popular event venue that still operates today. In 2010, their lease was purchased by a local company that created the non-profit 4 Eagle Foundation to run events and oversee upgrading buildings and amenities at the ranch. Profits from events at the ranch go to help the Foundation’s many non-profit associates.

Today, 4 Eagle Ranch hosts a summer rodeo series and serves hosts numerous corporate and private events. Winter sleigh ride dinners, horseback riding, Western Family Night and the popular Wild West Day, a fundraiser for local schools, are hosted annually at the ranch.

Time Travel is submitted by the Vail Valley Art Guild’s Ranch Project, which is chronicling local history through art. Learn more at vailvalleyartguild.org.

Word of the Week

Learn new words in English and Spanish each week.

eagle / águila

This amazing close-up of a golden eagle allows us to see some of the subtle color changes in its feathers, including the lightly colored brown/gold feathers on the back of its neck that give this bird its name.
*Rick Spitzer photo | Special to the Daily*

Game of the Week

One-Word Story

Players: 2+

Rules

The group tells a story one word at a time.
It’s up to the players to listen to each other, remember what has already happened, and continue to make sense on a sentence level, at least.
It’s also up to the players whether the story in general makes sense or seems out of control.
The game/story ends when people are getting bored or the game can’t be played anymore.

The Game of the Week is submitted by Mountain Recreation. Visit mountainrec.org for more information.