Barn and gardens at Mountain Sky Ranch

Mountain Sky Ranch was just a dream for Deb and Wayne just a mere ten ago.  We were living in a very nice small acreage  rural home in Parker, CO.  We had been there 16 years and had almost completely raised our four incredible children there.  We had watched Parker grow from a sleepy little one stop light town on the outskirts of Denver to being the fastest growing city in the country for several years.  Our little piece of ground in the country had become choked and surrounded by condominium developments, an interstate and golf courses.  We yearned for more open space, and had a dream to develop a sustainable farm or ranch for ourselves and our family.

A converted asbestos decontamination building serves as a year round growing site.

So we started looking at properties within about an hour of Denver.  After looking a over one hundred properties we were getting tired and wondering if we would ever find what we we desired.  Well one day our awesome realtor, Jim Green, said another broker in his office had just listed a property near Carter Lake that he thought we might like.  So Wayne drove there with Jim and after riding about a half mile on what seemed like a goat path they came to the little bit of heaven we now call Mountain Sky Ranch.  That was in the early fall of 2006, and we acquired the 160 acre undeveloped property in November, 2006.

What a whirlwind it has been since that time.  When we bought the property it was in a beautiful setting, but it also had some challenges.  I already mentioned the lack of a real road for access.  The closest power was about a quarter mile away, the pastures had been overgrazed by cattle, and the stream on the property had been badly eroded and degraded.  But for us, challenges are opportunities, so we got to work, and as Paul Harvey used to say – “and now the rest of the story”

Alpacas grazing in the pasture

Well, to here the details of the more recent Mountain Sky Ranch story you need to come and visit us and we can sit out on the deck in the fresh mountain air and have a cool drink and share the details.  But the short history is that we have taken an overgrazed cattle pasture and are steadily turning it into a breathtaking mountain and valley paradise. Here is just a sampling of what we have done:

• Restored much native prairie, on which in the spring and summer we have counted over 70 species of wildflowers;
• Added almost twenty ponds that are stocked with trophy trout, perch and bass;
• Improved our one mile access road to a very comfortable two lane all-season road;
• Added numerous landscaping features;
• Built a full scale “pasture golf course”
• Reclaimed a historic sandstone quarry as an amphitheater for equipment storage;
• Constructed a “green” Mountain Chalet Lodge and Event Center;
• Operate a research and proof of concept sustainable agriculture farm with over 10 profit centers (chickens, veggies, microgreens, alpacas, aquaculture, dog training, events, stone farming, etc.);
• Cobbled together with far less capital than most of our competitors one of the most elite alpaca breeding herds in North America;
• Nurtured, mentored, and greatly valued over 100 interns with over 70 on our “Wall of Fame” who are becoming leaders in ecolonomic and sustainable ventures;
• Developed miles of trails and paths through the valley and timbered areas, and;
• Put in much sweat and passion into the dream that is Mountain Sky Ranch.

Come and visit us.  Call the office at 303-495-3705 or email us at waynedorband@gmail.com to schedule a tour.