Bob Foster

Ask Bob Foster to define what sets Lost Valley Ranch apart from other guest ranches, and he's apt to say, "Every guest ranch can have cabins, great horses and blue skies. But it's the personality of the owner that makes all the difference. And that's the difference between a resort and a guest ranch. You don't know the general manager at a resort, but you will get to know him intimately during a week at a guest ranch. As a manager, who you are, what your philosophy is and what your values are greatly impact what happens on the ranch."

Foster speaks with a certain amount of clout. He's been running Lost Valley Ranch in Deckers, Colorado since 1976. It's the same ranch that his parents bought 1960 when he was 13 years old, the same ranch where he worked all the ranch jobs through junior high school and high school. And the ranch he returned to after he got out of the army and attended Cornell University, where he took a Masters Degree in hospitality. His personal investment in the business is one of the major reasons that Lost Valley Ranch has been rated a 4 Diamond property by AAA for 29 years.

"We were able to successfully pass the ranch on from the first generation to the second generation," he says. "Now maybe we can pull it off and pass it from the second generation to the third generation."

Located about two hours from Denver and 90 minutes from Colorado Springs, the ranch is unusually in terms of Colorado ranches.

"We can never count on snow at our location in the Rockies," Foster says. "But that means we also operate nine months of the year. We're only closed in December, January and February. So we're basically competing against Arizona ranches."

The 590?acre ranch is "truly lost," Foster says. "We're completely surrounded. We're the only private land on 40,000 acres of National Forest. Cell phones do not work here."

The ranch can take upward of 95 guests at a time. It has a much lauded kids program and does a fair amount of group and corporate business as well.

"We're like a cruise ship that doesn't go anywhere," he says. "We're here 24/ 7 to take care of you. We rarely have outside professional entertainment. We do it ourselves."

Foster's roots in guest ranches actually go back before that day in 1960 when his family purchased Lost Valley Ranch. As a kid growing up in Southern California, his family would travel to dude ranches in Arizona for vacations.

"We'd go to Rancho des los Caballeros and Tanque Verde and my folks were very impressed with the experience," he recalls. "And they just saw families having a ball. We've tried to continue that here. It a very positive aspect to the ranch, giving back to families. When a family comes here, the pressures are off. We can help that family be around themselves. They have a relaxing time, they're refreshed and they can get a new perspective on their family and themselves. There's no TV or radio here, cell phones don't work, so there's none of that media clutter that tends to override everything else."

Lost Valley Ranch boasts a staff of 60 in summer and has a swimming pool, tennis and fishing on a tributary of the South Platte River. You sleep in deluxe cabin suites of one to three bedrooms, equipped with baths, a fireplace and refrigerator. The cabins are spaced among the pines for peace and quiet.

"The kid's program is one of our strongest features," Foster says. Indeed, the ranch has a structured program for babies, ages three to five, ages six to 12 and ages 13 to 18. But for parents who want to be with their kids round the clock, Foster says "you should go to smaller ranch. The larger the ranch is, the more programs you get. Here we try to blend things, between family time and kids programs. But if you never see them, of course, you might as well send them to camp."

The folks who visit Lost Valley are not horse people. They tend to be newcomers to the world of ranches and horses, proper dudes indeed.

"I'd say that 80 percent of the people who come here have never been on a horse before," Foster explains. 'It's a new experience for them. You can see the stress on their faces when they arrive on Sunday. Many of them have their jaws set. But by Wednesday, you'll see that most of the faces have relaxed."