News | Echo Valley Ranch & Spa Blog

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Kids Weeks at EVR – Just a Bit of Fun =)

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

It started one week ago. I will go on for another two weeks. The Kids Weeks at Echo Valley Ranch keep everybody on the go. With lots of fun and laughter, they are an adventure for kids and parents alike.

Echo Valley Ranch is usually a quiet place where our guests can forget about the hustle and bustle of everyday life. For three weeks in summer, however, everything is a bit different. It is a little louder; the guests definitely run around a little more, and plenty of laughter and action going on. The 2011 Kids Weeks at Echo Valley Ranch have begun and the kids are the center of attention.
Kids Weeks at EVR are anything but boring. There are many activities for the little ones, with horseback riding at the top of the list, of course. Whether in the form of riding lessons and pony games in the arena, or on a guided trail rides through the great outdoors with their breathtaking scenery, the kids will feel like little cowboys or cowgirls riding one of our 24 guest horses.

Scavenger hunts, badminton, barbeques and campfires
Apart from horseback riding, Taylor, our kids’ counsellor, has a great repertoire of kids’ games and activities ensuring that the parents will have some time to enjoy one of our great spa treatments, take a quiet walk, or simply relax as well. One of the weekly kids’ activities is the EVR Scavenger Hunt, the perfect opportunity for the little ones to get to know the ranch and the other kids and do lots of running in the process. Other options include volleyball, badminton, swimming or games in the pool, or playing Frisbee with the eight Border Collies.
The highlight of the week is the two barbeques and campfire nights. The kids get to stay up a little longer, hang out with their new friends at the fire, make music, and roast marshmallows.
Whichever activities the kids like, one thing is for sure: they will go home with many new friends and great memories. At Echo Valley Ranch, we are looking forward to spending another great week with our little guests. Yihaaa!

Tags: Games, Kids Weeks, Scavenger Hunt
Posted in Events, News, The Ranch | 1 Comment »

Kelly Lake: Once to the Mars and Back

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Echo Valley Ranch is at the heart of nature: fairytale-like forests, green pastures, crystal clear lakes. Who would expect extraterrestrial life forms in the midst of this beautiful Canadian countryside? The answer: NASA.

Usually, Kelly Lake is just a regular lake. One of many around Echo Valley Ranch. Usually…
That this is not always the case was proven last weekend. A great number of scientists made their way to Kelly Lake. Even NASA representatives were present. The reason: Kelly Lake is quite unique. Findings in the depths of the lake may give scientists new clues about extraterrestrial life within our Solar System.

International science project
It all started at Pavilion Lake, where scientists discovered fossile microbialites a few years ago. This is why the international, interdisciplinary science and research project is called «Pavilion Lake Research Project». In the meantime, the same structures in all different morphological forms, e.g. cauliflower, chimney, artichoke and coral, were also found in the Kelly Lake. Microbialites are carbonate structures, which form in the water with the help of microorganisms. They have been found in a few lakes on Earth; however, what sets Kelly and Pavilion Lake apart from the other sites is the unusually great diversity of the microbialites.

Hoping to meet E.T.
The questions remains: why is NASA interested in the findings at Kelly Lake as well? Well, normally, it is not surprising to find carbonate in the form of lime stones. Under special circumstances, however, it is possible that carbonate forms unique and unusual structures – mostly when life forms are involved. The special microbialites in the Kelly Lake contain single-celled microbes in contrast to the usually found dead stalactites. A unique occurrence. These microorganisms form special structures, which leave specific biological signatures behind. Up to this point, these microbialites had only been found in places without life, e.g. on Mars. The Kelly Lake structures though live in a «normal» lake under normal circumstances. Moreover, the microbiliate structures in question are very similar to the ones that existed on Earth 2.5 billion years ago.
The scientists involved and NASA, thus, hope to find answers regarding life forms in our Solar Systems based on the new findings in Kelly Lake.

A look behind the scenes
Last Saturday, the people in and around Kelly Lake got the chance to get a look behind the scenes of the exciting research project. Many enthusiasts came to the Cariboo Lodge in Clinton to listen to the scientists giving an outline of their work.
As you can see, Echo Valley Ranch is not only located in one of the most beautiful parts of Canada, it is also one of the most exciting areas of the world when it comes to future research.

One of the microbialites from Kelly Lake.

The «Pavilion Lake Research Project» scientists at work.

Many visitors made their way to Clinton last Saturday to find out about the project.

Tags: Clinton, Kelly Lake, Pavilion Lake Research Project
Posted in Events, News, Special events | No Comments »

Falcon babies at Echo Valley Ranch

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Echo Valley Ranch would not be a real ranch without its ranch animals. We have dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens, and turkeys. That is not all though; what many people do not know is that we also breed falcons. Moreover, we are doing it with great success.

Fuzzy, tiny and white – that is how the falcon babies at EVR looked when they were born this spring. Six babies hatched over a period of about eight days per pair. At the beginning, the female falcons laid one egg every second day for eight days. The young start to look like falcons at about five weeks of age. By now, the babies have become impressive young falcons.
At the moment, we have three falcon breeding couples at EVR. An interesting fact: for the first time ever, a white falcon chick was born on the ranch this year.

Brian – the experienced falconer
It is no coincidence that we breed falcons at Echo Valley Ranch. The breeding and training of falcons requires a lot of experience. This experience comes in the form of Brian – our falconer. He started to train falcons in the 1950s. You can’t get much more experienced than that! Brian brought the first falcons to EVR 15 years ago. Three years later, he started to breed them for the ranch, with tremendous success. However, that was to be expected considering his expertise. As a result, many falcon chicks have been born over the last 15 years – and many guests have been fascinated and impressed by Brian’s work and dedication.

Facts and figures
As mentioned above, raising and taking care of young falcons takes expert knowledge. Only very few people have the necessary skills to do it successfully. The young falcons need fresh meat daily. Most of the time, day-old chicks are fed to the falcons. At the beginning, the falcon parents will chop up the chicks for their young. It might not be the nicest thing to watch, but it is essential for survival nevertheless.
Falcons are different from other birds of prey because they do not build a nest. In nature, the birds nest on bare cliff ledges. In captivity, the young birds need sufficient space and a place of retreat.

Our falcons have grown up by now, so we can only hope that we will have new baby falcons at Echo Valley Ranch next spring.

One of our falcon couples at feeding time.

So cute: one of the chicks back in spring.

Our falconer Brian (on the right) has been taking care of our falcons for the last 15 years.

Tags: Brian, Falcon babies, falconer
Posted in Falcons, News | No Comments »

The Biggest Loser and his Friends

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Once they make it here, they stay with us forever: the horses at Echo Valley Ranch. Every ranch animal has the right to live a long and healthy life – and thus also to die in dignity and at home. This is Norm‘s and Nan‘s credo. Our eight new horses thus, can look forward to a promising future.

Horses are the bedrock of Echo Valley Ranch and surely one of the reasons why many of our guests come back every year. Sixteen reliable guest horses and nine retired horses plus one donkey make the ranch what it is: the ideal place to spend an outstanding family ranch vacation. However, our horses are not getting any younger. This is why we were thrilled to welcome some new horses at EVR this spring.

The Spring Newbies
The new horses could not be any more different: regarding their looks, ages, levels of training and characters. They are not guest horses yet, but with a little more training, they all have that potential. The wranglers at Echo Valley Ranch work hard to turn the newbies into reliable guest horses by training them and getting them acquainted with the trails. Some of them will already be used for guest rides next season. In all, eight new horses came to the ranch this spring. Some of them arrived in April, the others in May. They all are settling in nicely and are very happy with their new home. Therefore, it is time to take a closer look at our new family members…

Biscuit (4th horse from the right)
The nine-year palomino is an eye catcher: he is tall and … well, fat. However, here at Echo Valley Ranch, Biscuit follows a strict diet and exercise regime and has already lost a lot of weight. One could say that he is Echo Valley’s very own “Biggest Loser“ and we are all very proud of him. Another bonus point: Biscuit’s saddle fits him much better now! In marked contrast to his weight, Biscuit is fast. Super-fast even. He loves to run and easily leaves all the other horses in the dust. In addition, Biscuit comes from a working ranch and is already a professional so to speak.

Foxy and Sassy (3th and 4th horse from the right)
The two cute Quarter Horse half-sisters are among the youngest horses on the ranch. Both 6 years old, the sisters have come a long way in the recent months due to consistent training. They will make great guest horses one day.

Lacy (2nd horse from the left)
A nine-year old Clyde-cross mare, Lacy is well balanced. She is reliable, a comfortable ride and is already used for guest rides this season. Maybe not the prettiest among the new horses, but extremely lovable nonetheless.

Paris (3rd horse from the left)
The five-year old Appaloosa mare is the baby of the family. Just like her name, Paris is very pretty but also somewhat of a diva. She is, however, a comfortable ride and, with a little more experience, she will make a beautiful guest horse.

Monty (4th horse from the left)
The eight-year old Quarter Horse gelding came to the ranch together with Paris. He is the most sensitive one among the newbies. Once he has come to trust you, however, he is an excellent horse: well trained, fast and most of all very powerful.

Red Rocket (1st horse from the right)
The mama‘s boy among our horses. Even though he is already eight years old, Rocky spent most of his life out in the field with his mom before coming to Echo Valley Ranch. Being a big cuddly baby, he still has a lot to learn…

Tipi (1st horse from the left)
The seven-year old Appaloosa gelding is the jokester of the group. We are not even sure that Tipi knows he is a horse. Always in high spirits, he makes us laugh quite a lot and is always up to something. With a little more training, he will soon make a fine guest horse.

At Echo Valley Ranch, we are already looking forward to next season when our guest will be able to try out all the new horses. We hope that they will have as much fun with them out on the trail rides as we are having right now training them and showing them the ropes.

All of our new horses (f.l.): Tipi, Lazy, Paris, Monty, Biscuit, Foxy, Sassy, and Red Rocket.

Once again (f.l.): Tipi, Lazy, Paris, Monty, Biscuit, Foxy, Sassy, Red Rocket.

Tags: Biscuit, Foxy, Lacy, Monty, New Horses, Paris, Rocky, Sassy, Tipi
Posted in Horses, News | No Comments »

Summertimes

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Last week, we celebrated Canada Day. This week summer arrived. Finally. Along with the arrival of summer, we welcomed two lovely new members on Echo Valley Ranch: barn kitten Clinton and a new calf.

Scratched up fingers. Bloody hands. Loud hissing. And a lot of commotion in the box. Somehow, we had imagined it differently – our first encounter with the new barn kitten Clinton. After all, the little one is only four weeks old and fits into one hand. Nobody would have thought of him as such a fighter since, with his red and fluffy coat, he is as cute as a button. And, those big eyes. Just like Puss in Boots from the movie Shrek. However, looking at the little guy’s past, it becomes clear that we are the first people that he came in contact with. Clinton was found on the street all by himself and without his mommy.

Now the little cat has settled into his new home and roams the barn. Carrie-B is very happy to have found a new playmate as well after her brother Chilco died a couple weeks ago. Sometimes, things do take a turn for the better – and we haven’t gotten any more scratches lately…

Canada Day at EVR
And so it happened that little Clinton spent his first Canada Day at Echo Valley. We didn’t have our very own ranch parade, but we had lots of fun at the campfire. A starlit night, guitar music and 27 guests ensured that nobody missed having a guest ranch parade. The atmosphere and, of course, the food were yet again exceptional. We had great guests including Norm’s daughters, who spend a few days with us at the ranch. It was evident from the beginning that it would be a great campfire night and even the weather was good – sort of…

One more baby
By the way, little Clinton is not the only new ranch animal. Last Sunday, a new calf was born. It is a boy and he is healthy, strong, and full of energy. And with him, the summer finally arrived. It was about time. We are already looking forward to more warm summer days, long trail rides, BBQ dinners, and campfire nights with our guests. Let the summer begin.