The good news for her is, if her family decides to come back to Tarryall, there still will be plenty for her to do. In addition to the crafts and quality petting-zoo time that the younger set gets, kids ages 6 to 11 go hiking, fishing and riding, while the teens head out to whitewater rafting, cookouts, swimming and the nearby wolf preserve.

''I raised a few teens myself, so I know we have to keep them interested without turning them off with stupid stuff. You just have to offer them choices,'' said Kevin Tesch, who with his wife, Lisa, bought Tarryall in 2003. The couple's four boys, all now adults, work the ranch with them.

GO FISH

At the North Fork Ranch, a few early afternoon cumulus clouds have just begun to roll in, turning the North Fork River a gun-metal gray and giving the fishermen along it some needed relief from the sun.

The clouds don't bother the father-and-son teams inside the main lodge either, as they learn the intricate details of fly-tying during a fishing clinic, nor any of the cowboy-boot-clad ladies, ranging in age from 9 to mid-40s, heading out of the corral for an afternoon trail ride into the surrounding forest.

The windows of the tiny massage cabin had already been darkened, so that inside its log walls, a mother of two receiving her afternoon of extra-special pampering would be as relaxed as possible. And down near the river's edge, a guest on a wooden porch swing just a few feet from the rhythmic burbling of the water takes advantage of the cooler breezes and settles in for a nap.

In other words, it's another beautiful day at the North Fork, where everyone seems to be able to find something appealing to do -- even if it's simply embracing the peace and quiet found on this 520-acre property tucked between Pike National Forest and two designated wilderness areas.

Since 1985, owners Karen and Dean May also have found plenty to do here. The hospitable couple met while working at another Colorado dude ranch in 1984, and they've been honing the craft of welcoming folks ever since, doing much of the work on the ranch themselves and raising their two kids at North Fork.

The sprawling, tree-lined destination offers several individual cabins that can house multiple families, and the Wildhorse Lodge has rooms for individuals or couples -- all sporting a Western theme and filled with cozy country quilts and other homey touches -- as well as the circa-1930, Southwestern-styled ''Stonehenge'' building that sits secluded at the back of the property with private-entrance rooms for families and individuals and its own hot tub.

''Every time I come here, it's so hard to leave,'' said Shelly Beyer, a Wheat Ridge resident who is on her third visit since 2001. This time she has brought her two daughters, Savannah, 14, and Shenia, 9; her boyfriend, her sister and her niece.

The Beyers are quickly downing a tasty breakfast of fluffy blueberry pancakes with sides of bacon, fresh fruit and orange juice in the Wildhorse, because today is whitewater rafting day and no one wants to miss it. ''We ride at home, because we have horses ourselves,'' Beyer said. ``So that's not even the main draw. The scenery is spectacular, and there is so much to do, we're never bored, even after coming here so many times.''

Like many of the 29 other members of the Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch Association, North Fork has altered some of its ''dudeness'' over the years to offer amenities guests have asked for -- things such as rafting and massage, and their current best seller, fly-fishing. ''We never thought way back when, when we were fixing up the barn, that fly-fishing could possibly turn out to be the bigger draw one day,'' Karen said.

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