06/01/2026
Last night, recognized the R Lazy S ranch with a historic properties plaque. The land we’re on was first homesteaded in 1909, became the Aspen ranch (another dude ranch) in 1936, and finally the permanent home of the relocated R Lazy S ranch under Stirn family ownership in 1972. We’ve had a vibrant and exceptional 77 seasons hosting dudes, and are grateful to the McConaughey family for founding the RLS, to the Fonatsch’s for their decades of dedication, and to Maureen Flanagan and her family for seamlessly stepping into the Manager’s role and a life on the ranch. So many other amazing ppl over the years have made the ranch such a wonderful place, but we especially want to recognize Samantha Ford from for her passion and expertise that made this award possible. Sam is constantly surprising us with little archival discoveries and nuggets of history she has pieced together about the buildings, the people and the places in our past. Catch her alone and she’ll happily spend 20mins regaling you with her latest exciting discovery of some old irrigation ditch or another! Cheers to Sam, and the R Lazy S!
