895 | Mountain River Lodge with Jason Pickerill and Jacquie Mosher

WFS 895 Transcript 00:00:00 Dave: Imagine you’re in Colorado with mountains in every direction, and the South Platte running just a stone’s throw across the road. Today’s episode is about what makes a destination lodge work not as a postcard, not as a fly shop, but as a true base camp for anglers, hikers, hunters and groups moving through some of the best water in the state. Today I’m sitting down with Jason Pickerel and Jackie Mosher to get the story behind mountain River Lodge. We’re going to talk about how this place came together, how it formed in the early days as a historic motor lodge, and how today they’ve upgraded everything to create one of the best experiences out there. We’re going to be hitting this this year. This is our destination for our land and air school, and we’re excited to share that. Today we’re going to talk about a little fly fishing, a little outdoor activities. And and if you enjoy Colorado or have thought about this, we’re going to give you some insight into mountain River Lodge. This is the Wet Fly Swing podcast where I show you the best places to travel to for fly fishing, how to find the best resources and tools to prepare for that big trip, and what you can do to get back to the fish species that we all love. Jason Jackie are here to talk about the fall school we just mentioned. We’re going to find out also what it’s like throughout the year here, including the shoulder seasons. Why Jackie loves hiking Mueller State Park and in some of the other great opportunities that are filled in September, including the fall colors, which we’re going to get through here, we’re going to get into it all the South Platte, the Dream Stream, and everything else in between. I just want to remind you, we’ve got a couple spots open for that land and mer trip, if you’re interested, and we’re just getting the word out right now. So check in with me. Send me an email right now, Dave at com, and just put Land and Mayer in the comments and I’ll check back with you. All right. Here they are. You can find Jackie and Jason at Mountain River Lodge. How are you both doing? Fantastic. Nice, nice. This is going to be a fun episode. We’re, uh, we’re doing a big trip with Landon Mayer. Probably one of the biggest names out there in fly fishing. And we’re heading to Colorado. Your neck of the woods to. We’re going to be staying at mountain River Lodge at your place. And today we’re going to talk a little bit about what it’s like. I know I’ve had some listeners already call me and say, hey, we’re passing through, you know, where should we go? You know, all this stuff. So we’re going to we’re going to talk about the details there. Um, and kind of just shed light on the trip. So first off, what’s going on this time of year? It’s we’re close to Christmas. Are you guys are you shut down or are you still running things? Are people still stopping by? 00:02:23 Jason: Right. We we finally got we got some snow. 00:02:25 Dave: Yeah. 00:02:25 Jason: Especially up in the mountains. So it gets a little prettier that way. I mean, the mountains are beautiful when you get the snow capped mountains and it’s still kind of warm a little bit lower. It’s perfect. 00:02:35 Jacquie: Yeah, it’s fire pit weather and we’ve got a couple of fire pits so people are enjoying them doing s’mores. It’s perfect. 00:02:43 Jason: We have one guest and then one natural wood burning. We have both, right? 00:02:47 Jacquie: Yep. We have like a wood burning fireplace. And then we have multiple gas fire pits. There’s also a barrel sauna there. Um or multiple barrel saunas. There are certain cabins that have private saunas, and then there’s like a shared community sauna for the cabins that don’t. 00:03:01 Dave: Oh, nice. 00:03:02 Jason: So what we’re saying is, while it’s cold and beautiful, it’s also very warm and fiery, right? 00:03:08 Dave: So it’s good. So, you guys, it sounds like you’re open year round if conditions. Is that true? 00:03:12 Jacquie: Yeah. Open year round. 00:03:14 Dave: Yeah. Good. So that’s good to hear. And I think we’re going to be coming there in in the summer. Well it’ll be in the fall. It’ll be this year in the fall. So but I mean fishing wise on the river, do you find a lot of your guests are coming to fish or what are the activities or are they just stopping in? Who are those people coming in? 00:03:32 Jacquie: Yeah. I mean, we get a lot of everyone that comes for the most part. Everyone that comes is outdoorsy, right? Yeah. Um, a lot of hikers, a lot of, um, a lot of anglers. Um, and I mean, I think the reason why we attract anglers so much is because, I mean, truly proximity. Yeah. Um, the lodge sits just minutes from eleven Mile Reservoir, pretty much just across the street from the South Platte River. And, um, lots of small lakes over there too. 00:03:59 Dave: That’s it. Yeah. And when I first talked to Landon, we were setting this trip up, and it was quite a while ago because we had some, well, year we had to postpone it, um, from some stuff that went on with Landon and everything. But everything’s good there now. And, um, and so he is, you know, basically I said, where should we go? And he mentioned you guys. That was kind of the first place because of the proximity of where the river is. And it’s right there because we’re going to be we’re going to have some people coming up, um, multiple groups fishing the river. And and it’s right there. It’s kind of a stone’s throw, almost right to the river. 00:04:30 Jacquie: Oh, yeah. Stone’s throw for sure. And it does overlook it has a beautiful view. It overlooks Lake George. Um, but most people choose to go to Eleven Mile Reservoir or the South Platte River. 00:04:42 Dave: Okay, good. Well, let’s hear I’m curious about your background. I know, Jason, you’ve done a little bit of fly fishing, but, um, how did you come to into the lodge. Is this something that you’ve, uh, you’ve kind of been a part of owned for a while, or. What’s your story here? 00:04:58 Jason: Um, yeah. I wanted to get an Airbnb and and ended up getting eleven Airbnbs. Is that right? There’s eleven units at this little. It’s like a gorgeous little outdoor motel. Um, it’s right off the highway for visibility, which is great and stuff. Everyone can find it right behind us. Got a lake. So I love water, love the mountains. Want to get away. It’s fantastic. So I bought that. And then Jackie manages it, makes sure it’s gorgeous and stocked up with wood for those fireplaces and convinced me to get barrel saunas. 00:05:30 Dave: Nice. Yeah. So these are actual. So there’s saunas here. You can go there and hop in a sauna during your stay. 00:05:36 Jacquie: Oh, those barrel saunas are so nice. It’s actually so I manage a good amount of properties, and I stay at them when I go and check on them. And it is my absolute favorite property to stay at. I’m not a fisher, but I love hiking. So when I’m out there, I’m over at Mueller State Park. Um, I am just getting my hiking fix. It’s just gorgeous. And then I, you know, I hop over to the fire pits and I hop into the sauna while I’m there. It’s just lovely. 00:06:06 Dave: That’s awesome. And describe these saunas. I’m curious a little bit. What are these saunas? Are these, like, one person saunas or what is the barrel sauna? 00:06:14 Jacquie: There are smaller saunas. It depends on which. So cabin number um five and cabin number four have their own private barrel saunas. Um, and those ones are a little smaller. Um, but they have a little window there. Um, they’re like a round barrel. Um, and they’re just, they’re lovely. And then on the, the patio, the community patio, there’s a bigger, um, barrel sauna for all the guests to enjoy. 00:06:39 Dave: Oh, gotcha. Okay, so. And that’s the sun. And then and, like, like you said, you kind of have the, the area out in the middle with the campfires and people can hang out. So when we’re there and we’re going to have I think we’re going to have a group of, I think six or seven, we’re going to be doing the cooking. We have a chef coming. It sounds like that’s going to be a good part, like we’ll be in there. We’ll be able to hang out outside by the fire. Is that the case? 00:06:59 Jacquie: That’s the case. And actually we do attract a lot of, um, group bookings. Um, just because of that community area. It’s just so beautiful for everyone to hang out at. 00:07:10 Jason: Yeah, there’s even been even been, uh, wedding bookings there, several weddings there. Oh, wow. And more requests because it’s just got everyone has their own little private cabin, and the main lodge is the best. I had a work event there and we took the whole place over, and it was fantastic because the main lodge, you know, six or seven people in there cooking and uh, and we put a big window into the pool table, added a pool table and stuff. 00:07:34 Dave: Oh you do. So there’s a pool table there. 00:07:36 Jason: Yeah. So we’re playing billiards and then, uh, you know, brought up, brought up a second TV because we were watching the Colorado Avalanche game as well as I wanted to watch the nuggets as well. So we watched both games at the same time in the main room, you know, kind of like a bar field. We just plug in the second TV. It’s easy, you know, they’re portable now. The TVs weigh nothing. 00:07:54 Dave: Yep. That’s it. 00:07:56 Jason: And then we walked outside and got all the outdoor grilling spaces and and firepits and. Yeah, it was pretty cool. 00:08:02 Dave: Nice. 00:08:02 Jacquie: Yeah, I would say I would discourage watching TV while you’re up in this beautiful area. 00:08:08 Dave: Right. 00:08:09 Jacquie: It was. 00:08:09 Jason: It was playoffs. 00:08:10 Dave: Yeah. 00:08:11 Jacquie: All that’s true. All the cabins are outfitted with, you know, beautiful TVs that have access to apps. So if you do want to watch TV, like you’ve got options. 00:08:22 Jason: I didn’t want the staff to revolt. That one was like, big ass fan. I want to watch nuggets. It was playoff season. Yeah literally when they they tear down Ball Arena overnight right. And they make ice. And the next day they tear it down and put a basketball court up. And the next day they make the ice arena. I’ve watched on YouTube and fast forward it’s quite amazing. But we had to bring two TVs and so everyone was happy. 00:08:42 Dave: That’s it. So this is the nuggets in the avalanche. They play in the same arena. 00:08:46 Jason: Yeah yeah in Denver. 00:08:48 Dave: Oh they do. That’s interesting. Yeah that’s right. So they have to switch it over. Who’s the, um on the sports stuff? Uh, who’s the better team? Is basketball or hockey or what’s the bigger sport in Denver? 00:08:59 Jason: Oh, you’re asking me? I’m gonna say basketball. 00:09:02 Dave: Yeah, yeah, that’s what I would say. 00:09:03 Jason: Even though I’m Canadian. So I love hockey, but. 00:09:05 Dave: Oh, you are okay. 00:09:07 Jason: Yeah. 00:09:07 Dave: Nice. 00:09:08 Jason: Pretty. Pretty Canadian. Hey. 00:09:10 Dave: Right. Are you from the east or west side of Canada? 00:09:14 Jason: Uh, Toronto. Right. Kind of in the Middle Eastern time zone. 00:09:16 Dave: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gotcha. Okay, good. So that gives us a little high level on on you guys. And then Jackie, talk about your, uh, what you do. It sounds like you run these operations. Um, I think, is it five star B&B? Is that your brand that you kind of run these, uh, different Airbnbs? 00:09:31 Jacquie: Yep. Um, five star B&B. Um, my heart is hospitality. I absolutely love taking care of people. Um, you know, and I love to build beautiful rentals with amenities and just experiences for guests. So, um. 00:09:47 Jason: I’ll. I’ll pipe in right there. You have no idea. She is so over the top. It is crazy. Like like you can’t just say, hey, I got a unit, I put some sofas, I put some cutlery in there. Go ahead and just list it. It’ll take like three months before it gets listed. It’s almost annoying because the whole. Because she’s the one list like a four star. She wants a five star. So they go through. Do you have the baby stuff? If they have families come. Do you have these toys? Do you have these board games? Do you have this? Well, well, the baseboards weren’t clean, so the cleaners come back and do the baseboards. Then we had electrician check. And then we have to label all the light switches with a little label gun and they go over the top. So you know, you’re sitting there for three months going, can we list this thing yet? And it’s like, well, professional photographer come out in a couple of weeks and we’re going to check those. Then we’re going to send them back out to get more sunset photos. And it’s so over the top. They’re so gorgeous. And then all the management too right. She does all that I mean she goes there stays there yearly double checks make sure things are all maintained, but see if she called it four star B&B. That would have been way easier for everybody. 00:10:46 Dave: Right? Yeah. No. That’s true. I think that, Jackie. I mean, I think that it’s cool to hear that because, I mean, that’s the impression I got and I’ve heard from some other people out there in the, uh, the space doing what you do is that that’s these are the little things make a huge difference, because when you go to these places, you know, we’re going there for fishing and outdoors and everything. But at the end of the day, you know, we’re staying in these in those little touches really are the magical moments that people remember. Do you feel that is that you must have learned that somewhere along the way? 00:11:12 Jacquie: Oh my gosh, that is like the number one rule. And I think, you know, there’s a few small things we do at mountain River Lodge specifically for those guests. You know, we provide s’mores kits in every room so that people can take those out to the fire pits. Um, especially for anglers, you’re going to find, um, like fishing rod and gear stands in each cabin. You’re also going to find, like, outdoor hooks for waders and boots. And then there’s a dedicated outdoor fish prep cleaning station so that in plenty of grills so you can grill out with the fish you just caught. So, you know, I think those little touches really go a long way, because we’re really thinking about the type of people that we are hosting at those rentals. 00:11:52 Dave: Nice. Yeah. So there’s outdoor. So we can actually if the conditions are good, we can grow outside and and do all that. And then I think we do have the big lodge where we’re going to be in that we have that too. So I think we’re going to be cooking in both places probably. 00:12:05 Jason: Wait, wait, where is the outdoor fish cleaning station? Because it sounds gross, but I have. No, I’ve never seen it. 00:12:10 Jacquie: It’s, um. Oh, gosh, what do we call it? It’s the something sixty six. What am I? Oh, what is it called? 00:12:17 Jason: Oh, that bar sixty six. Whatever. 00:12:19 Jacquie: Yep, yep. So that you’re going to find you’re going to find an assortment of spices stocked in there. You’re going to find all the tools you need to do that. So um, we keep that stocked just for anglers. 00:12:30 Jason: Oh, a good a good fisherman is going to bring his own, you know, skinning knife. 00:12:34 Dave: Yeah. Right. Well, and I think for this one I’m not sure actually in the area I’m not even sure of the regulations. But since we’re fly fishing, I think there’s definitely some times where you can keep fish, but I’m not sure we’ll be doing it on this trip, so we might not need that for this one. But it’s good to have because you guys have. There’s a bunch of like the lakes like Lake George, right. Is that the that’s the big lake. That’s just like right near you. 00:12:56 Speaker 4: I think that private. 00:12:58 Jason: Though, isn’t it? We have a beautiful view of it, but I think it’s private too. 00:13:01 Jacquie: We’ve got a gorgeous view of that lake. It is right there, however. Yeah, it is owned by an HOA. So that one, um, only has private access. 00:13:11 Dave: Okay. 00:13:12 Jacquie: But in the opposite direction, right across the street is the South Platte River. So I actually I usually like to hike by that river. So I’ll just cross the street and I’ll hike, you know, a good eight miles just back all the way up and down, just. And all I see is fishermen. 00:13:28 Dave: Oh, what do you do? Right. So you can go from the cabin there and pretty much start fishing your way down. 00:13:33 Jacquie: Oh yeah. 00:13:33 Dave: Yeah. That’s right. And I’m totally new. This obviously that’s why we have Landon the best, you know, angler out there. He’s gonna take us and teach us all the the lessons. But yeah. So that’s it. But you do have the South Park and then there’s also not too far, I mean, the dream stream. There’s some famous places out there, you know, that we’re going to be fishing, including some stillwaters. Landon’s got a couple secret spots and a private water as well. We’ve got a private section stream. We’re going to be fishing, too. 00:13:57 Speaker 4: Yep. 00:13:57 Dave: So good. Okay. Well, so it sounds like hiking is a big part of this. You know, obviously we’re going for fly fishing. Maybe. Jason, I’d love to hear from you. Since you’re. It sounds like I think you said you off air. You fished once. What was your first fly fishing? Talk about that. How did you first try that? What was the story there? 00:14:14 Jason: Um, yeah, just. I know my dad did it before he passed years ago, and. And he loved it. And I love water, for sure. I mean, I do some whitewater rafting and stuff when I. And when I’ve done the, the kayaking on the same waters, it’s really cool because you go past like suddenly you turn, turn a corner and you see like three or four guys fly fishing and and, you know, they might pull it in or you kind of avoid the lines and you kind of give them a head nod and you’re both enjoying the water in different ways, right? Yeah. And they’re both very peaceful. And my son loves to fish. So for Christmas, actually, I’m buying him a fly fishing rod and some other and some flies. Maybe one day he’ll tie his own flies. Who knows? Like. Like the proper guides do. But. 00:14:56 Speaker 4: Yeah. 00:14:56 Jason: But, um. Yeah. Just standing in the water. Just, you know, you’re not on a boat. You’re actually in the water, and it’s just rushing and just. And you’re constantly casting, right? It’s like when I was a kid, it was just a bob and a worm, and you threw it out there and you just sat there. But the fly fishing, it’s it’s a sport in itself. Just casting. It’s so cool. 00:15:14 Dave: Yeah. It is. 00:15:15 Jason: It’s like like, you know, some guys like to play catch, right? Yeah. It’s like you’re just throwing a ball back and forth. Well, it’s the same thing. You’re just throwing a line back and forth and you get it just right. And then you hit it and then the water, it’s just it brings in so many different things. It just feels peaceful yet athletic and sporty and kind of like it nice. 00:15:32 Dave: It sounds like you’re going to be maybe doing more of this with your son. 00:15:35 Jason: Yeah. So. So I had that moment of cheapness too, though. I’m like, okay, it’s a Christmas present. Will he like it? Because he can get a good rod for like six hundred bucks and the cheaper ones in the Amazon starter one is like under two hundred. And I’m like, okay, do I start with that one or just get something quality or right? So I’m not going to tell you which one he got. But I think, you know yeah. 00:15:58 Dave: Fly fish with me Utah discover year round blue ribbon trout fishing on the famed Provo River. Choose a guided walk and wade or a scenic float and experience big trout, stunning canyons and unforgettable days on the water. You can book your adventure right now at Fly Fish with me Utah.com world class water. Incredible fishing that’s fly fish with me Utah dot com. When it comes to high quality flies that truly elevate your fly fishing game, drift is a trusted source you need. I’ve been using drift hooks, expertly selected flies for a while now, and they never disappoint. Plus, they stand behind their products with a money back guarantee. Are you ready to upgrade your fly box? Head over to drift Book.com today and use the code swing at checkout to get fifteen percent off your first order. That’s drift hook drive. Don’t miss out. Yeah, well, I think at that, you know, I’m not sure what age he is, but for a starter, there’s the cool thing about fly fishing is that you almost can’t buy a bad rod, you know, because the rods are so high quality. Now that, you know, it’s likely going to be a good rod. And, you know, again, if he’s just getting started, you don’t want to get something too high because he might not be into it, you know, down the line. But but no, that’s cool to hear that you’re into. And your dad I mean, I love the connection because that’s all we hear those stories a lot where it’s like a dad, a grandfather, somebody planted the seed and then, you know, and then down the line, you eventually get into it. Yeah. You know, and it’s and it’s kind of cool. 00:17:25 Jason: Yeah. My brother got him. So my, my younger brother, he bought my dad a new rod. I didn’t I had no idea what they cost. Right. Yeah. And uh, and he had the net. It ended up at my house somehow. Probably because of eight mile. So I had it all here, and I said, hey, Joe, I’m gonna. I guess I’ll just keep dad’s rod and whatever. He goes, oh, no, he goes, that thing was expensive. I’m keeping that. I’m like, I don’t know if he’s used it yet. I’m gonna actually, I’m gonna go find out after we’re done. 00:17:50 Dave: Yeah, you gotta find out. 00:17:51 Speaker 4: Have you done this thing yet? Let’s go. 00:17:53 Dave: Nice. Do you remember? I’m not sure how old both of you are, but do you remember the A River Runs Through It, that movie that came out in the back in the early nineties? 00:18:00 Jason: I mean, yes. 00:18:01 Dave: Yeah. You do. Yeah. So I mean, that was we I just actually had the author, um, John McClane, the son of Norman McClane, who wrote the book, and he was on the podcast and talked about all the stories behind the scenes. It was pretty cool. Yeah, but that movie was, you know, pretty powerful because it was a story kind of like you’re saying, you know, it’s about family. It’s about two brothers. And one of them eventually died, which was tragic, but it was a story about, you know, really, it wasn’t even about fly fishing, you know, it was about these two brothers making a connection and. 00:18:28 Jason: Family that was like a that was a Brad Pitt movie, wasn’t it? 00:18:31 Dave: Yeah, it was Brad Pitt, one of his first, actually. I think it was one of his first big movies it turned out to be. Wow. So we’re still working on Brad Pitt to get him on the podcast. Well, hopefully that’ll be coming soon. 00:18:41 Jason: You may be coming on maybe doing a cameo, so stay tuned. 00:18:44 Dave: Yeah. There you go. There you go. Good call. Um, well, tell me this. Let’s go back to the lodge. So we’ve got the lodge set. What else should we be knowing? We’re coming there. We’ve got this big group of guys, you know, if they’re going to be. I know some of them are going to be hunting and stuff like that. What should we tell them if they’re coming in? Anything to be prepared for this. Do they do they just show up with their stuff and be good to go? 00:19:03 Jason: Well, from the fun point of view, do we have what games do we have? We have. I mean, I like to throw some cornhole knives. 00:19:07 Dave: Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea. 00:19:08 Jacquie: I forgot about our game shed. Yeah, we have, we have a whole shed that’s set up just full of outdoor games. We have cornhole, there’s tennis courts across the street, so we provide, like tennis rackets and tennis balls. Um, there’s like outdoor dice. There’s, like, every outdoor game that you can imagine. And, I mean, it’s just kind of a peaceful place. I just enjoy, like, relaxing there. And the only other thing that I can think of that I think would be super helpful to know is there’s plenty of parking for trucks, boats, trailers. So anything you guys are drinking, there’s bringing, like, car wise, like you’re going to have so much parking for that. Um, which makes it great for groups for sure. 00:19:53 Dave: Yeah, that’s good to know. Yeah. Because we definitely will have some boats and and gear and stuff, so. Good. And you’re located in that area. Talk about the Lake George area. Is that the town that you’re in and where is that in relation to, say, some of the other parts of Denver that people I’m sure have heard about? 00:20:07 Jacquie: Yeah, I mean, it’s in the middle of nowhere. Um. 00:20:11 Dave: Is it good? That’s what we want. 00:20:12 Jacquie: Yeah. 00:20:13 Jason: And I don’t think the locals would appreciate that. 00:20:18 Jacquie: Um, I’ve stayed up there, actually, last January. Um, we were, uh, doing a lot of updates to the main lodge, and I stayed up there for an entire month. And I would say, you know, the closest town that you’re going to get to to get to, like a store or whatever it may be for the most part is Woodland Park, but there is a fantastic barbecue truck across the street. So if you ever want to get really good barbecue, that’s pretty much the only option, but it’s the best option anyway. So there’s like a little corner store up the street, but like, I mean, you are you are out in the middle of nowhere. You’re out. Um, beautiful mountain views, lake views. It’s really that remote, you know, outdoorsy experience that you would hope for. 00:21:05 Dave: That’s perfect. And what is and I know we’re traveling. People are going to be flying and then driving, uh, down and up. And what are the closest? Denver. And then what’s the other airport nearby or I guess it’s a couple hours away. 00:21:17 Jacquie: Colorado Springs. 00:21:18 Dave: Colorado Springs, those are the two. And those are a couple hours. Is that the distance a couple hours from or an hour and a half, something like that? 00:21:23 Jacquie: Yeah. 00:21:24 Jason: I mean, Collier Springs has got to be about an hour and a half, maybe a little bit less. A little bit more in Denver would probably be all of two hours. 00:21:32 Dave: Okay. So and then and we’re going to meet up there, I can’t remember the exact date. Uh, we will have that in the show notes, but it’s going to be like we said that September period. Um, when folks arrive, will we be kind of, uh, on our own there? Will there be other staff? You know, if we have any questions or if people are there just throughout the year, is it typically how does that work? Is it kind of like R&B? You show up and everything’s ready to go? 00:21:55 Jacquie: Yeah. You show up, everything’s ready to go. Um, we’re just a short phone call away. Um, and I have to say that September, uh, time frame you’re going in, I almost want to push you to go for a hike because the aspens are gorgeous up there during that time. 00:22:09 Dave: Oh, good. 00:22:10 Jason: They change in September or October. 00:22:12 Jacquie: End of September, end of September, Actually, if you wait too long into October, everything kind of falls because you’re at that higher elevation. Um, but I would say, you know, mid to end of September, you’re going to get peak foliage up there. Um, so definitely go out, check out Mueller State Park. It is one of my favorite parks to hike in. And you’re going to get so many beautiful aspen groves there. 00:22:35 Dave: Good. 00:22:36 Jason: And then have you guys heard of a site called Leaf peepers? I think it’s maybe a dot com could be a dot org. I’m not sure. But like, you know, like leaf and then peepers, like, uh, looking around peepers, and they, they have a whole map and it shows you where the leaves are changing. 00:22:52 Dave: Hmm. Oh. That’s cool. 00:22:53 Jason: Okay. As you get higher in elevation, it gets colder and they change quicker and stuff like that. And you always want a year where it’s got a lot of rain. Because I think a few years ago we had a drought, and then the rain and hail came all at once. So the leaves were dry. So the leaves just fell right off the trees. They almost didn’t even change. But yeah, it’s it’s gorgeous up there. I think Jackie, you mentioned you manage what, like five or six or seven other places within fifteen minutes of there. And one of I know one of her places is called Aspen, and the whole thing is like a little a frame house in the middle of a million aspen trees. 00:23:27 Jacquie: Oh it’s gorgeous. It’s in the middle of, like, a, um, flower like patch, too. So it’s like yellow flowers, yellow aspens. It’s overwhelmingly beautiful. But yeah, that A-frame is actually just a stone’s throw from mountain River Lodge, too. So I, I wonder if sometimes with those group bookings, if we’ll get a little overflow. Um, but yeah, it’s it’s beautiful up there. 00:23:52 Dave: Nice. Yeah. I’m looking at it now. It’s a leaf peepers. Com fall foliage reports. So we’ll get a link in the show notes. That’s a good resource for sure. That’s awesome. And so hiking definitely is. Hiking is big I love hiking too. 00:24:04 Jacquie: Oh yeah the hiking is great up there I, I so I’m based out of Colorado Springs, but I Drive up. Um, in the fall. I drive up the pass every weekend and hike up every single weekend in Mueller State Park. Um, because the foliage up there is just unmatched. You’ve got some, um, you’ve got some trails up there that are very well known in Colorado that people will drive from all over to see, uh, to, you know, hike. Um, you’ve got the crags, you’ve got Pancake Rocks. Um, there’s a really great, um, overlook loop that I like to do up there, and a few smaller mountains that you can easily hike as well. So it’s it’s fantastic for hiking. 00:24:45 Dave: Perfect. What other we talked about a little bit on the outdoor. What other outdoor activities are people doing out there other than I think hunting is another one, right? What do you guys what do you what do you do and what are other people doing? 00:24:57 Jacquie: Hunting. Yeah, I know we do attract quite a few hunters. I’m not sure. Um, I know quite well. Exactly. Uh, here, let me check real quick. 00:25:08 Dave: Yeah, I think they have. I mean, Colorado I know is known for there’s definitely some big game hunting. I’m not sure if it’s in that area, but also bird hunt. Upland bird hunting I think is big too. Yeah. People traveling through. 00:25:18 Jacquie: I want to say that’s a lot of elk hunting. Am I wrong? 00:25:22 Jason: My fisherman’s son’s always saying, dad, let’s go elk hunting. And then if we can’t get elk, we’ll go. We’ll go buck hunting. Or is it that dad get a deer tag? And I’m like, there’s a difference. A deer tag, a buck tag, a elk tag. 00:25:33 Dave: Right. Oh, yeah. 00:25:34 Jason: And fishing licenses. Right. You guys got that all taken care of? 00:25:37 Dave: Yep. Yeah. You got to have all that stuff. 00:25:39 Jacquie: Teller County specifically, it says that you can hunt deer, antelope, elk, bear, which I didn’t know you could. You could hunt bear, mountain lion, moose and antelope. 00:25:51 Dave: Yep. Everything. So you got it all? Yeah. All the big game. Colorado is definitely known in the hunting world. I know it’s it’s not easy to get tagged, especially for out of state, but, um, but it’s a good place to go. Good. And what is the, um, so in your lodge, do you really have a shoulder season? What would you consider the shoulder season? Is that is that that October range, or when is the peak that you see out there for people coming through? 00:26:15 Jason: That’s definitely attracting questions for sure. 00:26:17 Jacquie: It’s definitely summertime. Um, you know, we’ll definitely get a good amount of people staying, you know, from March to end of October. It stays very busy. Um, you know, we will even stay busy in the off season. I wouldn’t say, you know, obviously as busy. Um, but, you know, that place is pretty hoppin year round. 00:26:38 Dave: And what about the, um, we mentioned the location. Um, we’ve talked a little bit about our trip. What about, like, feedback? I’m always interested in this from, you know, and we do the same thing on the podcast. You know, you get feedback from somebody who’s listening. You try to make your place better. Have you had any feedback over the years at the lodge that you’ve, you know, basically tweaked things or made it a little bit better based on? 00:26:58 Jason: I know one of them was where you asked the question about what’s the check in process like. So the main lodge kind of looked like a like a check in place, like the bigger, bigger lodge dotted by, surrounded by the dotted cabins all around the property. So when you walked in, it kind of felt that way, like there was fly fishing and and trail brochures on the wall. So it looked like those things when you go to like Myrtle Beach and you walk in, there’s like a million like come to this putt putt and all these little flyers in the doorway. So it really felt like, uh, like a lobby. And it had the big commercial kitchen and, and this and a, a chess set and a and a big couch. It looked like a really comfortable, like, high end hotel lobby kind of waiting area. And then it had these two gorgeous bedrooms that were hidden away off to the back. So it definitely felt like a like that. But since we converted it and cut a big hole in the wall, put a pool table there, got rid of the brochures. The lodge is just a really warm, cozy, comfortable house. It’s got it’s got the wood ceilings, the. It’s all like a log cabin on the inside. Right? 00:28:04 Jacquie: The original beams? Yeah. 00:28:07 Dave: Oh, really? Oh, wow. It’s got the original. So this was built a while ago. 00:28:10 Jacquie: Yeah. When I when I was up there managing the remodel, um, I was going through all the junk and just kind of clearing everything out, and we redecorated. And when I was going through all the junk, I actually found this. I. 00:28:24 Jason: Please don’t say junk. I mean, I don’t I didn’t view that stuff as Joe. One man’s junk. Another man’s treasure. All right, go on. I’m a bit of a hoarder. 00:28:31 Jacquie: Sorry, sorry. Yeah, but, you know, we found it that way. So that’s when we were remodeling and cleaning everything out, and I found this photo album. Um. And I want to say it went all the way back to the nineteen thirties. And you. Oh, wow. Yeah, it used to be. What was it called? Ten. Um. Gosh. What what was it called? 00:28:51 Jason: Miles. 00:28:52 Jacquie: Yeah. Ten Mile Lodge or ten Mile Motel or something. And you could see the original beams and all the photos and you. But it looked completely different. It was mind blowing, but you knew it was the same cabin, because you’re looking at those beams and those beams and, you know, maintained and well taken care of over the years. Um, I will say that we completely overhauled that kitchen. It is gorgeous. It is updated. It is, you know, it’s a chef’s kitchen and there’s a massive dining table for, you know, having a big meal with friends and family. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy that quite a bit while you’re up there. A stone fireplace, a pool table. It is the place to hang out now, so I think that was probably the biggest. Yeah, you know, response to feedback that we that we did. 00:29:41 Jason: Well and the plates are gorgeous but we can’t take all the credit. Like there’s it’s like a whole old renovation that’s been going on through generations. The previous owner did a ton of work, and they were going to make the lodge into a restaurant, and they did a ton of work, made the property gorgeous, and even the owners, and we’re still in contact with them, and they still help us out with stuff if we have questions. They’re wonderful people that live nearby. And the owner, I think the owner before that couple, I heard she was very wealthy and just rehabbed all the cabins and made them all high end and did a heck of a job. I don’t even I didn’t see it prior, so it’s had a lot of love and money spent on it. And like I said, Jack, now I know why the places aren’t ready because Jackie spends a month just living there. 00:30:26 Dave: Yeah. 00:30:26 Jacquie: Stop. 00:30:27 Dave: That’s a smart move, though. 00:30:28 Jason: Let’s get it listed I want to go to. 00:30:31 Jacquie: I also didn’t want to leave, but at the same time, I was like, I want to see my kiddo. Um, it is so lovely up there. And those, um, it’s funny how, like, luxurious it feels for being a cabin in a remote location. That always blows me away. 00:30:47 Dave: Today’s episode is brought to you by Trout Routes by Onex, the ultimate mapping app for trout anglers. Whether you’re planning a big road trip or sneaking away for an afternoon session. Trout routes helps you find and explore new waters fast. You’ll get detailed maps that include public land boundaries, stream access points, regulations, and other extras like hiking trails and parking spots. I’ve been using it to plan my trips and it’s taken the guesswork out of the process. No more bouncing between multiple tools. Everything you need in one spot. Give it a try right now at Wet Fly. Routes and download the app to start exploring smarter today. So if somebody was coming through, obviously we have a bigger group coming, but if it’s just a single person that’s coming through and mountain River Lodge, they can go then actually your website’s great too. You have a bunch of resources on everything we’ve talked about, but is that can people just get a day here or there? Is that how would they do that? 00:31:44 Jacquie: Oh yeah, they can just book one day if they’d like. Um, you know, uh, it does fill up pretty quickly. Um, especially when it comes to summertime dates. Um, you know, we’re already, you know, receiving group bookings and bookings for summer. So, you know, definitely if you’re coming out in that summertime, um, you know, time frame, I highly recommend, you know, looking now, but yeah, you can book on our website, um, mountain, River Lodge and um, and. Yeah, uh, go get some fishing done. 00:32:14 Dave: Yeah. We we’re definitely going to, um, and we’re not quite out of here yet. I got a, I got a little trivia segment we’re going to do here before we get out of here, but, uh, yeah, not for you. So you don’t have to worry about this. It’s going to be for listeners. Yeah, you get it. You get to just hang out. Yeah. No, but but your website is, um. It’s great because you got activities listed. You got fly fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, everything. We talked about rock hounding, which is awesome. We love that scenic drives, off roading, rock and whitewater rafting. Right. All this. So I feel like you’ve created I’m not sure who did the website, but that’s a good resource there just to go at to like we said, mountain River Lodge net. Um, but before we get down here, a couple of random ones and then we’ll get into the trivia segment, but white water rafting is one of those. And Jason, you mentioned that you’ve done some whitewater rafting. Is that one of your outdoor activities? 00:33:00 Jason: Yeah, I love doing that. They’ve got, you know, level level, level one is like Stillwater and then two then five is just forget that. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, I want to go there for, for a week or two and just I don’t live too far of a drive. Right. Hour and a half. Two and a half hours max to wherever, wherever you want to be, like Buena Vista or whatever. But if you’re already up that way, I want to like my son. I was saying, we’ll do one day of fishing and one day of hiking, and then one day we rent ATVs and just throw them back the keys and say, sorry, here. Here it is. Dirty, muddy. I’m not sure I’m feeling right now. And then do whitewater rafting where you do like eight or ten people in one raft with the guy and the next day, you know, repeat, but then go solo in rubber duckies or kayaks. It’s totally different when you’re by yourself and mountain biking. I want to do all the things and just just disappear for a week or two. 00:33:45 Dave: Yep. That’s right. That’s. And how old is your son? 00:33:48 Jason: He’s sixteen. 00:33:49 Dave: Oh, he’s right in the prime. 00:33:50 Jason: Yeah. So he’s. and he wants to do all this stuff and and he, he he’ll take off school. He’s like dad, we can skip school and do this right now. 00:33:56 Dave: Nice. That’s pretty sweet. So he’s into it. So you’ve planted the seed on the outdoors? It sounds like he’s totally in. I guess if you’re in Colorado, though, I’d imagine most people are into the outdoors, right? 00:34:05 Jason: I think he’s into everything. I mean, football, I’m trying to get him to play pickleball with me. So I’m like, dude, prepare for retirement. I know you’re sixteen, but like, you know, one day be sixty five. 00:34:14 Dave: Oh, yeah, well, they have pickleball. There’s pro pickleball circuits now, right? I mean, it’s. 00:34:18 Jason: It’s a thing. 00:34:19 Dave: Good good good. Well this is great. So anything else before we jump into our trivia that we want to highlight about the Lodge or anything you have going. I mean, again, I think going to the website and taking a look at some of the photos and you even have a history section here, like you said, built in nineteen forty or the it was a motor lodge in nineteen forty nine, but um, but yeah, anything else we want to highlight here before we start to move out of here? 00:34:39 Jason: No, I know, I just want to remind Jackie there’s an old, an old rusted red sign that says Ten Mile Lodge that we we have in the storage room that the old, old sign from like, sixty years ago. Yeah, it’s in the downstairs basement somewhere. 00:34:52 Jacquie: I don’t know if I’ve found that. 00:34:54 Jason: I think it’s on the wall. It’s in the wall on the, uh, in the office bathroom. 00:34:59 Jacquie: We’re always finding fun surprises there. It’s. It’s definitely evolved over the years, and it has a story to tell, for sure. 00:35:08 Jason: My favorite is the s’mores. I do like s’mores. It’s like my favorite pastime, candy, because it involves fire and people. I don’t know if it’s like the nostalgia that comes with s’mores or what, but that’s my favorite. 00:35:17 Dave: Nice. Yeah. You can’t go wrong with fire. Having a fire, no matter what you’re doing, is always good. Perfect. Well, let’s just get into our quick trivia segment. And the cool thing about this is, is that this is going to be an easy one. Easy question. The way this is going to work is I’m going to ask a question and then whoever, if you know the answer of the listeners out there, you guys can do it too. But what we’re going to do is we’re going to throw a mention at wet fly swing. And uh, and let’s see here we have it was out, it was at mountain River Lodge Co, I think right on Instagram. That’s your handle. Is that correct, Jackie? 00:35:48 Jacquie: That’s correct. 00:35:48 Dave: Yeah. Perfect. So we’ll do a little app mention there. So if you know the answer to this question, just put the answer in the post. And then an app mentioned both wet fly swing at mountain River. Uh Lodge Co and then um and the question is, is this is a kind of a softball question. But the question is the dream stream is a famous stretch. I mean, that’s where we’re going to be fishing. It’s called we’ve talked a lot about on the podcast, but from many experts. But it’s a section of river stretch of river between which two reservoirs. So if you know the answer to that, throw that in on Instagram. The two reservoirs is the answer we need. And and I’m going to switch over there and look at my Instagram. And it’s not the first person that gets it, but it’s the first person I see when I switch over. So throw those out there and what they’re going to win, uh, which is exciting. Uh, from another one of our partners is Patagonia. They’re going to win a, a Patagonia fly fishing hat. So we’re going to get them a Patagonia fly fishing hat, which is amazing. And we’re going to give them a big discount on an upcoming trip. We’re going to give them ten percent off on the trip. So if uh, so that’s another big thing we’re doing here. So two things going, uh, go ahead right now. And uh, and that’s our trivia question. And so cool. So now, guys, that you’ve been part of the wet fly swing trivia, um, how has been let me just ask you, how has your first podcast been on this? It sounds like, uh, Jason, is this your first time you’ve been on a podcast? 00:37:05 Jason: Yeah, for first and and, uh, maybe my last. I’m not sure. It’s, uh. 00:37:10 Dave: Maybe your. 00:37:11 Jacquie: Last. You had a good time, huh? 00:37:13 Dave: What about you, Jackie? You’ve been on, um, on podcasts. You had your own podcast before. Talk about that. What’s, uh, describe your podcast and then tell us about that experience. 00:37:23 Jacquie: Yeah, you can still find it if you want to listen to it. It’s called the STR insiders. Um, we did a podcast for about two years just talking about hospitality and vacation, the vacation rental industry, and, um, just creating cool experiences for all the people we get to host. So, um, highly recommended. I’m a little biased, but, um, we had a lot of fun on that podcast. Um, uh, a lot of good laughs. 00:37:50 Jason: I think. I think there were some Airbnb rental nightmare stories as well in that podcast. Oh, good. She invited me on that podcast and I told her no, but I said yes to you, Dave. 00:37:59 Dave: Nice. There you go. I feel I feel lucky it is str what was it again? 00:38:05 Jacquie: Jackie the STR insiders. 00:38:07 Dave: Oh STR insiders okay I’m going to look it up. Insiders we’re going to get we’ll get a link out in the show notes to your podcast as well. I always love a. 00:38:14 Jacquie: New. 00:38:15 Dave: Podcast. Oh yeah there it is right there. Awesome. Yeah you got it STR the STR insiders podcast. Well, good. And what was that? What. Go ahead Jason. 00:38:22 Jason: The link or the, uh, or the email that never seems to go through is because out of habit we always put dot com, but hers is five star bnb for Colorado, so I don’t know. I don’t know how many like I know. One day I drove by one of the where the laundry places in town. They’re like, we’ve got seven bags of your laundry. We keep emailing you but no one’s called us back. We’re about to donate it. I’m like, I’ll take it. Yeah. So yeah, there’s that link. 00:38:47 Dave: It’s confusing. 00:38:48 Jacquie: They were doing dot com. 00:38:51 Dave: Yeah, it’s the costco.com. Although nowadays in Google, as long as you just type in five star, you know, Google is pretty smart and figure it out a lot of times. But good. So this is good. So we got a new podcast. Well as we take it out of here, let’s go back, Jason, to you um, podcasts or music? You’re on a road trip. What are you listening to more of podcasts or music? 00:39:13 Jason: Yeah, mostly XM radio or my Spotify playlist. I’m both okay. Once in a while I get hooked on an audiobook or an audio story, but I haven’t gotten I haven’t really dove into podcasts. I’ve got friends that do. I’m like, what, are you listening to this podcast or this or that? And I’m like, it sounds interesting. I haven’t really tried it though. 00:39:32 Dave: Yeah, yeah. Well, it’s yeah, it’s definitely it’s a thing for sure. I mean, it’s it’s kind of like an audiobook, right. But you’re listening to some stories and, you know, whatever that is. Jacki, on your podcast, it was all about learning. I’m guessing it was professionals that were in your space wanting to learn about how to be a better, um, you know, um, you know, the job you do, right? Do a better job of what they do. 00:39:51 Jacquie: Yeah. I think, you know, again, just because I’m in hospitality, I’m always thinking about the experience of the person, um, you know, that I’m, um, that I’m talking to. So I think that we had it was like, fifty percent having fun and entertainment, and then it was like, fifty percent like educational. I would say. 00:40:11 Dave: Yeah, that’s good. They say in podcasts and I have another podcast. I’m obviously a podcast nerd. I have a marketing podcast, I do, and uh, and I’ve interviewed some of the biggest podcasters in the world and they said, you know, you got to have one thing to be a successful podcaster, and that’s to be curious about your topic. You can’t fake that. You know, on a podcast. You can’t be you can’t make it up. So, you know, that’s that’s the biggest thing. So it sounds like you had that, but um, but good. Well, like you said, this has been great. We’ve got a big trip with Landon Mayer coming up here. Um, you know, we might even have a couple of spots open, uh, for this trip. Uh, we have some, uh. Yeah. There we go. There you go. So you got to check in on this. We’ll put a link out in the show notes so people can follow up on that. Um, obviously Landon Mayer is, you know, one of the biggest guys out there. So this is going to be a big trip for us. We’ll send everybody out to mountain River Lodge if they have questions for either of you. And yeah, just want to thank you for your time today. This has been amazing. And, uh, looking forward to seeing your place in person. 00:41:07 Speaker 5: We’re excited to host you. 00:41:09 Jason: Yeah, it’ll be awesome to have you guys. And I’m sure if you guys are all welcoming, it’s a very open public space. So if people if you get overflow, you can just invite people to the lodge or invite them to the fire pits outside. 00:41:19 Dave: Oh, there you go. 00:41:20 Jason: And then when they’re done barbecue or grilling, they could be like, okay, well, this place was full, but we’re going to go to our Airbnb fifteen, twenty minutes down the road. 00:41:28 Dave: Yeah. Or maybe that A-frame. 00:41:29 Jason: Yeah, the A-frame for twenty minutes. They’d just be like, all right, we’ll see you in the morning and they’ll just go back there, sleep there and come back and meet you guys for breakfast. So you could do that to a point. There’s a lot of space. 00:41:40 Dave: Yeah. Right. Right. Okay, well, we’ll leave that door open. I think you’re on to something. If we have some people that didn’t book on the trip, but they just want to stop by and maybe have a beverage or something like that, they might be able to do it and connect. Yeah. Good idea. Awesome. And, Jackie, are you going to be picking up that podcast again, or are you going to leave that one in the dust for the history books? 00:41:57 Speaker 5: Oh gosh, maybe. 00:41:58 Jacquie: Someday. 00:41:59 Speaker 5: Maybe. 00:42:00 Jacquie: Someday when my life isn’t my personal life isn’t so crazy. Um, but I, you know, I have some goals of my own right now and and some Airbnb dreams of my own. So I think I’m going to focus on those first. 00:42:13 Dave: Yeah, that’s probably smart. Good. All right. Well, thanks for all your time today and we’ll look forward to seeing you out there soon. Thanks. 00:42:19 Jason: Thanks, guys. 00:42:20 Speaker 5: Thank you. 00:42:23 Dave: All right. Before we take off, just want to let you know some of the other good things we got coming here. As always. Wet Fly swing pro. If you’re interested in getting access to Wet Fly Swing Pro, all the masterclasses, everything we have going there, you can go to flightseeing. This is also your chance to get access to that trip I mentioned. We’ve got a couple spots for this land and mayor trip. We’re going to be at mountain, uh, River Lodge here, uh, with land and mayor and we’re going to be fishing some of the greatest, uh, water in the country with one of the greatest anglers and guides. So we’ve got landing on on that one. If you’re interested, send me an email, Dave at com. We’ll get you hooked up for the next steps there. Okay. That’s all I have for you. Uh, I hope you enjoyed this one and look forward to hearing back from you soon. You can check in with me anytime, and I hope you have a great afternoon, evening or morning and hope to talk to you and see you on the next episode. Have a good one!