Our day with the owner/guide Yorke (pronounced "York") Fearon far exceeded our expectations. We…read moreonly had one day in Fort Collins, Colorado (USA) and Majestic Mountains Scenic Rides was just the ticket to maximize our time there.
Yorke picked us up at our hotel for an 8-hour tour. He drives a clean, comfortable passenger van stocked with water, snacks, hand-sanitizer, tissues, and a picnic lunch. I don't know much about commercial vehicles, but this is one where you can stand up -- which helped our middle aged bodies navigate in and out.
Yorke is an educated historian and has an amazing knowledge of the area, including anecdotes about founding families, homesteaders, and how the landscape has changed/stayed the same since the Ute tribes dominated the area. He has memorized tons of fun facts and is obviously doing what he loves every single day.
We told Yorke we really hoped to see a moose. Although wildlife does not give command performances, he knew exactly where to look and persisted until we saw a huge bull moose grazing not far from the road. Beautiful!
Halfway through the 8-hour tour, we stopped at a Visitors Center where we enjoyed an outdoor picnic Yorke prepared with ingredients from his own garden. Fresh tomatoes and beets along with a yummy salad, chips, and a selection of ingredients to make our own sandwich on bread or large-leaf lettuce. (Worth Noting: The Visitor's Center had the only flush toilets of the day, so ... if you're not a fan of outhouses or doing your business outdoors, you'll want to regulate your fluid intake accordingly).
At $90 per person for an 8-hour experience, you are certainly not guaranteed a private tour; we lucked out! But, we would have paid more for the privilege had we known how great it was to have the time and Yorke's expertise all to ourselves. We got out when we wanted to, explored, and took pictures to our heart's content.
Yorke mentioned that some of his customers are elderly folks who just want to get up in the mountains for a half- or full-day and need a driver as well as someone to assist them in and out of the vehicle. He also takes small tour groups, and has even contracted with a few customers to do overnight camping trips where he drives, brings the food, sets up the tents, and basically does all the work for you so you can enjoy the mountains at any age or fitness level. His personality seems well-suited to go-with-the-flow for whoever he may have on his tour.
If you want personalized service from a smart, kind, outdoorsy "former hippie" (his words), then Yorke at Majestic Mountains Scenic Rides is your guy.
