It’s not unusual to ask anyone in town “How are you doing?” It’s also not unusual for them to respond with “I’m livin’ the dream,” accompanied by a soft laugh.
Red River is a special place to live and there are thousands and thousands of people who express the desire to someday live in the narrow high country valley.
Meet Papa Bear and Mama Bear, owners of the Three Bears Lodge on E. Main. Chris and Deborah Yates lived “relatively close” in their native England but didn’t know each other. They met – another story for another time – and married before moving to the USA in 1982. They made their home and raised a family in Richardson, Texas, “until about 15 years ago.” Chris worked for a company which was a wholesale distributor of computer supplies, then for a spinout company, an outsourcing business. Deborah, a nurse back in England, raised the kids.
“I was an RN but I wasn’t allowed to work (in the states) for a long time – visa and stuff – so I was a stay-at-home mom. The last few years (before moving to Red River) I worked at a pediatric clinic,” says Deborah.
Chris says, “Somebody told us about it (Red River) 25 years ago. We were looking for a ski town. Normally we were impulsive, but this time we actually went to all the ski towns within a day’s drive from Dallas. We went to Ruidoso, Taos, Angel Fire and spent a weekend at each one.
“We came here and it was Thanksgiving. We came down the pass and saw the town in the valley, just like a million other people have done, and we went ‘OOOhhh.’ They were lighting up the trees in the park, there were people in the park and crossing the road! It was like somebody threw the hook and we bit on it!”
The MAGIC was at work! On the next trip to town, they bought a Flagge Mountain townhouse. It wasn’t very big, two bedrooms “for four kids and us!”
The Yates family soon began a process that eventually led to moving to the high country. Every weekend during the ski season, they would catch a Friday flight from Dallas to Albuquerque and drive to Red River, ski and hang out, then fly back to Dallas on Sunday night.
“We caught the late flight, got the kids back in time for school and we got back in time for work on Monday,” Chris says with a smile.
The townhouse served them well and they soon bought a house on Jayhawk Trail. Eventually they traded that house – and their life savings – to buy the El Western Lodge from Rick Bailey.
“I worked at the Starr in summer and the Ski Area in winter. Debbie worked the front desk at Copper King for Clay and Michelle,” Chris says, “and she learned a lot of stuff about the lodging business. That’s what really got us thinking.
“Working at the Starr everyday and looking at this place across the street, it never had a “For Sale” sign. She was looking at this place from the other side.
“So it was October. I called Rick up and asked him if he’d ever thought about selling. He said the place was for sale but the lady living there and managing it – Rhonda Featherston – had first dibs on it. After Rick and Rhonda talked, she didn’t want it so he called us.”
That was ten years ago. A name change was in order.
The lodge takes a lot of work, but the Yates family is up to the task. Their son and daughter and son-in-law help out and keep the place busy. Over the years, they have seen some changes in the seasonal nature of town.
“Both ends of the summer season are stretching. We used to take a fall vacation. Now it’s down to about a week,” explains Chris. Their vacation always includes the United States Grand Prix in Austin TX.
Debbie is wondering, however, if the fall cleaning is going to be done before Thanksgiving.