Want to know more information about the land used as the NARAM-56 site? The story goes way back...
In 1994 John and Helen Hudson, retired teachers and ranchers, donated their 7000-acre property to the 4H-Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and Youth Charitable Foundation to be used as an youth recreational and educational area. The area was never developed as they wished, and therefore, it just continued to operate as a cattle ranch.
In 2005, S.C.O.R.E. member, Ben Whitield, who was then flying rockets with a group of school kids from another rancher's property, was informed about the Hudson Ranch, LLC. and its educational mission. This was a match made in heaven, as it allowed the land to be used as the Hudson's intended, and it was a chance for the rocketeers to fly from really big rocket launch site. Ben contacted the trustees and they replied that they thought it would be a great idea!
Because it was undeveloped, the field had no roads on it to get to the middle to fly rockets. Ben, through a stroke of good fortune, obtained a substantial grant from Sharon and Wally Stealey to do the development work. The club put in the current road and provided gravel and concrete launch areas for every size rocket from A – M. The launch area at Hudson Ranch is named "The Stealey Memorial Launch Site" in honor of the Stealey's children, Pat and Michelle, who both unfortunately died young.
The club also began build sessions with schools and youth groups to get more kids to the site. Using the Stealey-family grant money plus another generous grant from San Isabel Electric, the club was able to complete the interior renovation of the red shed by the road. It has electricity and both men's and women's restrooms (with flush toilets), and is now used for educational purposes as well as build sessions.
Since the rocketry program was incepted in at Hudson Ranch, S.C.O.R.E. has hosted two national events: NARAM 52 in 2010, and the National Sport Launch which was held over Memorial Day weekend last year. The site has even hosted one TV show: Auction Hunters in 2012.
Rocketry has a long future at Hudson Ranch. S.C.O.R.E. continues to fly rockets on a regular basis throughout the year (the first and third Saturday of each month), and always welcomes guests and new rocket flyers.
What else is envisioned for the property?
Future development plans for Hudson Ranch include: competition horse riding trails, shooting ranges, an equine therapy arena, and archery ranges.
The current need is to have the road to the launch site repaired from several years of wash-outs, and another layer of gravel added to keep down the dust during dry and breezy weather. The club needs to raise an additional $2000 in order to complete this project. Any money the club makes from NARAM-56 will go into a fund to repair the road. If you would like to made a donation to help in this project, checks can be made to "SCORE" or to "The Hudson Ranch, LLC for the benefit of SCORE."
View of the launch site from a quad-copter - Available in HD at YouTube