An iconic ranch in the Fryingpan Valley that oozes Colorado rustic charm was sold in late May after 49 years of ownership by the Dallenbach family.
Dallenbach Family Partnership sold the ranch 2 miles east of Basalt for $15.5 million to CR Land Management LLC, according to a deed filed May 22 with the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder.
The 137-acre property, previously known as the Wooden Handle Ranch, was purchased by Wally and Peppy Dallenbach in 1974. Their three kids — Wally Jr., Paul and Colleen — spent most of their childhood there. Wally and Peppy moved to Grand Junction for health reasons a few years ago and the ranch has been on the market.
“It’s bittersweet,” Paul said of the sale. “We’re bummed but relieved.”
Wally Dallenbach Sr. earned national fame as one of the top Indy car racers in the 1970s. Paul said his dad took his earnings from winning the California 500 in 1973 and purchased the ranch. He was friends with and a former classmate of longtime Aspen real estate agent Carol Ann Jacobson and asked her to find him a property around the Roaring Fork Valley, according to Paul. Wally and Peppy loved the area after honeymooning in Aspen in 1960.
They ended up with a historic ranch in the Fryingpan Valley. The property was homesteaded by Dan and Elizabeth German, who were credited with being among Basalt’s earliest settlers in the book, “Basalt and the Frying Pan: Legacy of the Colorado Midland Railroad,” by Earl Elmont.
Another book, “Basalt: Colorado Midland Town” by Clarence and Ralph Danielson, said German, who was actually from England, was a blacksmith for mines. When a mine in Granite, Colorado, closed, he pursued a job opening in Aspen Junction and settled his family up the Fryingpan. Aspen Junction evolved into Basalt. The homestead cabin is still on the ranch. Neither of the books identify when the Germans homesteaded, but the Colorado Midland Railroad arrived in town in 1887 and the area took off.
Elmont wrote that the ranch has been known as the Wooden Handle Ranch since the early 1940s, when it was operating as a resort. “Years ago it actually had a twenty-foot long handle over the driveway attached to a large metal frying pan,” Elmont wrote.
Paul Dallenbach said there are 15 cabins on the property that date back for decades. The oldest of them have the same classic Lincoln Log look of the original homestead cabin. His parents lived in the largest residence, right next to the homestead cabin.
The Dallenbach have rented out the property for weddings and special events but some of the cabins have also been long-term rentals.
“People have lived here for 25 years and longer, the rent was so low,” Paul said.
The Dallenbach’s also added five cabins along Frying Pan Road that have the architectural appearance of an old western town. It became known as Dodge City due to a delivery man’s reference to it.
The family moved to the ranch when Paul was seven years old. He and his siblings, who all went on to careers in motorsports, would ride motorcycles and snowmobiles on tracks created on the ranch. Paul said he was a self-taught fly fisherman on the roughly one-half mile of river frontage. He would just head across the road from their house whenever he wanted to fish.
“We were never inside,” Paul said.
Wildlife is abundant on the property, which is adjacent to the Basalt State Wildlife Area. The lower Fryingpan Valley is famous for its bighorn sheep, which wander onto the ranch. There are also numerous mountain lions, the Dallenbachs said.
The Dallenbach kids all learned how to drive on the ranch in a 1950 Willys Jeep that remains in the garage. The spacious garage has the look of a family dedicated to motorsports. It’s tidy but not clean. There are various pieces of equipment, motorcycle frames and engine parts tucked into nooks and crannies. Stickers from race car sponsors are plastered everywhere, and there’s an abundance of memorabilia from Wally Sr.’s racing career. One sign hanging from a beam says “Dallenbach” and next to it another says “The Pit Stop.”
Paul, who resides in Basalt, explored staying on the ranch. He wanted to build a new house and tried to engage with the Eagle County planning department on what that would entail. He was initially told that adding a structure would require tearing down five cabins that served as rentals during summer and longer-term worker housing. Planners told him they would investigate the situation for an alternative and get back to him. Paul said he tried to contact the planning office numerous times between July and December last year but never heard back, so the decision was made to keep the property on the market.
Before the sale closed, other prospective buyers entered a contract but were spooked off by the limited building potential under Eagle County regulations. The sale to CR Land Management came together quickly this spring. Michael Latousek of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and his brother Tommy Latousek of Mirr Ranch Group represented the Dallenbach family. Ed Zasacky of Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer.
Zasacky said the buyer is a company. “They bought it for fishing and a retreat. They’re not going to make big changes.”
He declined to disclose the company or the individuals affiliated with it. He said the principal in the company is a homeowner in the Aspen-area who has been visiting Aspen for 20-some years. He bought the property sight unseen on Zasacky’s recommendation.
The sales contract allows the Dallenbach’s to honor all reservations currently on the books for weddings and special events through Oct. 31. Paul said they couldn’t have sold the property without that provision. They had to honor the reservations. Members of the Dallenbach extended family will care for the property and oversee the events this summer.
Paul, also an accomplished race car driver, has taken on duties tougher than driving in the Baja off-road race or the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb. He’s sorting through the 49 years of accumulated stuff to determine what gets saved and what must go.