Our Trip to an Arizona Dude Ranch

My husband and I just spent several days and nights at the Double R dude ranch in Benson, Arizona. 

This was something Tim has wanted to do for some time, he loves everything cowboy and western.  His favorite entertainment is Tombstone and Deadwood.  I just try to be game for anything.   If you are even remotely interested, I would highly recommend a dude ranch for something completely different.  And this one in particular was wonderful.

I actually won the package during a silent auction for a local nature center.  I never bid on vacations, but this one seemed interesting, and Tim has always wanted to go, so I bid, and I won!  I was later told the owner donates a certain number of packages to nature organizations every year, I love this.

ARIZONA

We added a few days before the ranch to explore the area.  We hiked at Coronado and Chiricahua, took a mine tour in Bisbee, and visited the hummingbird capital of America.  We hiked ruins of Ft. Benson, went caving at Coronado, and bought cowboy boots in Tombstone.  We also saw Saguaro cactus in 100-degree heat and visited “The Thing” roadside attraction.  It was a full week of exploring before we even got to the ranch on Thursday afternoon.   We have thoroughly visited southeastern Arizona.

DOUBLE R RANCH

The ranch is located in Benson, Arizona which is east of Tucson in the Sonoran Desert.  For those of us who live on the east coast and have never seen a desert in person, desert is exactly what it sounds like – lots of dirt, sand, cacti, and mesquite shrubs everywhere you look.  It’s a stark landscape for those of us used to trees and lots of greenery.  But it is also starkly beautiful in its own way.  The sky is so blue in contrast to the ground with nothing but mountains to block your view.

The ranch covers 64,000 acres.  You read that correctly, 64,000 acres.  It was impossible to get our mind around that amount of land that literally included mountains and acres and acres of desert.  On the east coast these huge pieces of open land just do not exist.  The sheer amount of open space immediately does something to the brain that allows it to relax.

The owner of the ranch is a true cowboy.  His name was Ron, and he was so welcoming from the beginning.  Unfortunately, we were not able to meet his wife who was out of town.  There were a few other people working and living there, including Billy who speaks mostly Spanish, but was one of the most cheerful, friendly people I’ve met.  He was able to tell me he comes from his family’s ranch in Mexico, and he said everything with a huge smile.  It feels like a family welcoming you in for your stay.

The package I bought was an all-inclusive stay, so this meant communal meals, as well as horseback riding.  The time of year we selected was still hot, plus this year has been unseasonably warm, so the days were still in the mid-90’s.  I know people say, “but it’s dry heat”.  That does make a difference from the humidity but 95 degrees in full sun is still brutal, so we stayed away from being outside at midday. And it means a hat and sunscreen are a must.  The ranch offers activities other than riding, but generally when it’s cooler out during the day, so these weren’t offered while we were visiting.

Our home for a few days on the ranch

Unfortunately, we missed the sunset ride on the Thursday we arrived (hike at Ft. Bowie took longer than planned), so we settled into our amazing guest house.  I was expecting a cabin, but instead we had a lovely ranch house all to ourselves.  It was so quiet and private, and we instantly felt at home.  We were warned to keep the gate closed to “no critters” visited us – there are rattlesnakes and coyote in the area.  We made sure to keep it closed.

Meals were communal in the main house, and they were delicious and to my delight filled with fruits and vegetables (not easy to always find when traveling).  I consider myself an introverted extrovert so sometimes communal eating with new people makes me uncomfortable, but not here.  There were two other guests, both solo men visiting for several days.  Ron and one of the other women who live there joined us a few times as well. The stories of why people came to the ranch and their backgrounds made for very interesting meal conversation.  We found ourselves sharing lots of stories as well.

HORSES

Bright Eyes waiting patiently

I loved seeing all the horses on the ranch.  They own 36 horses total and each of course has its own personality.  My horse for the stay was named Bright Eyes and Tim had Romeo.  Bright Eyes had blue eyes which I have never seen on a horse before and of course had to research (if you are curious, it is a recessive gene).  There are also cattle on the ranch which apparently you can learn to drive in cooler weather.

I can’t fail to mention the 8 ranch dogs (and 1 cat!) whose happiness was contagious.  The dogs greeted every car and person as they came to the ranch and accompanied us on several rides chasing rabbits and running alongside.  I’ve never been around so many dogs and really enjoyed their excitement at everything – they all looked like they were smiling all the time.

Tim picked the 3-hour ride for our first ride with the motto “go big or go home”.  Now, both of us have ridden before and I did take lessons when I was younger, but neither of us are riders nor horse people.  We hoped all of our hours spent exercising would assist.  Thankfully they did.  It didn’t help with the saddle soreness, but that was expected!

The ride was amazing – both challenging and meditative.  The horses know what they are doing and only require some guidance.  Bright Eyes tested me by trying to eat constantly, but by the end of our stay we had reached an understanding.

It is difficult to describe the ride through a desert landscape.  Much of it looks the same as you go up and down over small hills between the mesquite bushes and cactus.  When you gaze around from horseback you see flat, repetitive land but there is something so peaceful and healing about the view.  Listening to the horses clomp, clomp, clomp is a soothing sound.  Even the sun and heat on your arms and back is relaxing. 

Many people come to the ranch to find themselves or heal from a stressful or traumatic event which at first, I didn’t understand.  It took our whole visit for me to feel how this place and these people could help.

During our time at the Double R ranch, we rode the same horses over the land for more than 7 hours during 4 rides.  Each time the view is much the same, but also different.  The ranch has a number of visitors who come for one ride, so many times we had new people join us.  I enjoyed this part as well, as there is something about this place that makes you want to share.  We met a couple from England and a woman who shared with me that she’s looking to retire to Tennessee.  There was turnover in the people staying over as well.  All came to the ranch for different reasons, and all seemed very happy with their decision.  We were told there were many people who came back again and again, and I can understand why.

Our visit included Saturday night in Tombstone with dinner at Big Nose Kate’s saloon and a roping competition in the Benson area.  This made the trip complete and gave us another excuse to wear our cowboy boots!

We left the ranch on a Sunday morning after squeezing in a last ride after breakfast.  During the ride I tried to soak in as much of the calmness and peace of the place to take with me.  I took a few more pictures and breathed in the clean dry, hot air trying to hold the memories.

Our time on the Double R ranch was just wonderful and I truly feel the experience will stay with us for some time.