Clear sky, clear thoughts: Take time out at luxury ranch

By Karen Schaffner

Talk about living your best life.

At work, the phone doesn’t stop ringing, there’s one crisis after another and, because of it all, it’s time for a break.

About 66 miles northwest of Phoenix, Rancho de los Caballeros in Wickenburg, Arizona, is the place to refresh and hear yourself think again. The ranch offers first-class service and accommodations with beautiful grounds and surrounding landscapes.

Make no mistake, this is a dude ranch but it’s a luxury dude ranch, so there is an opportunity to unwind and that starts with the cuisine.

Eat

A recent high school graduate, EngRobert Cornet, executive chef at Rancho de los Caballeros, outdid himself at a special meal.

Cornet’s food is always first class, but it sparkled at a recent Ranch Reserve Wine Evening. It’s not surprising to learn then that he started cooking on Tuesday at 2 a.m. for this Friday evening experience.

Truly, what a way to start a weekend. Periodically, Cornet offers a pairing meal from the ranch’s clubhouse restaurant, 19. At this particular Ranch Reserve Wine Evening, five courses of spectacularly plated food came out while a server assigned to the table poured out the wine, which came from the Far Niente family of wineries and vineyards.

The meal began with butter-poached Chilean sea bass paired with Far Niente Chardonnay 2023. Second course: smoked beet hummus and Enroute Pinot Noir 2022, followed by Colorado elk loin and Post and Beam Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. Braised Wagyu short ribs with Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 was the last savory course to come out. Dessert summed it all up with a walnut dacquoise and miso butterscotch diplomat and Far Niente Dolce 2017.

This is just a brief list of the courses, but it does not begin to describe the creative sides that showed up on the plate. For example, with the cranberry granola-crusted elk loin chef prepared an acorn squash and turnip mix and an onion puree. The walnut dacquoise (a layered dessert cake topped with whipped cream) came with a miso butterscotch diplomat (a kind of meringue biscuit), apple mousse, compressed apple and apple gel. Note: the Far Niente Dolce 2017 was stunning.

The next evening the ranch hosted a Saturday cookout, but not just any cookout. It was a groaning-table barbecue with Southwestern flavors.

Ranch guests piled into a couple of wagons for a hayride to a nearby spot where a grouping of small buildings looked like an Old West town. There was also a small arena with a stage, surrounded by chairs and picnic tables. Really, most guests could have probably walked it, but getting back in the dark, which was very dark, pitch black dark, would have been challenging.

When dinner was ready, about 100 guests lined up to tables laden with salad (no one wins friends with salad), potato salad, cowboy beans, corn bread, potatoes, brisket, shredded pork and chopped chicken. There are also vegan choices. Later, a campfire-cooked apple crumble with a kiss of smoke was put out for all to partake. There was plenty of food.

A band played while guests dined, and during intermission the property manager gave an amusing and entertaining whip demonstration.

As the sun went down it got colder, but heaters dotted the area. Also, guests could ask any of the staff to call a heated vehicle to come get them, which many did. Still, the sky was clear and the stars abundant.

Other meals included a breakfast buffet, offered in the main dining room, and lunch at Club Grill, a clubhouse restaurant with a patio that sits right next to the golf course. The patio is pleasant, the American food is good and lunch is topped off by a selection of cookies, which the server brings around on a tray. Of note here is the roadrunner who lives nearby and doesn’t mind begging for his meals. The staff takes care of him; raw ground beef is his meal of choice.

Play

This is a dude ranch, so one of the main activities is horseback riding. The horses are friendly and the staff very helpful, especially to old women who haven’t been on a horse since childhood. They provide a set of stairs so riders don’t have to work so hard to “board” or “de-plane,” though that part can be scary when you cannot see the steps. We had to just trust a wrangler’s word that the steps are there.

The ranch will accommodate all levels of riders, from newbies to professionals. These are mostly quarter horses and they are sturdy. However, there is a weight limit of 250 pounds.

A word of warning for anyone contemplating a ride: If you are not an experienced rider, 2½ hours in a saddle can get uncomfortable and downright painful. Despite that, the scenery, at least some of it, and the experience is well worth anyone’s time.

Unless a rider is on the lead horse, the scenery is pretty much the same. Still, the ranch is surrounded by 20,000 wild acres of the high Sonoran Desert, so if riders look anywhere else besides the horse in front, they will see interesting sights, like an old, abandoned copper mine (it’s really just a big dark hole in the ground but enough of a scary puzzle to fire the imagination). If needed, guests may request a golf cart ride back to their room.

Another activity is trap and skeet shooting. The instructors know their firearm stuff and strive to keep participants as safe as possible. Because firearms can be very dangerous, skeet shooting groups are kept small. On this particular day, the instructor said people were being stupid, pointing the rifle at their friends so he had to take the firearm away. It cannot be said enough. The instructors are careful and safe. This activity lasts about 45 minutes. One participant said it was the exact right amount of time.

During our visit, the instructor, a semi-retired cowboy from Montana, said that almost everyone will end the day hitting at least one target.

There are other things to do: visit the pool, ride an electric bike, shop in the gift shop, and play pickleball or tennis. There’s an archery range and, of course, the golf course. There are even children’s activities. The best activities, however, may be found at The Spa and Wellness Center.

After a stressful week, month or just about any other time, true relaxation may be found here. Schedule a facial, nail service or even better, a massage or body treatment, complete with aroma therapy or salt scrub.

The walk in the labyrinth is spiritual and relaxing.

Any guest is welcome to use the labyrinth but the real pleasure of it begins with a meditation and a sound bath. Some might say it’s a bunch of hooey. It could be, but some, even skeptics or traditional believers, found something here.

Personal note: Less than a week after I said my final goodbye to my mother I found myself here.

The meditation takes place lying on the cold, cold ground with nothing but a thin blanket to keep the cold away. Surprise. It did not. So, freezing though the six of us were, we gamely kept going and tried very hard to focus on the sound of the leader’s voice, with some success, actually.

Using a soothing tone, she instructed the group in letting go of tension throughout the body, piece by piece. Periodically, she banged on a crystal singing bowl, which produced a high, clear sound, very interesting.

Finally, it seemed like forever because of the cold, but it was really only about 15 minutes, so the group got up to slowly walk the labyrinth.

“Slowly” is the keyword here. The advantage of a labyrinth is the opportunity to let the path tell you where to go so you may focus on more important things, like singing birds or neighing horses as they run through the pastures.

Round and round through concentric circles, we walked. One person even did the labyrinth barefoot, although he later reported that was a mistake. It took him a long time to warm up afterward.

Throughout the experience, participants could leave when they wanted and a few did as it grew colder on the ground.

For me, the experience was interesting. I felt in my spirit the joy my mother has in her afterlife; the same joy I felt from her on the day she died. That was nice to have one more time and so worthwhile for me. Others reported they felt nothing.

Stay

Rancho de los Caballeros rooms are unlike even a high-end hotel room. This is a two-room casita with a spacious entry, a kitchenette, a Murphy bed in the living room, the internet, a television with plenty of channels, a luxury shower and a generous private bedroom.

The most outstanding item in the entire place is the gas-powered fireplace. On those cold nights, it felt wonderful to turn it on and enjoy the warmth. It also looked great.

Something new on the travel horizon is called a “sleepcation.” This is especially attractive to those who find a good night’s sleep elusive. While not a true “sleepcation” experience, Rancho de los Caballeros certainly provides a full, peaceful night’s sleep in a comfortable, easy, king-sized bed with a selection of pillows. Guests may even watch television in bed.

There’s a lovely grassy courtyard with firepits, which the staff lights at night.

All this comes at a cost, of course. A two-night stay with all the meals, the horse ride and the skeet experience came in at about $2,500 for two. However, if de-stressing is on the menu, you won’t find a better place than Rancho de los Caballeros.

Rancho de los Caballeros, a luxury dude ranch and spa
1551 S. Vulture Mine Road
Wickenburg, Arizona
928-684-5484
ranchodeloscaballeros.com