Last Sunday we drove out to the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains to visit the ranch owned by friends Pam and Robbie. Pam is also our realtor. What a gorgeous place with views which would make you want to never leave home. A ranch tour and dinner was on the agenda. They have a very comfortable 4 seater side by side Polaris Ranger and with Robbie at the wheel we were off. The creek which runs through their property is still running high from all the rain and snow this corner of Arizona has had this winter.
The ranch belonged to Robbie’s grandmother, then his parents and now he and Pam own the ranch.
They’ve recently added some water upgrades for the cattle–a new well, solar, piping to distant tanks, etc.
We had a ball bouncing around for a couple hours touring the ranch Robbie and Pam both love. The ranch is miles and miles from anything but they neither one would live anywhere else.
This is one of several water tanks (in Arkansas we would call this a pond) located on the ranch. Runoff from rain/snow fill these tanks during the winter and monsoon seasons.
Back at the house Pam and Robbie had us quickly sitting down to an amazing meal–grilled steaks, salad, asparagus and the absolute best chili rellenos!! I watched Pam make the rellenos and I’ve all ready purchased the ingredients for making more for us! We so enjoyed our visit with them and look forward to spending more time with Pam and Robbie.
Haircuts, pedicure, trips to Tucson, a party–the list goes on and on making for a busy week. And we’ve been entertaining!
Tuesday evening Louanne and Dan served an amazing dinner to a group of folks which included Jerry and Kathy, the Cowboy and I, Janice and Linda. Gosh that food was good!!
The Cowboy has been busy puttering around outside and working on more stained glass animals. He absolutely hates to be sent to the grocery store but for some reason doesn’t mind going to the local dollar store for me—wonder why??? We have yucca plants in our yard no more–they harbor pack rats and the Cowboy has been fighting an ongoing battle with one particular rat who seems to think tunneling under our garage would be a good thing. The backhoe and the Cowboy made short work of the 3 yucca plants in our yard. The rat seems to have given up and gone elsewhere–we can hope!
Thursday the Cowboy’s cousin Pat came for an overnight visit. Our friend Shauna was heading back to Wyoming on Friday so she too came for dinner. Hamburgers without buns, roasted red potatoes and a vinaigrette dressed salad using the Cowboy’s home grown lettuce. Dessert was leftover strawberry cake from the contribution I made to Dan and Louanne’s dinner. It’s so much fun to listen to Pat and the Cowboy tell stories!
Friday Louanne and I headed to Tucson for a day out. We shopped and shopped some more but took the time to have an amazing lunch, dining outside on the patio of Locale, an Italian restaurant. I had pumpkin ravioli and swear I almost asked for a spoon so I could scoop up all the sauce–it was a fabulous dish!
I have never been a fan of frozen pizzas–never! There is always something off putting–the crust, the sauce, etc. During one of my times away from home the Cowboy purchased a four pack of Kirkland frozen pepperoni pizzas. They are actually not bad. I add green peppers, black olives, onions and lots more cheese. The curst is on the thin side but not bad and there is no off putting taste. When I’m tired or too lazy to cook I dress up one of these pizzas, put the pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees, then cook the pizza for about 10 minutes. The stone and high oven temp keeps the pizza from being soggy.
We’ve had a pair of buzzards hanging around lately–I asked the Cowboy if the buzzards maybe knew something we didn’t!
We had Sunday lunch at our house today with Milton and Lucy, Dan and Louanne, Janice and Linda. Once again (it’s starting to sound like a broken record) we dined like kings. The table was groaning with delicious food–brisket, calico beans, potato salad, strawberry jello salad and a green salad. Louanne made a fabulous blackberry pie.
Life is good.
Restoration Cowboy Style 
Loved seeing more photos of those mountains. Jeanne drove there while she was in Arizona and loved the area. Also went to Bisbee and wasn’t very impressed, but stayed somewhere in Benson and liked it. She asked how you felt about living there. I told her what I sorta knew. Isolated but beautiful at times. They might try to snowbird in that area a bit to get away from the green tunnel of gray skies that is Vermont that time of year. She had a great time on her hike, laughed at the rustic ranch, and took off in her car to explore the rest of the area. I am pretty sure she made it home through the snow storms in New England yesterday. Yes, a broken record for sure, all the food and the briskets are a repeat treat! I do hope we get down there next year and maybe it will be a better winter. Although I think the flowers are blooming finally at Anza Borrego. I had no clue about the pack rats and the yuccas. Ick.
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Glad your friend enjoyed our area–it is beautiful and we’ve sort of made peace with its isolation. Friends help! There are tons of Airbnbs in this area–way more than I ever knew!
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Hi Janna…Pam and Robbie’s ranch is beautiful. The history, the views, the creek, I could go on and on. I would never want to leave there either! I love the adobe bricks on the original home…what a treasure! You and Mike sure stay busy…a good kind of busy! Friends, parties, yummy meals and creative hobbies have a way of making the days fly by. Your strawberry cake looks divine! When Joe’s mom lived with us, we often recorded the stories she would tell. She didn’t know it. What a keepsake!
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I wrote down some of the stories Nat would tell us and I need to be doing that with my Mom! We are busy and that makes the days fly by.
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What ranchyou toured, hope they
have someone to pass the ranch onto.
What wonderful foods you enjoy!
I know you often fix brisket, how do
you fix a it? I’ve never cooked one.
I’m still unable to see what I’m typing so
hope it’s readable! Lol
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We do eat well around here–too much beef–but when you are married to a rancher, it’s what’s on the menu often! I sent you an email with the brisket recipe.
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They do have heirs. I’ve sent you an email with the brisket recipe.
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Janna you and Michael Look Great !
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Thanks Barry!!
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I enjoy your blog and I too would like to know how you fix your brisket.
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Thanks for following along, I will send you an email containing the brisket recipe!
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I feel like i need to go on a diet just from reading about your dining descriptions. What fun being with people you treasure!
Emjay
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If we keep eating like this we are definitely going on a diet! We do treasure our friends here in Arizona!
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Robbie and I enjoyed you and Mikes visit to the Ranch. We love it when people see the amazing beauty of where we live. I feel we are stewards of this land . And yes the Ranch will be passed down to our Kids that love the Ranch as much as we do.
Thank you Jana for bringing your delicious Apple pie.
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We could definitely see why you guys would not want to live anywhere else! And we are glad your children love the ranch as much as you both do! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the pie!
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What fun touring around the ranch. I love that the original adobe house is still there. Their very own ruin! I get exhausted just reading about all your social gatherings. One gathering sends me to quiet times for a few days. I love cooking for the two of us but cooking for others always sends me into a tizzy. Glad you are having a great time with all your gatherings and wonderful meals. Have a great week!!
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It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing–cooking for others. I’ve always said I would have opened a restaurant in our small Montana town if I were younger.
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You guys certainly eat well…every meal sounds like a celebration! Since we need to eat, might as well make it delicious, right? And even better that so many of your meals are shared with good friends. Now I’m hungry and I need to go fix dinner, LOL.
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We do eat too well Laurel as evidenced by our expanding waistlines! 🙂
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What an awesome ranch! It is good to see that ranches like that still exist and were not sold or claimed through eminent domain and turned into smaller lots or shopping centers.
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It is a beautiful spot!
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Wow you guys have been busy!! Love the chili farm and the cranes and the beautiful ranch. There really is so much to explore and enjoy in this little corner of the state. I see those buzzards hanging around and I start moving faster outside :-))
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We seem to stay busy and those buzzards do make one wonder don’t they!
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