Now that I've been to Doubletree Ranch several times, two things stand out to me that make this a unique experience: the hosts and the ranch itself.
To start, Rick and Carol are about the best hosts you can imagine. Carol seems to go out of her way to accommodate almost anything you could possibly need, and Rick has some sort of photographic memory in which he remembers things we talked about over a year prior. I'm always greeted with a personalized note on my cabin, and if Rick or Carol aren't around to welcome me, one of the other cabin guests is just as likely to hail me in. Rick and Carol are hosts in the traditional sense- they are sharing their actual home with you, and want to make you feel like you're at home too. The other host that seems to go under-recongized is Shadow, the neighbor's dog who seems to turn up whenever someone wants to go for a hike or fire up the grill. Everyone loves Shadow! And she even seems to get along *really* well with every guest dog I've seen too.
The ranch itself is a seemingly endless 160 acres of riverside property composed of woods, meadows, hills, trails and beaches. It's basically nature, complete with wild flowers, plants and animals- land that was once used by Native Americans, homesteaded by Rick and Carol's own family in the 1800s and passed down through the generations. While the trails aren't marked, they are wide, very obvious, well maintained and crisscross the property connecting the meadows with horse pastures, barnes, and ridges with amazing views of the valley below. Most are very easy and accessible to people of all ages. The beach is a particularly good spot for relaxing and swimming, and chairs are provided for guests in a small wagon that remains about 50 feet up shore from the water. It's fun to wave at the jetboats as the zoom by too.
Accommodations at the ranch range from moderate-sized cabins (all hand-built by Rick himself) that sleep 4 or 5 to the large house overlooking the main meadow that sleeps about 12. There are also a few extra options like the covered wagon, with room for two, or the wall tents down by the river at the horse camp. So far I've stayed in two of the cabins and they have both proven very comfortable, cool, quiet and private. The screen porches are a really nice touch too, and the WiFi works great.
I frequently find myself wishing that I could just let it all go and stay Doubletree Ranch forever. We can all dream I suppose. read more