When we announced out of the blue that we were going to move two states over, they all said we’d be back. That these two born-and-bred Californians with a low maintenance condo and an ocean view were crazy to give it all up for the blowing dust, centipedes and rusting pickups of New Mexico. And the truth is, there isn’t a Nordstrom in the whole state, and the best we can do in Santa Fe is Dillard’s, Kohl’s and Target. What kind of life is that?

A pretty good one, it turns out; Santa Fe called, and we answered. We sold the house, packed up Petey and thousands of pounds of books, and moved to the rugged southwest, which isn’t nearly as rugged as we thought, although four-wheel drive helps. Did you ever think you’d see Douglas driving a Dodge Ram quad cab?

Some things never change though. We took our parched, rocky chip of Santa Fean high desert and created an eclectic retreat for friends, family, artists, adventurers, writers and their readers, and other Californians that want to leave their faults behind.

Cool Ranch is our home, but just as much it’s a welcoming place where our visitors can get far enough away from daily life to gain new perspective, or make discoveries not found on freeways or in the cubicles where they earned the money to get here.

Well, we had to do something with it.

So, why Cool Ranch, you ask? Because Casa Sangria de Crisco was already taken.

Photos