Tim
Rancho Grande was amazing! Richard, Alex, Shelly and Brooke were fantastic hosts and made us feel so welcome from the moment we stepped foot on the ranch. Finding their place and checking in was super easy and Richard was very accommodating to get us into our cabin early and get setup. Really helpful as we were trying to unload three kids under 6 and lots of food for the week we stayed. Our cabin was great. Two separate bedrooms and a large bathroom along with the family room in the middle worked great for us. We even setup my son with a cot and sleeping bag in the main room for him to sleep at night. Great little kitchen with a refrigerator, plates, utensils, pots and pans which was very helpful as we cooked a lot and were able to eat outside on the deck. It was August, so a little warm and a little buggy, but it was great. We also spent a lot of time in the Fish Camp common building in the back of the property by the big lake. We were able to BBQ on the fire pit outside and cook inside using their shared industrial kitchen complete with huge sinks, stove top gas burners, flat top griddle, and huge double-door, side by side refrigerator and freezer options to store our food. Fish Camp was great with the screened windows that let the wind blow through but kept the bugs out. Fish Camp also had lots of great little toys and trinkets to keep the kids entertained. The kids loved the goats and spent most of the time playing with the baby goats and walking around with them on their daily goat walks. We picked fresh eggs from the chicken coop every day. We loved riding around on the John Deere Gator, one of the highlights of the trip to be able to see the entire property and get back and forth quickly whenever we needed. We paid for horse back riding lessons with Brooke which the girls loved and she even showed them how to care for and clean the horses as well. Shelly was super sweet in spending time with our kids and sharing information about the animals and the ranch. My son thinks Alex is a super hero. Between taking care of all the animals and riding around all day working in tractors, I think my 2 year old already wants to be Alex when he grows up. Richard also referred us to a great little hike to see the Rose Valley waterfall just a mile away from Rancho Grande which was great. We were super lucky to find this great spot and spend some time away and relax before our kids went back to school. We loved every single minute thanks to Richard and the gang and everything they did to make us feel welcome and taken care of. We can’t wait to go back again!
-Tim
August 2020