Arizona
Christmas
By Lois Anne
Naylor
American
Cowboy magazine
 Rising
out of the Mojave-Sonoran desert like a ghost town,
Stagecoach Trails is the place to go if you want
to have a sun-filled, family-style cowboy Christmas
at a ranch that will welcome you like family. The
northwestern Arizona ranch offers a treasure-trove
of holiday riding adventures for everyone from
experienced equestrians to those who normally navigate
in wheelchairs.
As the
guests mosey toward the corral, the wranglers prepare
the horses. Rocket, like the others, waits patiently
while owner Carrie Rynders brushes him, then checks
his hooves. After double blanketing him, Carrie
cinches the saddle. A merry jingle-jangle rings
out when she attaches Rocket’s breast collar. The
pen quickly reverberates with the sounds of the
season as a brace of three or four bells is secured
to each animal’s breastplate.
When the
riders escape the confines of the arena, their
horses’ gaits create a cheerful Christmas cacophony.
Soon the desert resonates with the melodious notes
of the Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch equestrian
bell choir. Novices and those looking for a gentle
outing saunter through the sagebrush, their bells
chiming at a stately "Silent Night, Holy Night" cadence.
Lopers clang at a merry "Jingle Bells" pace.
And those who normally spend their days getting
from here to there in wheelchairs revel at the
exhilaration of exploring nature astride a horse.
Their expressions of glee are as infectious as
the tinkling of their bells, which seem to play "Joy
to the World."
 During
this Christmas Eve outing, nobody at Stagecoach
Trails is dreaming of a white Christmas. They’re
too busy smirking at the thought of the people
back home—buried by snow and battling blizzards—as
they bask in the Arizona sunshine.
Most northern
dude ranches hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign
on their gates for the season. The few that stay
open trade in their horses for snowmobiles and
their saddles for snowshoes and replace their wranglers
with ski instructors.
But riding
is a year-round passion at Stagecoach Trails, near
Yucca in northwestern Arizona. Hidden away at the
merging of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts like
buried treasure, the ranch lies within easy day-tripping
distance of such pleasures as the Grand Canyon,
Lake Havasu and the London Bridge, and some of
Route 66’s vintage delights.
The
Road Less Traveled
Bouncing through the desert on a pockmarked dirt road that seems to undulate
into infinity, it’s hard to believe anyone would choose to live amid such an
inhospitable landscape—let alone set up a business here.
 How
desolate is it? One man became edgier and edgier
the longer he and his wife jounced over the dirt
track. "Are you sure we’re going the right
way?"
"That’s
what it says on the directions they sent," his
wife reassured him.
Then, a
little later, "How much money did you prepay?"
After his
wife told him, he shook his head. "I think
they’re scamming us."
As they
rode in silence, the wife admired the exotic desert
beauty—barrel cactus and the commanding stalk of
the century plants, which some claim bloom only
once every 100 years. The yellow-green trunk and
branches of the palo verde contrasted with the
stunted and misshapen Joshua trees.
With the
slow going on the unfamiliar unpaved road and the
early winter dusk, the husband’s apprehension intensified.
Finally, he turned to his wife and said, "I
don’t think there is a ranch."
Twenty
minutes or so after they pulled off from the highway,
she glimpsed the red tile roofs of an old West
town. Was it a mirage? A quirk of the imagination?
Wishful thinking?
Unlike
the classic one-horse towns of vintage cowboy movies,
with their decrepit wooden buildings lining a street
just long enough for a gunfight, Stagecoach Trails’
structures gleam in russet-colored stucco. Boasting
high, squared-off fronts, they’re laid out in a
semicircle, from the stables to the Frontier Lodge
and Hualapai (Wall-a-pie) Dining Hall to the lodging
facilities.
"I
wanted the look of an old ghost town," Carrie
says. "And I wanted the two main buildings
to look different so they’d stand out. We designed
the ranch to take advantage of the great views,
so everybody would have a view of the Hualapai
Mountains and, even if they were in their rooms,
the sunsets."
Time your
arrival right, and the setting sun casts a rosy
glow over the clutch of buildings. For the holidays,
white lights decorate the trees and outline the
wheels, spokes, and box of the western wagon guests
see when they first drive up to the ranch.
Stagecoach
Trails hunkers down on 200 acres in the middle
of nowhere, though if you pay close attention on
the drive over bronco-busting-worthy hills, you’ll
notice a handful of street signs developers have
optimistically placed in the midst of the vast
desert. With homes basically nonexistent, the roads apparently
lead to oblivion. As you rollercoaster over eight-mile-long
Yucca Vista, you’ll pass Kickapoo Drive, as well
as Fireside and Sundowner. Doc Holiday leads to
the ranch.
Three mountain
ranges embrace Stagecoach Trails. Along with thousands
of acres of government land, they provide countless
opportunities for riding. The Buck Mountains rise
closest to the ranch. A popular two-hour jaunt
takes riders to a lone saguaro cactus there. A
more ambitious six- to seven-hour adventure for
accomplished riders passes ancient Indian petroglyphs
on the way to the peak of one of the Mohave Mountains.
From the summit you can see the Colorado River
protecting Arizona from encroachment by California.
Accommodating
Amy
Three years ago, the Rynders, who then lived
near Milwaukee, Wis., were assessing their future.
Carrie had given up her job as a travel agent to
stay home and care for their eldest daughter, Amy,
who has cerebral palsy and is mentally retarded.
Dan also was ready for a change. A skilled woodworker,
he contemplated opening a custom furniture shop. "But
that isn’t a husband-wife business," Dan says,
and he and Carrie wanted to work together.
 Six
years earlier, when they visited their first dude
ranch, they had to leave Amy home with relatives
because the Colorado ranch couldn’t accommodate
her and her wheelchair. Dan and Carrie considered
the possibility of starting their own guest ranch,
but felt the timing wasn’t right.
After their
son, Jeremy, graduated and daughter Vicki was in
high school, they reconsidered. "We wanted
the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment of
having our own business," Carrie says. "We
wanted to do something together—something the kids
could do with us. There aren’t many businesses
where you can have your kids working with you."
Carrie
is an avid horsewoman, and Dan has the skill and
courage to take on a handyman special. Toying with
the idea of buying a dude ranch and making it accessible,
they decided to test the concept first by vacationing
with their family at an Arizona ranch. When the
Rynders couldn’t find one in the entire state that
was truly accessible, the owners of Kay El Bar
Ranch in Wickenburg invited them to bring Amy,
saying they’d do everything possible to accommodate
her.
 "Amy
was so happy there," Carrie says. "Dan
and I knew this was the life she needed. She deserves
this. We looked at existing ranches and decided
it wasn’t feasible to try to convert one." So,
rather than Dan tackling a fixer upper, the couple,
along with Carrie’s architect brother, Randy, used
their combined skills to create a whole new kind
of dude ranch.
"We
wanted to make a place for families like us who
have an Amy," Carrie says. "We wanted
to create an environment where it’s a dude ranch
first. It needed to be accessible, but we didn’t
want people to think, ‘whoa, this looks like a
hospital. I’m out of here.’
"We
wheeled Amy all over. And we got in wheelchairs
and bombed all over here. We wheeled into the bathrooms
and up to the sinks to make sure they really are
accessible." But they made the accessibility
features so subtle that, unless you look for them,
the only thing most guests notice is that the bedrooms
and bathrooms are larger than normal.
Accommodation
extends even to the riding program with a ramp
that lets guests who use wheelchairs mount a horse.
Specially trained wranglers work with the disabled
in the arena and often take them on trail rides.
While the disabled enjoy their outings, other family
members are free to join the rest of the guests
on trail rides matched to their ability level and
interests.
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