Spirit Ranch

Sometimes dreams come true.  Sometimes you have to wait a long time but when they happen, you know it.

For years, we had watched the three private land parcels at the head of the Holy Ghost.  They are beautiful parcels of land - the creek runs through them, happily bubbling along, and since no one fishes it, there are plenty of German Browns swimming freely. The aspen trees grow along the sides of several meadows, the deer and elk roam between the three parcels grazing contentedly, and the houses are far enough off the road that the noise is minimal.  I have always wished we could buy some of the land.

Over July 4, we heard that one of the parcels - the second-largest - was possibly going to be for sale, so we asked if we could look at it. Don, Kenneth, and Caleb all went to see it, and when they came home, they were ecstatic.  If only we could buy it . . . if only.  It would guarantee that we would always have a place in the Holy Ghost no matter what happened to the other cabins; it is large enough that several families could come stay there; it could even be used into the winter.

After much discussion, Don and I decided to try to purchase it.  The house would take some work, but its bones were good - very good.  It had been designed by a Santa Fe modernist named Philippe Register, and it was built by a man named Bill Stanton, who also built the Frank Lloyd Wright house down the Canyon. The interior was designed by a famous group from Dallas, though that didn't mean much to either of us.  But once we saw it all put together, we saw the beauty in the design.

So we made an offer.  We didn't have much back and forth - and on August 27, 2020, we closed on this beautiful piece of property. Don has plenty of thinking and designing to do; I have lots of cleaning and sorting.  But by next spring, we anticipate that we will have the floors in, the electrical work done, one of the decks replaced, and a list of work to complete within the next three years.

So what will happen with 4B? Well, I can tell you what won't happen.  We will not sell it.  My heart is there.  I love my cabin and cannot imagine selling it.  Besides, with the addition, we will not have to do any stairs, and hence, we can stay there until we have trouble walking.  What the kids do with it is their business - but until I can no longer use it, it is staying in the family!