Each day in the American Matrix is the same… wake up to an alarm, get jolted out of your restful sleep into the reality of you have to work to pay your bills or become homeless… the corporate slave to the system grind. Then get ready to slay the day in zombie mode. Rinse and repeat until your soul is pretty worn. This is not natural or how human beings are supposed to be. We’re supposed to be in nature, frolicking among other animals each day. Obviously impossible with greedy corporate inflation and the government to pay, but if we can find moments to escape and recharge, it is priceless.
What if you woke up without an alarm, barely looked at your cell phone all day long and literally never even turned on the television? After what seemed like the most grinding week ever, I was so looking forward to experiencing just that at Rancho de Los Caballeros in Wickenburg, Arizona. If you recall, last time I was there it was Spring, rainy and only had about 24 hours to jam a whole experience in (which is NOT ideal here, you’ll see why soon) because of my now 20-year-old cat Carmella needing her medication each day and I had to rush home after learning to golf. This time with many local cat ladies secured, I was free to roam like the buffalo. But just getting out of the house was a shit show! Managing a business, a house, elderly cat, multiple side hustles and trying to keep healthy with this scoliosis fusion and now periomenopause is excruciating. If there is a God, it is definitely a guy because no woman would give all this grief to its own gender. Alas, I digress… onto tranquility in the Arizona desert!
When I arrived hot, sweaty and groggy from either lack of sleep or hormones, we immediately checked into our room which was identical to the one from Spring minus a few decor touches and facing a different direction.
Then we were right back out to go shoot some guns! Skeet shooting is where you use shotguns to break clay targets flying through the air. We hopped into the van and out into the dusty desert we drove where no bullets can cause any damage with our trust guide Ian. Once he went through the safety procedures, we gingerly started shooting with pouches full of bullets.
The skeet shooting range at Rancho de los Caballeros. That brown box is where the clay discs fly our from with a click of the button.My cowgirl from last visit, Selena, was happy to return with me at Rancho de los Caballeros. Neither of us have ever done skeet shooting so it was all new to us!The gun and bullet station at Rancho de los Caballeros.A bunch of bullets waiting to be shot at Rancho de los Caballeros. Merica!Ian was the perfect person to teach us at Rancho de los Caballeros as he was patient, kind and very smart about gun safety.I did not feel very confident in this pic at Rancho de los Caballeros but will try anything once! Yee-haw! Also it is hot in that sun, I do not recommend a leather hat or jeans for that matter. Boots maybe if the heels don’t bother you.My friend starting to warm up at Rancho de los Caballeros. All the gals were slow learners that day but by the end, we were shooting pretty darn good. Selena hit 8 and I hit 7 I think!Soon I found a shaded tree to sit under which seemed to help my shot in between rounds at Rancho de los Caballeros. These were our new friends from Seattle.
Since we were both so exhausted from work, we opted for the early bird special dinner and an early bedtime and were honestly so excited to sleep that night! The main dining room connected to the lobby was the location for dinner both nights in business casual attire which seems to be pretty lenient.
Fresh rolls to the table each time you sit down were doughy bites of heaven at Rancho de los Caballeros.The pumpkin ravioli at Rancho de los Caballeros was outstanding.Burrata and persimmon salad was tasty at Rancho de los Caballeros.Smoked chicken enchiladas was hitting the spicy spot at Rancho de los Caballeros.The sea bass was giving fishy vibes at Rancho de los Caballeros.For desert, a chocolate gateau with horchata creme anglaise at Rancho de los Caballeros. It was vegan so lost some of the flavor sadly.The pumpkin sticky toffee pudding slayed according to my friend at Rancho de los Caballeros.Then straight back to the room with the only difference of the art on the wall at Rancho de los Caballeros. I like it!I also enjoyed the most bubbly bath that night which lulled me into a 10 hour sleep at Rancho de los Caballeros. No joke! Those beds are amazing as well and quite loving the six pillows to built a fortress around me while sleeping.That morning we enjoyed the most delicious breakfast buffet spread with fresh made omelets too at Rancho de los Caballeros. I love fruit spreads and thick bacon with good coffee!My friend enjoyed the lox and bagels at Rancho de los Caballeros.I was so well rested and jazzed up from coffee and breakfast, I did a mini photoshoot on our patio at Rancho de los Caballeros with my Rancher Hat Bar hat which is all the rage in Arizona right now. Custom made!A good horse back riding outfit right here at Rancho de los Caballeros complete with long sleeves and Levis stretchy jeans!That gym time grind paying off at Rancho de los Caballeros! I like to keep in shape so I can do things like all of the above and below on a whim.Soon we were back at the corral with our gal Mia at Rancho de los Caballeros. She was not leading us this time sadly but we love her!The steps make an easy climb onto your horse at Rancho de los Caballeros. My previous horse Rivet had not arrived yet so Old Fashioned it was and I do love me an Old Fashioned!Saddled up and ready to go at Rancho de los Caballeros. This horse was not an ass biter like my last one!My friend got a glorious Clydesdale horse with fuzzy legs at Rancho de los Caballeros.Soon we were deep in the desert for a 2 hour tour at Rancho de los Caballeros.Josh who was behind me kept yelling at me to put my phone away so I did for the most part at Rancho de los Caballeros. But content!Our shadow in the desert at Rancho de los Caballeros. We did trot on this ride which was tons of fun and once I got the rhythm down, was itching to do it some more. I love adrenaline and my horse picked up on that so would randomly trot. By the end we were in synch as usual.We stopped at one point for a photo opp and here we are when not telling him to stop eating things, moving around or backing up at Rancho de los Caballeros. But no butt biting!A horseback riding selfie at Rancho de los Caballeros.
Once we climbed off, rinsed off and settled back into our suite, we were ravenous as horseback riding can burn up to 700 calories an hour! And I was walking like Yosemite Sam afterwards as well for a bit. After some stretching, I was good to go. Lunch was at the golf club this time and it brought back so many good memories.
Completely obsessed with this caprese salad that is a foot long at Rancho de los Caballeros. I had one each day for lunch!An apple turkey sandwich at Rancho de los Caballeros was pretty dry.The BBQ brisket is where it’s at with sweet potato fries at Rancho de los Caballeros.Then we hopped a golf cart to the Rancho de los Caballeros Spa which we were both so excited to explore.The spa is a beautiful building as well at Rancho de los Caballeros.One thing I love about Arizona is all the sage and palo santo from Nectar Republic for sale at Rancho de los Caballeros.The back of the spa building at Rancho de los Caballeros with private rooms to the left.The labyrinth meditation maze at Rancho de los Caballeros.Looking back at the spa at Rancho de los Caballeros.We were asked to choose our scent and I went with doTERRA‘s Serenity at Rancho de los Caballeros.An example of the single massage rooms at the Spa at Rancho de los Caballeros.We were booked as a couples massage for some reason and both in double rooms but not together which was fine by me at Rancho de los Caballeros.
The massage by James was firm and just what my metal spine needed. Being mostly fused, my shoulders and neck take the brunt of the body stress with shoulders for earrings sometimes. My guest had Sierra and was so relaxed afterwards, she went straight to bed for a dead to the world nap. It was about a 50 minute massage but they also had 90 minute options as well. I’m more of one to soak it in and rarely sleep so opted to hang at the pool instead as I wanted to do last time!
Our trusty golf cart steed and driver John from Rochester, NY was waiting for us at Rancho de los Caballeros.It was whisper quiet at the pool at Rancho de los Caballeros. Everyone was just soaking in the zen and views!If you can’t beat ’em join ’em so I also went back to lay down and was dead to the world for about an hour at Rancho de los Caballeros.When we came back for dinner, it was a pretty sunset at Rancho de los Caballeros.For dinner a tasty goat cheese cranberry salad at Rancho de los Caballeros.I went for the beef tenderloin for my protein at Rancho de los Caballeros with a medley of mushrooms on the side. Very pink and tasty!The crispiest brussels sprout with hot honey glaze were excellent at Rancho de los Caballeros.My guest enjoyed the New York Strip steak the second time around (first was well done, no pink) at Rancho de los Caballeros. The meat is certainly where this space shines.Spicy carrots were so tasty at Rancho de los Caballeros.The most drool worthy garlic mashed potatoes at Rancho de los Caballeros.The broccolini was thick and crispy at Rancho de los Caballeros.Apple cheesecake was a hit with my guest at Rancho de los Caballeros.Mesquite ice cream sammie for me at Rancho de los Caballeros. The ice cream mixed with the nuts was probably my favorite thing at Rancho de los Caballeros.Since we were doing a dry stay, Rancho de los Caballeros was kind enough to send me home with some namesake wine to enjoy with family over the holidays.
It was not as early bedtime that night but we were quite peaceful and happy to just lounge in the fluffy beds and chat. A little phone scrolling but with one eye open which stopped fast as we faded into sleep.
We were up and at ’em after buffet breakfast with Nicole, the California yoga guru who came to create a program for Rancho de los Caballeros. My massage therapist James was also there to my right!
On our way back to the Spa area that morning, we saw baby mule deer – two of them – with their momma and how freaking cute it was! Sorry not sorry, no pics as I didn’t want to spook them however a family lives next to the spa so keep your eyes peeled. We also saw little black snakes by the rooms, lots of bunny rabbits with fluffy white tails and many moo moo cows out on the horseback ride. It really is an animal wonderland!
It was a wonky morning for Sun Salutation yoga as the sun was beating down on me so I shifted over to the left tree shaded area, the cork mats – while great for the environment – had me sliding around visualizing the one in my trunk calling my name, there was confusion about me staying another night and photographing the new Bunk House yoga space which I had not heard of before and multiple people messaging me all at once. Also for yoga class instructors, please ask your class if there are any ailments or issues beforehand which will keep things flowing better. There was some more confusion after class however once we emailed the team, talked to the front desk and my contact and assured no, I was not the photographer for the Bunk House, I went along with my scheduled plans for the day. Unfortunately, I would have needed to rearrange the whole day involving multiple people and lucky I didn’t as adulting fun was waiting for me as soon as I got home. But back to the Ranch!
It was time to return to archery with Ian at Rancho de los Caballeros. He is in charge of making this space amazing and so far, so good!Ian’s bow was about 30 pounds as he pulled back into a deep pilates stance at Rancho de los Caballeros, just barely missing the bullseye.After a round or so, I was hitting the target most times at Rancho de los Caballeros. It brought me back to archery classes long, long ago in Central Pennsylvania and I was digging the vibe minus the hot sun that continues through October! We opted out 15 minutes early as that hot desert sun will get you – even through my SPF 50 rash guard.The “gangster lean” that Ian showed me was key to a great shot at Rancho de los Caballeros.Right before we left, we were back for our last lunch at the golf club at Rancho de los Caballeros. A salmon salad with pile of sweet potato fries, yes please! My guest enjoyed a hearty stacked burger. Until we meet again amigos!
As soon as I got home, there was so much work to be done as I’ve been fighting with Cox internet probably since I bought my house but most recently since end of September and playing catch up since. Then the car emission testing before allowed to renew the car registration and the cat needed meds refilled but CVS deleted the script and then… no more and then. When I finally went through my emails at home, they offered to stay another night which would have been amazing. So hopefully again soon we’ll be back to explore some more as they keep extending their wellness offerings and growing. Some kinks and growing pains to work out but we honestly think there is something magical about this space. See for yourself!
