At historic Arizona ranch on the border with Mexico, follow in the footsteps of US presidents and a certain John Wayne
- Rancho de la Osa’s guests have also included writer Margaret Mitchell and actor Joan Crawford
- Guests today can experience the majesty of the desert on horseback, visit an Indian reservation and enjoy panoramic views over the wall into Mexico
Off to play cowboys and Indians, dude? It’s “native Americans”, if you please, and Rancho de la Osa isn’t a dude ranch, but a guest ranch. This is no Johnny-come-lately experience manufactured for city slickers, but one with considerable history. Its cheerfully decorated adobe structures include the oldest continually occupied building in Arizona. Built as a mission by the Jesuits in 1725, it now serves as a bar; the priests must be turning in their graves.
What’s the difference between a dude ranch and a guest ranch? That’s open to debate, but in general, dude ranches concentrate on horses while guest ranches offer a wider range of activities. Also “dude” sounds a little dismissive.
But I could go for a ride? Certainly. The staff encourage the inexperienced, and live and breathe horses; one of them rides at competition level. But this is a working ranch, with its own small herd of cattle, and while there are simple rides out around the property, there’s also the chance to learn the real-world use of horses to manage livestock.
As well as horses for beginners – think sofas with long legs – there are the equine equivalent of Ferraris. There’s no better way to experience the desert landscape, with its pretty palette of creamy pink soil, pale grasses, feathery green shrubs and giant saguaro cactuses, than from the back of a horse.
“I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name …” But if this is a desert, what’s all this talk of green shrubs? A desert is any place with limited rainfall, not just those with limitless sand. After spring rains or the summer monsoon, there’s a quick, colourful flowering. At other times, plants struggle. But the land still supports plentiful wildlife, both on the ranch and in the neighbouring Buenos Aires conservation area, to which guests have full access.
On one of the winding walking routes up to surrounding high ground, there’s a chance visitors will spot javelina (a pig-sized mammal hated by horses), pronghorn antelope, two types of deer, desert tortoises and even bobcats and mountain lions. And there are panoramic views over the wall into Mexico.
