Tell us your personal story and how you came to be a Steward of the land? 

It all started five years ago, Marilynn Gubler, the owner of Sandy Valley Ranch, purchased my horse. My husband and I drove to the ranch to meet Marilynn. Once we got there we immediately fell in love with the property and became great friends. 

My husband has always loved building tiny homes (he’s even been featured on HGTV!). Marilynn invited us to bring one of the tiny homes we built and place it at the ranch so that guests have the opportunity to book it for a stay. The rest is history! Every year has been organic growth for us as we continue to bring more of our hand-built units to the property.

Share some of the ways that your property is committed to nature.

Sandy Valley Ranch sits on 160 acres in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Our area is unique as it encompasses three distinct desert ecosystems: Great Basin, Mojave, and Chihuahuan. While exploring the area, it’s common to come across saltbush, prevalent to the Great Basin, Joshua trees, a staple in the Mojave, and groves of mesquite shrubs, typically found in the Chihuahuan. 

We really make it a point to preserve the land and wildlife so that guests from all over can experience the Mojave Desert and all its beauty. After all, a square meter of “empty” desert dirt can contain between 5,000 and 10,000 seeds of local plants lying dormant, just waiting for their moment!

Tell us more about the unique horseback riding experiences your property offers? Any good horse stories you can share? 

We pride ourselves on providing intimate horseback riding experiences. We’re not your typical “nose to tail” service. Our horses are fit for all sorts of riding levels, that way guests feel comfortable throughout their entire experience. 

Prior to riding a horse, guests are paired with a wrangler for a lesson. They can choose from a variety of different experiences such as 1.5, 3 hours, or even an overnight riding experience. The overnight experience is one of my favorites. Guests ride 3-4 hours deep into the desert until they arrive at their campsite. From there they enjoy a dutch oven meal under the stars, sleep in their tipis, with their horses in the nearby pen, wake up, and ride back to the ranch. We also offer hands-on cattle penning and cattle drive experiences. We’re all about allowing guests to experience the working ranch lifestyle. 

What is one thing that you hope your guests will return home with- after their western-themed experience? 

Often guests can be nervous before riding a horse, however, we love when they come back feeling confident. The experiences that we offer allow guests to feel grounded and connected with nature. At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure everyone fulfills their dreams of being a cowboy or cowgirl.

Anything you do to protect the environment or give back to the community where you are? 

When it comes to protecting the environment we make it a point to keep our surrounding areas untouched and respected. We’re mindful of how we host guests, conduct rides, and activities. 

A couple of times a year, we host a traditional Mexican rodeo. It’s a stunning event that has been a part of the ranch for many years and is near and dear to us. It’s our way of instilling and preserving local culture. 

Also, as a pet-friendly ranch, we charge a $10 pet fee with bookings. We donate a portion of those fees to the SPCA and other humane societies. 

From horseback riding to cattle round-ups, for 20 years Sandy Valley Ranch has been fulfilling dreams in our special piece of the Great American West.

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Sandi Croft, Sandy Valley Ranch

My parents first brought me and my brother to the White Stallion when I was 5 years old and I’ve been here ever since. I even commuted to the University of Arizona in Tucson. Our family story started when my father, who was born in Wyoming and raised in Montana and my mother, who had lived in Denver all her life, decided they had had enough of the snow and cold. They both loved Tucson so one night after a blizzard, my father had enough and got on a plane to Tucson. He started his search for a new life that next morning and after looking at all kinds of businesses, he decided he wanted to buy White Stallion. There were 24 dude ranches in Tucson in 1965, down from 137 and only 4 of them were for sale. My mother and I came down and stayed as guests for a week and my mother, the more pragmatic of the two, said that it was a terrible idea since they had no background or experience of this type. After my father took her through the same journey he had been on to look at boring businesses, she eventually said, “If I can look at those mountains every morning when I get up, I will let you throw our lives away.”  He built her a home with floor to ceiling glass, looking at those mountains and the rest is history. 

Our ranch is about 4 ½ square miles of untouched Sonoran Desert that shares a two-mile border with the Saguaro National Park, the longest private boundary with a National Park in the US. If not for the fence, you wouldn’t know where the ranch ends and the park begins. We religiously protect the ranch land and reserve it for our guests’ enjoyment. The ranch has always been heavily landscaped because our parents genuinely spent more energy and money on the outside, rather than the inside of the ranch, during the early days. Any dude ranch experience is nature-centered and horse-focused. While we have as extensive a horse program as any ranch, we also offer several other ways to experience nature with our e-bikes, rock climbing, and guided hikes.

What is unique about your property that guests can’t find elsewhere?

Likely, the most unique aspect of our ranch is the fact that we are a very real, historic ranch, including cattle, that is only five minutes from the conveniences of town. The best of both worlds, in other words.

Can you share an experience that is a favorite among your guests? 

White Stallion offers a multi-faceted experience however, the clear favorite overall is team cattle penning. Our ranch version of this competitive event is open to anyone 8 years old or older and can be pretty fast-moving. The guests, in teams of 4 people, separate, move, and corral three cattle. It is all timed and gets very competitive and everyone has a great time doing it. They love the freedom, action, and being able to accomplish something they never imagined possible.

What is one thing that you hope your guests will return home with- after experiencing a Yonder stay at your property? 

The experience at White Stallion is so varied, with rock climbing, horseback riding, evening entertainment and more. And our guests are the same, families and people from all over the world. I believe the one thing that we want our guests to go home with is the thought that we exceeded their expectations with the warm, welcoming atmosphere of our ranch that made them feel right at home.

What is your best advice for sustainable living and staying close to nature in everyday life? 

The best way to live in a sustainable way is to be mindful of waste and excess in all aspects of your life and eliminate it if possible. Nature is available to almost everyone at some level. My guess is that an urban resident appreciates their small pieces of nature, like city parks, more than some rural people who might forget how lucky they are to be surrounded by open land. My advice is don’t take nature for granted because everyone needs it in many ways.

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

We feel that Yonder is the long-awaited voice for all the destinations that, due to their size and location, are most often overlooked.

See White Stallion and hear more from Russell.

Yonder Steward Stories: Russell from White Stallion Ranch

White Stallion Ranch is the perfect blend of thoughtful hospitality and tradition making this Dude Ranch an award-winning destination. The True family welcomes you to the ranch they’ve called home for over 50 years, with its rich history and stunning desert scenery.

Six Questions with Russell True, Steward and Owner of White Stallion Ranch, Tucson, AZ

White Stallion Ranch is the perfect blend of thoughtful hospitality and tradition making this Dude Ranch an award-winning destination. The True family welcomes you to the ranch they’ve called home for over 50 years, with its rich history and stunning desert scenery. 

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Russell True, White Stallion Ranch

Tell us your personal story and how you came to be a Steward of the land?

Originally, I bought this land as an escape from the city life of Cleveland, as a place for my children to enjoy over the years. But after a while, I felt that God gifted me with this land and I needed to find a strong purpose for what to do with it.  So I decided to open it up to the public. This is beautiful land, with rolling hills and forests which allow people to leave the city behind and feel the dirt under their feet. I built the cabins and treehouses as a way for us to share the environment and nature with them. Our local neighbors and carpenters, Amish families from Ohio, have influenced and built the structures on our property since 2009. In total we have nine treehouses, four cabins, and two houses. A famous treehouse builder who was on Animal Planet, Pete Nelson, also built one of our treehouses and featured us on his show. 

Our property is rooted in and driven by innovative sustainability practices. My son’s college degree in sustainability helped to inspire the homes with features like passive solar, radiant heat, and innovative, concrete hot water lines. We have a wonderful pond and a forest plan with the state of Ohio that helps us to maintain our forest and the longevity of its trees. We don't log on our property and we’re constantly planting. We use locally-sourced, repurposed, and recyclable materials in all of our cabins. For example, our treehouse windows came from demolished homes which lessens our impact on the environment.

What's unique about your property that guests can’t find elsewhere?

Our treehouses and cabins are unique because of how difficult and special they are to build. For example, our Tin Shed Treehouse is our most ambitious structure which brings the outside in, with a full-size retractable glass garage door in the back and an extension bridge serving as an entrance path. We also feature a contactless guest check-in, ideal right now during a pandemic. We use and find the highest quality of materials, such as black walnut flooring, cherry wood ceilings, granite countertops, and premium linens and beddings.  We want people to remember us for high quality, sustainable materials coupled with the best experience and stay they’ll ever have. I want guests to leave The Mohicans happy and awestruck. Our reviews are positive and show that we’ve been successful.      

I would say that our suspension bridges are a special guest favorite. I often hear kids laughing and having a good time. We have one that is a 100-foot suspension bridge that rises 25 feet above ground.

What is one thing that you hope your guests will return home with after experiencing a Yonder stay at your property? 

Timothy Leary the famous San Francisco counterculturist said you’ve got to, "Turn on, tune in, drop out."  This saying goes with what we try to offer at The Mohicans. We like to let our guests drop out of reality and tune into their families and nature. Usually, everyone leaves here happier and more connected.

What is your best advice for sustainable living in everyday life?

My advice is to stop consuming so much in our everyday lives. I used to own a business that took me to landfills and I was amazed at the immense amount of consumption and garbage. So much unnecessary stuff is wasted. We don’t need plastic water bottles when we can use a recyclable container. My advice is to look at your daily practices and see where you can limit the excess consumption and waste. In turn, this will benefit nature, our communities, and the planet. 

Anything else you’d like to share about the special nature connection you offer?

Our Grand Barn is a one of a kind place to celebrate life events and create memories, like weddings. It's an elegantly rustic place that you won’t find anywhere else with bark-bottom beams and a nature view that spans fifty miles of the Mohican Valley below. Plus, where else can you and your guests stay in a treehouse while getting hitched?

At The Mohicans Treehouses, everything they do is founded on an appreciation for the land they steward and the people we work with. As a family-run business, you’ll find yourself at home amongst the siblings you never knew you had. 

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Kevin Mooney, The Mohicans Treehouses

I’ve cared about nature, especially plants, my entire life. I grew up gardening with my family and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. I was inspired by the first Earth Day and have just carried on from there. When we bought Paicines Ranch in 2001, it was an opportunity to move from my organic gardening and ornamental grasses to working on regeneration on a much larger scale.  All of the concepts that I had heard and read about for years became real and fascinating.  Stewarding this landscape is the most intellectually challenging and fun thing that I have ever had the opportunity to do and I’m pleased to share it with others. 

Everything that we do is about working with, rather than dominating, nature.  We use the principles of soil health in everything that we do, and we monitor the diversity of our plants and birds regularly to see what is changing.  We attempt to combine our human creativity and knowledge with the power and wisdom of nature to grow food in a way that regenerates ecosystems. 

The most unique thing is the wide range of experiences possible in a short visit.  We have a historic headquarters area set in the midst of 7,600 beautiful acres. During your visit, you can see ranch buildings from the last 150 years, reflecting the history of California since just before the Gold Rush days. Then, you can hike for miles across the oak-studded rolling hills, learn about our work in regenerative agriculture, visit our vineyard which is designed to be managed by our sheep, and return home with pasture-raised meat produced on this land.  Hopefully, you will leave with an understanding of how connected the landscape, food, and the people on it are to each other.

Can you share a trail that is a favorite among your guests? 

There are so many that come to mind. For folks interested in birds, there is a short walk from the center of our event space down the small hill to the spring-fed teal pond.  The scenic vistas are amazing, and as many as 65 different bird species have been spotted on the walk.  It can take quite a while for birders to make the short walk! Another favorite is to head up to the unique vineyard site. It's a bit of an uphill walk, but at the top of the hill, you find 25 acres of unique trellis systems and views of the ranch and surrounding area that go on for miles.  It's a great place to get an overview of our work in regenerative agriculture and to locate your spot on the ranch. 

Our goal is for every visitor to leave feeling more connected both to the California landscapes and to their food. We want them to understand more about the plants and animals, along with the people stewarding these lands and growing food. We also want them to feel connected to our ranch like it is "their ranch” as well. 

I believe it’s very important that people understand more about how their food is produced, where their food comes from, and the impact of the food choices they make. Food, agriculture, and soil are so important in many of the global issues facing us today so we believe that everyone should eat and shop consciously and thoughtfully.  It’s very important to support those local producers who are innovating to create the next model of agriculture that will help restore diversity and clean water while mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The Paicines Ranch is a very special place, and we look forward to sharing it with you. When my husband and I got here, we imagined that it would be our private place. Now, we realize that the more people who can experience it and share it with us, the better! 

See Paicines and hear more from Sallie and her crew.

Meet a Yonder Steward: Sallie, Jessie, and Mary from Paicines Ranch

Sallie Calhoun, the founder of Paicines Ranch, shares her perspective on soil health, regenerative agriculture, and her passion for connecting guests to native California landscapes.

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Sallie Calhoun, Paicines Ranch

It all started with a conversation a couple of months back - how to connect with people that enjoy travel, food, and wellness experiences during a pandemic. After the launch of the Yonder platform, our team was excited to connect with travelers, and then we were bound to quarantine. 

We embarked on a journey to connect with people virtually. Elena Brower got introduced to us shortly thereafter, and one of our Yonder Stewards, Terces Englehart of Be Love Farm (and owner of Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre restaurants in California) were paired as a match made in heaven. 

Enjoy the recording of our first Nature Refresh event from the May 30th event below to follow along with Elena during a vinyasa flow yoga session, with music accompaniment by Garth Stevenson, followed by a brunch cooking class by Yonder Steward, Terces live from her farm kitchen using fresh produce from Be Love Farm.

Yonder Virtual Nature Refresh with Elena Brower & Terces Englehart

To those that attended or view the recording, we hope you enjoyed some peaceful practice followed by a delicious meal, and we’re looking forward to sharing more experiences like this with you to help you Find Your Yonder. 

A recap of Yonder's first virtual event, a vinyasa flow yoga class led by Elena Brower & music by Garth Stevenson, followed by a brunch cooking class led by Yonder Steward, Terces Englehart. 

Anyone living a modern life has somehow contributed to the current conditions on Earth – from air and plastics pollution to urban sprawl. How and what we consume has a direct impact on the living world – human, animal, plant, and organism. We’re disturbing it to the point that we’re creating the perfect conditions for viruses like Covid-19—and if our behavior doesn’t change, we can expect to see more pandemics in the near future.

So, what can we do? We must reconnect with what counts to allow the Earth’s balance to return. 

Here at Yonder, we believe that as we restore and rebuild in the days ahead, the types of places we highlight are exactly what people will be looking for – nature-immersive, off-the-beaten-path, and full of lessons about how to rebalance our lives. In the past, much of our vacation and getaway time has been spent in contrived environments shut off from the natural world – a cruise ship, a theme park, a casino, or an all-inclusive resort. We believe that, especially as we recover from Covid-19, people will be looking for alternatives – ones that offer them a more natural, sustainable, and healthier way of traveling and living.

We founded Yonder on the principles of connection, community, and co-existence between people and the natural world. That’s not just a philosophy, it’s the driver of our business model. As part of the “regenerative economy,” we’re working to mirror how natural ecosystems perfectly balance inputs and outputs. Our Yonder Steward community of ranchers, farmers, vintners, and nature lovers are selected because they care for the ecosystems where they live and work – so the experiences they offer not only inspire a deeper appreciation for the natural world, but also a greater sense of responsibility to protect it.

There’s still time to restore Earth’s balance. But to do that we must reconnect with nature – every step, thought and action counts.

When everyone's ready to get away, Yonder and our Stewards will be here to welcome them back to a wondrous, natural world.  This message has never been more relevant than it is today, for people and our planet.

Anyone living a modern life has somehow contributed to the current conditions on Earth--from air & plastics pollution to urban sprawl.

Want To Restore the Earth’s Balance? Reconnect with what counts.

I recall that ‘ah-ha’ moment in October 2017. We had just completed our second year of agri-tourism offerings on the farm and discovered that revenue stream surpassed all others.  Farming is a labor of love, and seldom results in monetary success, but what if? I enjoyed the many heartfelt messages left by visiting families who spent time on the farm and witnessed the natural world, which in turn offered them a chance to appreciate their special bond. Could there be a way to couple both farmer and family together while harnessing the unforced rhythms of nature to improve the lives of everyone? This is the question that I set out to answer.

With guidance from a good friend, I met my cofounder Freyr Thor, who possessed a depth of successful experience with business start-ups.  Freyr, a native from Iceland, spent his youth outdoors on farms, in the company of horses and other animals. His childhood offered unique insights into the opportunity, as well as a genuine passion for the endeavor at large that I had set out to solve. In 2018, we set out to understand the opportunity and decide if, in an underserved market, could we provide an authentic experience, for farmer and family alike, to realize a better, healthier tomorrow by connecting to nature? We decided the answer was yes and in late 2018, Yonder was born from our passion for the natural world and everything it offers.

I’m pleased to announce that starting today, Yonder is taking flight. Under Freyr’s leadership, and a team with a shared passion for the natural world and the healing powers it bestows, we built and created a truly authentic platform experience. Yonder is a catalyst for creating a harmonious world by connecting people to nature. Whether farm, ranch, vineyard, or other nature-rich destination, both Stewards and families are now poised to aid and learn from each other. Yonder’s purpose is to nurture the kinship between people, plants, animals, and all living things.

Thanks for your support, and I look forward to seeing you on the farm real soon.

Could there be a way to couple both farmer and family together while harnessing the unforced rhythms of nature to improve the lives of everyone? This is the question that I set out to answer.

Covid-19 response. Keeping our guest and Steward communities safe.

Cookie Bar UI. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consec tetur adipiscing elit. In ut laoreet turpis.

Back to Our Roots

Nature-rich perspectives and inspiration

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Sandi Croft, Sandy Valley Ranch

Sandi Croft

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Russell True, White Stallion Ranch

Russell True

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Kevin Mooney, The Mohicans Treehouses

Kevin Mooney

Interview with a Yonder Steward—Sallie Calhoun, Paicines Ranch

Sallie Calhoun

Yonder's Virtual Nature Refresh May 2020

Gitel Celnik

Want To Restore the Earth’s Balance? Reconnect with what counts.

Freyr Thor

Yonder is taking flight!

Tim Southwell