The definition of laid-back and rustic, this comfortable guesthouse is furnished with an eclectic collection of new-and-old western/southwestern furniture, artwork, books, mementos, and curios that reflect years’ worth of curation by the owner/family who also owns the horses on site and the dogs that monitor the entrance for you in exchange for snack treats (the horses favor carrot treats, but will put up with apples if that’s what you have; the dogs are willing to work for cheese sticks.) The kitchen and pantry are well-equipped and generously stocked, there is seating indoors and out for reading, lounging, enjoying the wine left for us by the host, novel-writing, and cactus-gazing, and the Mt.-Lemmon-high cloud of a king-size bed is mercifully slow to kick you out unless you have early plans for the day. Two large-screen electronic centers are available – we didn’t drive 1800 miles to Tucson to watch TV, so we can’t vouch for them. If the bathroom is on the small side, it is nonetheless entirely suitable to every purpose – and never once did two adults who like long showers come close to using up the hot water. The location was part of the draw for us: far enough away and close enough to the busy core of Tucson. The trails of the eastern part of Saguaro National Park are within 2 minutes’ drive or a few more minutes’ walk for the spry, yet two of our favorite dining experiences were within ten minutes’ drive. Yes, if you wish to visit locations on the western or the foothills sides of town, there will be a bit of travel. That’s the trade-off for the private, quiet, semi-rural location. There's a locked gate, so whoever rides shotgun will be getting in and out to attend to it when you drive somewhere. This was our second stay at this property, the first being some 7 years earlier, with second-marriage plans (it’s a long story.) With the world going crazy, it’s hard to say when we might be back in the area (we’ve VRBO-d in all parts of the country, with more parts to go.) Half of our party did a plein air oil painting of the scene looking north from the property gate, so we’ll be able to remember where we were, even without GPS. Finally, there are many, many photos of the property on this site, so do your research.
