SEPTEMBER 2008
DOS CABEZAS SPIRIT AND NATURE RETREAT NEWSLETTER
We all woke at the retreat yesterday morning literally on Cloud Nine. A huge fog bank rolled in from the valley, right up the mountain, and softly embraced us and the retreat in a fluffy, white blanket of moisture. It was a rare treat.
Last week we had some magnificent storm clouds right over the Dos Cabezas Mountains during sunset. We took the photo below from our porch. We are continually in awe at the raw beauty of nature displayed here at the Retreat.
Our retreat has been open about a month, and we are thoroughly enjoying meeting guests and making new friends, and welcoming old friends. There's something about this place that says sit a while on the porch to drink in the mountain views and the magic moments, get your binoculars and watch the birds and wildlife, leave your worries and cares at the gate as you enter herein, listen to the quietness of the night, open the windows for cool, fresh air, and relax in your meditation without city and traffic noise invading your consciousness.
We are being discovered little by little. We adopted the slogan of build it and they will come, and it seems to be working. Just this week the Cochise County Tourism Council posted an article about us on their front page! Check us out at www.tourcochisecounty.wordpress.com.
Fall bird migration has been in full swing for several weeks, at times up to a hundred hummingbirds on our numerous feeders. The hills have been alive with "greenness," in and of itself an "event," as it's such a blessing here in the arid southwest. We've had a terrific monsoon with almost 12 inches of rain since July. It's winding down a bit, although we are getting some of the hurricane bands now and again.
Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat is very honored to host the next Wings Over Willcox Birding Festival's featured speaker, Dr. Paul Johnsgard, January 14-18, 2009. He is the author of over 50 books and is a famous naturalist known all over the globe. Registration for Wings Over Willcox is open now. Visit their website at www.wingsoverwillcox.com or call 1-800-200-2272.
There are lots of local goings-on around here. The fall U Pick Em apple orchards are in full swing and are open until the end of October. Check out www.appleannies.com for a full schedule of activities. Coronado Vineyards is now serving dinner on Friday evenings, plus lunch Tuesday through Friday, and Sunday brunch. The ambiance at their place is delightful, sitting as it does in the shadow of the Dos Cabezas mountains and the lushness of the vineyards. Be sure to check out their website at www.coronadovineyards.com.
The Cochise County Fair is Sept. 25-28 in Douglas, and coming up soon the city of Willcox will be hosting the Rex Allen Days.
The Rex Allen Days event is Oct 2-5 and is a huge annual celebration featuring Rex Allen, Jr., cookouts, wagon trains, entertainment and lots of cowboy stars. Check it out at www.rexallenmuseum.com.
The Chiricahua mountains are glorously lush right now. The pine forests are so healing. Just take in a big whiff of the pine forest and breathe out all your cares.
You can do the same with green chile! The farmers have a great crop this year! We just bought two gunny sacks yesterday at Elfrida Green Chile Farms owned by the Ochoas in McNeal (520-642-3334). As Mr. Ochoa roasted it, the aroma provoked our fondest "cocina" memories so we brought it home, cooked up some beans and tortillas, and had a feast! There is hardly anything that smells better than roasting green chile. If you come in the next month or so, they should still have plenty for sale, and they will have some red chile ristras in October, as well.
The weather here is probably just as about as perfect as you can get in Arizona. We have cool nights, now dipping into the 50's, and the daytime highs reach the low to mid-80's. The air is crisp in the morning, so bring a jacket, but the morning sun warms you right up.
For more events in the area, check out the Willcox Chamber website at (www.willcoxchamber.com). They are terrific folks and very helpful. Tell them we sent you!
I have included below a part of the blurb from our new website. If you haven't checked it out yet, take a look at www.doscabezasretreat.com.
We hope to see all of you soon and in the meantime, may you walk in Light, Peace and Beauty.
Charmayne and Jon Samuelson
DOS CABEZAS SPIRIT AND NATURE RETREAT
www.doscabezasretreat.com
520-384-6474
EXCERPT FROM OUR WEBSITE at www.doscabezasretreat.com:
The serene Dos Cabezas Mountains 14 miles southeast of Willcox, Arizona, and twenty minutes along Hwy. 186 to the mystical Chiricahua Mountains, are the home of the Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat guest lodging in the historic ghost town of Dos Cabezas. The village was named after the striking twin-peaked mountains (the English translation is two heads) that rise above the village. The Retreat's setting is secluded and private, and we border thousands of acres of State land.
The Retreat's private guest house is furnished with comfy sleeping accommodations, housekeeping facilities and self-serve continental breakfast supplies. You will enjoy complete privacy, as we host only one party at a time at the retreat. The country guest house, casita, and the owner's residence are authentic and historical adobe homes from the late 1800's and are your home base for premier birding and nature viewing, peaceful meditation, astronomy, hiking, photography, picking fruit at local peach and apple orchards and vegetable farms, and ghost towning. Our elevation is about 5,100 feet, just right for picture-perfect spring and fall weather, moderate summers and winters, and for your geo-tourism and eco-tourism adventures. The guest house shown above is dated from the mid-1800's and is rich in history. Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat is commited to the ongoing preservation of the historical integrity of these priceless adobe homes.
Today, Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat is a great home base from which to explore and experience the historical and contemporary treasures of the area. A short 10-minute drive takes you to the famous Willcox Twin Lakes birding site, and home of Wings over Willcox Birding Festival. It's a gorgeous 20-minute drive to the Chiricahua National Monument on the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains, and it's only about a 25-minute drive to the trailhead of historic Fort Bowie. Portal, Arizona, and Paradise, Arizona, known for world-class birding, are just about an hour and a half drive over Onion Saddle to the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. And 15 minutes into Willcox you will find the rich history of the Rex Allen Museum, the Marty Robbins Museum, the National Day of the Cowboy Museum, and the Chiricahua Regional Museum which document local pre-history, history and the cowboy and ranching way of life. It is also an easy drive to famous Tombstone and Bisbee.
Willcox has become known as the best place in southern Arizona for 'pick your own' fruit and nut orchards and vegetable farms, and is rapidly establishing a reputation for quality vineyards and wine tasting.
All this and much more await your visit! As you browse our website, you will find additional information, birding lists, and tourist attractions. If you are looking for peace, nature, and the opportunity to experience the Old West the way it really was in a rustic setting, you will like our Retreat. We look forward to meeting you and hope that you will have a wonderful stay at Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat!
Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat 1-520-384-6474
