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On the west’s great grasslands,
wherever cattle raising began and horses ran wild, cowboys lived and
worked beyond the security of settlements and the comforts of
civilization. The work, attracting men who were independent and
self-reliant, required courage and endurance. Cowboys, therefore,
believed that their work made them different from others and took pride
in their lifestyle. Sometimes the city dwellers and authorities took
another view; in the U.S. and Mexico, cowboys and caballeros were
regarded as wild and dangerous. Yet in both countries they eventually
came to symbolize values that the whole nation admired.
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What were once remote settlements and
ranches have become cities as population spreads to nearly every open
field in its path. In Southern California, it’s still possible to find
a few remote ranch lands -- if you look hard enough!
And there, cowboys
still brand cattle and work horses every day... an' sometimes, get a
little rowdy at nite.
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Rancho Relaxo is nestled on an
oak-covered plateau overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the west and the
San Jacinto mountains to the east. Here you’ll find real cowboys,
ranch hands, farriers, cattle, horses and a wide variety of critters
large and small. Rancho Relaxo is not, as the name implies, a place to
relax as may have been originally intended. If one is lucky, Sundays
might afford the opportunity to take a leisurely horseback ride through
oak forests and hillsides dotted with giant boulders. Creeks wind their
way through the sycamores and into deep canyons filled with lush trees,
wildflowers, and fern grottos.
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 If you keep a sharp eye on the trail,
you may see a bobcat dart into the brush or a western rattlesnake
slither across your path. Mule deer will keep a wary eye on you from a
safe distance while the bold coyote will be in no hurry to get out of
your way. Look up and you'll see the graceful red-tail hawk or owl soar
through the trees. Check out to the not-so-handsome turkey buzzards
sitting on a nearby fence and be careful not to startle mother skunk as
she escorts her babies across your trail and into the bushes.
It’s easy to become enamored with
the beauty of the plateau and to imagine the cowboys spinning yarns by
the campfire following a meal of baked jackrabbit, beans, fried bread
and hot coffee. In fact, it’s easy to sit out on the porch and
envision the rest of the hands who may have worked in these very hills
and could have just as easily lived right over there between the
boulders and the sycamores.
And, thus begins the story of the
collection of diverse personalities and incredible talents of the ranch
hands who could be right here at Rancho Relaxo . . . if you let your
imagination stretch the facts just a bit!
Enjoy your visit!
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