'N Touch Blog

B&B sports archeological site, wildlife, gourmet meals

Nestled under the Mogollon Rim in Arizona’s infamous Pleasant Valley lies the Q Ranch. It was founded as a cattle ranch in 1893 by one-time Texas Ranger and Confederate Colonel Jesse Ellison. The Q brand belonged to Ellison’s wife, Susan.

The Ellisons were hardly the first people to live at that spot. A millennium earlier it was the site of a thriving Mogollon culture, a pueblo-style village of which at least 250 rooms, some of them two or three stories high, still exist. It is the third-largest archaeological site of its kind and has been undergoing continuous study and excavation since 1988. In 2010, archaeologists discovered evidence of a pit house village near the pueblo, which would push back the dates of occupancy another 300 years.

Ellison had eight children, but his daughter Helen, known as Duett, was his favorite. Despite having two sons, Ellison called Duett his “right-hand man.” She could act the part of lady when need be, but she could also ride, rope and shoot. Duett planted a fruit orchard at the ranch, of which there remain apple, persimmon and almond trees today, along with half a dozen towering elderberry shrubs whose fruit provides food for birds and wine, pies and jelly for humans. In 1904, Duett married George W.P. Hunt, who became Arizona’s first governor when the territory was granted statehood. Hunt, Duett and Col. and Susan Ellison are entombed in the white pyramid in Papago Park adjacent to the Phoenix Zoo.

Arizona’s Pleasant Valley War was the longest and bloodiest range war in American history. Between 1885 and the end of the century, rival cattle families, the Tewksburys and the Grahams, committed upwards of 30 killings, some of them so horrific and bloody that it delayed the granting of statehood to Arizona. Col. Ellison’s name was connected with a group of vigilantes who, hoping to extinguish certain factions that kept the war alive, hanged a number of individuals.

In 1956, Jefferson Z. (Jack) Rogers purchased the Q, building it into the one of the largest cattle operations in the state. At its peak, Q Ranch consisted of over 2,500 deeded acres and an additional 120 sections (square miles) of grazing permits. In 1988, Jack retired, turning the running of the ranch over to his son Jonathan. The cattle permits and some of the land were sold, as Jonathan had no wish to stay in the cattle business. At that time, Jonathan negotiated with the Arizona

Archaeological Society to begin studying and excavating the ruins and he turned the main ranch house into a bed-and-breakfast operation, the Q Ranch Lodge.

The lodge has seven guest rooms, each of which sleeps two, and four shared baths. It also has a separate, self-contained bunkhouse with bath and furnished kitchen that also sleeps two. All lodging includes three gourmet meals per day. There’s a separate refrigerator in which guests may store personal snacks and beverages, including alcohol.

The ranch is off the grid. The nearest paved road is 20 miles away. Electricity is generated on site and water comes from one of several wells. Your cell phone will not work (though you can drive a few miles and find a hot spot), although there is whole-house wi-fi for those who cannot be too separated from the outside world.

The “season” at Q Ranch runs from April through November. The lodge is a popular destination for birders, amateur and professional archaeologists, families looking to escape the Valley’s heat for a weekend, groups needing a restful place for a retreat and more. The remote location guarantees dark skies at night (you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye) and abundant wildlife. The elk arrive daily at cocktail hour and more than 130 species of birds can be found.

Events scheduled in 2011 include a pottery restoration class taught by the Arizona Archaeological Society, in which each participant will get a 1,000-year-old piece of prehistoric pottery, in pieces, from the Q Ranch pueblo and learn how to clean and reassemble it; several birding weekends sponsored by local chapters of the Audubon Society or the Desert Botanical Garden; and a photography weekend. Q Ranch also participates in the annual “Pleasant Valley Days” in nearby Young, celebrated the third weekend of July, which offers many activities remembering the Pleasant Valley War. Would-be visitors can also reserve the ranch for an event of their own choosing; a minimum of six persons is required. Over the years, the ranch has hosted retreats for several of the Valley’s LGBT social organizations.

It’s a uniquely historic Arizona site, not only for its archaeological significance but for the role it played in the Pleasant Valley War and in the development of Arizona’s cattle industry, one of the state’s 5 C’s. For more information, email qranchlodge@earthlink.net.