Saddle up for Grand Canyon adventure

Apr 5 2009 by Gordon Barr, Sunday Sun

Regardless of experience, all guests take a morning trail ride as an introduction to their horses, western riding techniques and the desert-to-mountain terrain, before joining the ranch’s programme.

There’s also the opportunity for bonding with your horse, the wranglers allowing us to groom and feed our steeds once we were out of the saddle.

While riding is the main activity, there are a range of pursuits on offer and you can choose to do as little or as much as you like, perhaps combining cattle herding with a lazy afternoon spent by the pool.

However, the most appealing aspect on this, and many other ranch stays across the US, is the cost. Once you touch down in the destination, all your accommodation, meals and ranch activities are paid for.

Other activities range from dummy steer roping to team penning and horseshoes, but getting around on horseback is definitely the best way to take in the surrounding area.

Three-hour morning rides geared to ability and shorter afternoon rides are offered to guests each day. The changing scenery provides endless photo opportunities and the scent of wild flowers is intoxicating.

Every Tuesday and Thursday there is a ride to the Chiricahua National Monument, a geological formation borne out of a volcanic eruption 27 million years ago.

One thousand times greater than the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens, the Turkey Creek Caldera eruption laid down 620m (2000ft) of ash and pumice, the mixture fusing into a rock that eroded into the spires and unusual formations of today.

A Mecca for hikers, birders and riders, the monument, at the intersection of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts and the southern Rocky Mountains and northern Sierra Madre in Mexico, also represents one of the premier areas for biological diversity in the northern hemisphere.

Scenery and riding aside, it is the Native American history that makes the area around the Grapevine Canyon Ranch so inviting. The ruins of Fort Bowie unleash the final chapter of the story, as for more than 30 years the camp was a focal point for US military operations, culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama.

Arizona might have its fair share of ranches, but for history buffs with a penchant for the cowboy lifestyle, the Grapevine Canyon Ranch is simply an unbeatable horseback adventure.

5 things to do
1 - VISIT Chiricahua National Monument, a geological formation borne out of a 27-million-year-old volcanic eruption.
2 - NEARBY are the ruins of Fort Bowie, which was, for more than 30 years the focal point for US military operations in the area.
3 - TRY your hand with a pistol at "Grapevine City", complete with bank robbers, horse rustlers, cattle thieves and other low lifes ready for you to mow down.
4 - OR try a more traditional weapon, with an introduction to target archery.
5 - CHECK out the Amerind Foundation Museum and Archaeological Research Facility. See www.amerind.org

Fact file
CONTACT RANCH RIDER 01509-618811, info@ranchrider.com, www.ranchrider.com. Seven-night break in Arizona from £1406pp. Includes return flights from Manchester, full-board accommodation, gratuities, on-ranch riding, activities. Excludes transfers. Car hire from £187.