This article featured in Tucson Lifestyle
Magazine, February, 2004
Produced by Claudia Franklin - Written by Judith Ratliff - Photography
by Amy Haskell
Permission granted to
www.ranchoesmeraldanogales.com to duplicate the article.
When Tucson businessman Rogo Rodriguez sat down to plan a recent family reunion, he figured he'd have to sweeten the pot to get siblings - he's one of 10 - from as far away as North Carolina and Texas to attend. Rogo's a world-class good guy, loads of fun to be with and all, but 2,000 miles. Hmmmm .... Ah-ha! Invite everyone to the ranch!
Actually, this one was a no-brainer. Rogo, owner of Rogo's Finishing Touch flooring contractors, and his cousin John Ochoa, a local developer and general contractor, together own a 3,500-acre cattle ranch in Frontera, Sonora, about 15 miles southwest of Nogales. For several years, the two, along with their friend Roberto Corella, who owns the neighboring 15,000-acre ranch, have been preparing their combined spreads to debut as a dude ranch with a strong eco-tourisrn element. With the addition of access to acreage owned by several of Roberto's adjacent relatives, Rancho Esmeralda, as the enterprise is known, encompasses nearly 30,000 acres; according to John, much of it is pristine. Although each separate ranch still runs cattle, the animals are carefully rotated through designated pastures. These clear-eyed entrepreneurs fully realize that the health and beauty of their land is the strongest selling point for their budding side venture.
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Although Rancho Esmeralda has been open
for business for a while on a working-out-the- kinks basis
to small groups, the reunion seemed a perfect opportunity
for its owners to experience exactly how well the enterprise
was operating. Rogo made the 90-minute trip down to the
ranch on a Thursday to begin welcoming guests, who would
continue to dribble in all day Friday. On Sunday, trips back
home had to commence, but in the meantime, the extended
Rodriguez family planned to take advantage of an option
detailed in the Rancho Esmeralda brochure - namely to party
like they owned the place. It seemed like a gathering was
too good an opportunity to pass up. Friday afternoon, when I showed up with John Ochoa and his family, lured by tales of gorgeous land and to-die-for menudo, teenagers (and several adults, who shall remain nameless) were busy propelling spuds onto a nearby hillside using a potato launcher while assembled elders, including Rogo's mother Gilda, told stories and reminisced in the shade of the large central palapa (outdoor pavilion). There was activity down at the horse corral, excursions into the nearby Las Planchas de Plata Canyon to the waterfalls were being planned, and the extent of available birding was being discussed. A handful of family members, with siestas in mind, were ambling up the staircase to the "bunkhouse" on the hillside above the primary gathering area with its ranch buildings and cluster of palapas - the talk and the dancing had lasted late into the previous night.
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 Tucsonan Rogo Rodriguez, one of the owners of Rancho Esmeralda, is promoting their nearly 30,000 acre property as a dude ranch combined with strong eco-tourism |
On the way to Mexico, we rode through the beautiful Santa Cruz River Valley. As we slowly gained altitude (ranch elevations are from 4,500 to 8,000 feet), John talked about the family's, long history on both sides of the border. "My dad Hector says, 'We didn't cross the border, the border crossed us. ' We were a ranching family. Tucson was the nearest to-market town, It was the destination of the cattle drives. My great aunt ]esusita Suarez married Esteban Carrillo, the first mayor of Tucson. When she died, her sister married the mayor. For us, buying a ranch was returning to our roots, but we also did it for fun, as a getaway," "We call the ranch 'the land that time forgot' because it's so beautiful," John's wife, Gretchen interjects.
"It's true," John continues, "The ranch gets about 30 inches of rain a year. It's in the rain shadow of the mountains inland from the Gulf of California. We're only about 100 miles from the coast here. It's usually about 12 to 15 degrees cooler than Tucson and we get about half a dozen snows of maybe four to five inches every winter. It makes for a diverse population of plants and animals."
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Hot tortillas off the
grill are prepared for the guests at the |
Guests at Rancho Esmeralda
can take advantage of horseback rides, either |
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info@ranchoesmeraldanogales.com
or call (520)
548-7278 -- (520)296-7622 (fax)