Off The Grid

Almay Ranch
August 31 - September 2, 2012

This is only a piece of the "square mile of absolute heaven" where we stayed.

I come from a large family and it's not easy to find a vacation spot that caters to all of our needs. But this year, we discovered the perfect getaway destination. Almay Ranch in Coffee Creek, California is a secluded 655-acre property nestled in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. During our visit, we had the entire place to ourselves.

With no cell service or WiFi in the area, we were completely unplugged from the modern world.  There was a big screen TV but you could only watch DVDs.  There is no cable connection nor network TV available.  So for three days, all we did was kick back, enjoy the outdoors, and get back to nature.

The ranch includes a large 2 story house with 6 bedrooms/3 baths and a one-bedroom tree house that accommodated all 20 of us plus 2 dogs. The main house overlooks a lake where we took turns in the canoes and paddle-boats.

There were so many options available for recreation.  Within the ranch is a private 9-hole golf course, several hiking trails, lakes, ponds, and creeks.  A short walk (or you could say a quick bide ride) from the main house is a wide open meadow where all of us, kids and adults alike, played a little bit of everything:  baseball, football, soccer, frisbee. For giggles, we even played the egg toss game.  That was a riot!

There's also a mini golf course, an area for horseshoe toss, and badminton. I'm serious. You couldn't possibly run out of things to do here. Further out, there was even a big fire pit where we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

Ah yes, life is good! We spent a good deal just relaxing and doing our favorite things. Top on the list:  eating, taking a nap, having a nice glass of wine, stretching out on the chaise lounge, and soaking in the gorgeous views. We took a ton of pictures. The surroundings were just incredible. I mean, just look at these images.

This place is so conducive to bonding that I was almost sad to leave at the end of our long weekend. But I know that even if we didn't choose to come here, it would all be the same. We already are a tight knit family. So it doesn't matter where we decide to go.  As long as we're all together, we'll definitely have a fun time.