Remote Casita Among Anasazi Ruins; Dogs Welcome

• Magical place!

  Magical place!

  • Guest Lisa
  • Date of stay 10/18/12
  • Review Submitted 10/24/12
  My husband and I just got back from our trip to Ranch Casita and there are really no words to explain how magical this place is! Stunning views of the mesa, incredible opportunities to view wildlife, and just an extraordinary peace and quiet in the canyon! The owners of the place were wonderful too and we felt completely welcome there. I emailed them a bunch of questions leading up to the trip and they were quick to respond and very helpful. The Ranch Casita provided everything we could've wanted - we love to cook and had everything we needed, including a nice Weber grill that we used a lot and a full set of herbs, cookware etc that we could use. The listing was very accurate. My husband and i spent a lot of time just exploring different parts of the canyon - and no part of it disappointed! We were there to see the fall colors, which were just beautiful - adding a beautiful yellow glow to the canyon. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and intend to return in the spring to see the wildflowers in bloom. Can't wait to get back there!

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, sightseeing, girls getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Beautiful!

  Beautiful!

  • Guest Steven Schiff
  • Date of stay 04/17/12
  • Review Submitted 08/04/12
  Elizabeth and Andrew own perhaps the most beautiful ranch in New Mexico, deep in the Chama River Wilderness. They own two small casitas that they rent out to working writers who are seeking extreme remoteness, natural beauty, peace and quiet to work.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Our 10th anniversary

  Our 10th anniversary

  • Guest Andrea M.
  • Date of stay 05/28/12
  • Review Submitted 08/02/12
  We came to the jacal to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We were looking for solitude, beauty, peace, healing and a place to spiritually mark the decade together. The jacal was perfect. We brought our border collies, who were in heaven the whole time, and we were, too. The temperatures at the end of July were fresh and cool in the morning and evening, warm enough in the afternoon for siesta and water play. What could have been a disaster, Lori FORGETTING her duffel full of clothes and female accoutrements, turned out FINE because the jacal was thoughtfully stocked with shampoos and lotions, bug spray, etc. She was able to relax without her "stuff". We ritually marked our anniversary, painting the spectacular cliffs and making a clay piece to place in a canyon rock nicho, from the raw clay on the Gallinas river bank. We have pictures for many paintings in our camera, and beautiful memories. Andrew and Elizabeth and Dave were wonderful hosts. Thank you so much for a beautiful retreat. We want to return every year now, instead of every ten!

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Ideal for Any Artist, Writer, or Thinker Seeking Solitude & Inspiration in a Gorgeous Setting

  Ideal for Any Artist, Writer, or Thinker Seeking Solitude & Inspiration in a Gorgeous Setting

  • Guest Canyon Poet
  • Date of stay 06/01/12
  • Review Submitted 07/03/12
  I stayed in Jacal for the month of June. I went there with the primary goal of completing a poetry manuscript and, though I was thankfully able to do so, I discovered a great deal more--outside and in--than I had initially expected. As far as the writing went, as someone who often struggles to write a poem a week, I was amazed to find myself completing one or two poems a day. Being completely cut-off from the distractions of internet and email was an immense gift, allowing me intense focus and clarity. Any artist would be well served to use Jacal as his or her own private retreat--with none of the trappings, pressure, or enforced sociability of many of the formal residences and retreats ostensibly for the purpose of artistic creation. My time there was also spent exploring the canyon. I ran barefoot in the riverbed, which was mostly dry in June; hiked the spectacular mesa trail, which took me up over 8500 ft and offered views out over the canyon floor; and explored the western cliffbands, marveling at seeing ruins of the Gallinas' towers directly above the remains of homesteaders' cabins--a powerfully resonant layering of history. The wildlife also offered ready companions. In addition to my own dog, I saw birds, elk, deer, cattle, jackrabbits, chipmunks, and more. The lack of electricity in Jacal helped put me on a healthy schedule of going to sleep a little after dark and being up just before sunrise--a wonderful way to get the most out of every day. A solar cell was provided to power my laptop (for word processing), which worked perfectly and was a great help. Andrew and Elizabeth, the owners, and David, the caretaker, were unerring in their hospitality, making sure I was comfortable and well-supplied throughout my time there. They are lovely people and are clearly happy to share their beautiful land. If you are looking for a space that will truly allow you to be alone with your thoughts, Jacal is the place. I have no doubt I will be returning there and cannot recommend it highly enough.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, pet owners, sightseeing, adventure seekers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• A Long Weekend in Paradise

  A Long Weekend in Paradise

  • Guest David
  • Date of stay 05/10/12
  • Review Submitted 05/15/12
  My wife and I spent three incomparable days at this remote, silent (except for birds and the riffling of the Gallina river) cabin in the Chama Wilderness. Gallina Canyon is a national treasure: A pristine, wild and magical place. Redwall cliffs flanking a desert river that feeds groves of majestic cottonwoods, many of them hundreds of years old. To experience this paradise, you must be willing to do a little bit more than simply hop on a plane or into your car. The cabin, or Jacal, can only be reached via a 4 mile drive in Andrew's unstoppable 4-wheel drive truck in which you ford the Gallina no fewer than 14 times. And to get to the Gallina Canyon Ranch, where Andrew and Elizabeth will greet you warmly, you must drive about 16 miles over rough dirt roads and dirt tracks that, when wet, are not for the faint of heart. So you earn your stay in paradise. And what you earn is access to an entirely private canyon, in which you can hike to the ruins of homesteader cabins abandoned a hundred years ago, and to the ruins of Anasazi settlers abandoned 700 years ago, and to sandstone cliffs that would be a significant tourist attraction were they located somewhere more accessible but instead simply wait silently for the few who make the journey up the Gallina for a private viewing. The cabin itself, your base camp in paradise, is cozy and plenty spacious for a couple. Although it has no electricity, it has a well-functioning propane powered stove and refrigerator (small), a small propane space heater and a wood stove, a comfortable Queen size bed, and a large front porch where you will undoubtedly spend most of your time at the cabin, sitting and staring endlessly at the shifting clouds overhead, or listening to the birds or the gentle sounds of the Gallina river. I spent the last hours of my visit on the porch, planning my next visit to the Jacal.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, age 55+, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Jacal stay April '12

  Jacal stay April '12

  • Guest E.S.
  • Date of stay 04/20/12
  • Review Submitted 05/02/12
  It was just what I needed: a little "high-tech" down time, a lot of great hiking, and some quiet. I hope to end up there again (sooner rather than later!). The owners were very helpful and the place was very comfortable. Must be willing to "rough it" a little to stay at Jacal, but well worth it.

  Recommended for: Pet owners, sightseeing, adventure seekers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Why we came back again

  Why we came back again

  • Guest Doug
  • Date of stay 06/23/11
  • Review Submitted 07/06/11
  As far as a brief review of our visit to the Jacal... I gave an online review after our stay in 2010. What prompted us to stay again? Remoteness and beauty, along with the security of having you folks nearby. I think your web site accurately represented what we experienced at the Jacal, as much as the experience can be described. The directions to get here were accurate and clear, the [Skull Bridge] lock was a small adventure in that I had trouble seeing the numbers in the bright sun. The rental was exactly what expected. It was clean & well-maintained. You gave us great info and answered questions. Thanks for the refrigerator--- it was wonderful, and for the extra water. There was really nothing lacking in our visit!

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

• Guest comment entered by owner

  • Guest Carolyn Metzler
  • Date of stay 10/09/09
  • Review Submitted 10/06/10
  Gallina Canyon is one of those "thin places" where all your false selves get stripped away and you recover what is truly authentic in yourself. The canyon offers: magic (the song of elk bellowing their way up the stream at sunset and dropping an antler at river's bend); wonder (a little arroyo opens into a large, cavernous space with purple walls and quartz growing out of the center); mystery (a vortex of energy near some ancient kivas, unseen in spite of many searchings); joy (ravens circling each other high overhead in a ritual of airborne mating); surprise (a dandelion appears overnight after snow in the center of a cow pie); danger (a violent thunderstorm explodes the middle of the night with lightening); security (a fire in the woodstove cackles "All is well!" in spite of the wind buffeting the cabin), and; the gift of time (the presence of the ancients who lived there centuries ago melds into pure leisure, reminding me that there is no more important work right now than being still and watching the light change over the sage bushes). During my three week silence there, my old dog came into his second puppyhood, and I also became new. There we had everything we needed, and nothing was wasted. To those considering a sojourn there: Beware! You will be drawn into deep adventure!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 7/7

• Guest comment entered by owner

  • Guest Cassidy
  • Date of stay 07/24/09
  • Review Submitted 10/06/10
  I stayed at the Jacal with my dog for two nights in late July 2009. I had a lovely time hiking through the canyon, watching the birds at sunset and listening to the coyotes at night. This is the perfect place for reflection, relaxation, and enjoying one of the most beautiful places in New Mexico. Bring food, bring a book, bring a friend (4 legged or otherwise). You will love it here!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

• Guest comment entered by owner

  • Guest Ann Walburn
  • Date of stay 05/10/09
  • Review Submitted 10/06/10
  From the moment the sun appears over the crest of the eastern wall to the moment the first starry light appears in the deep purple sky, Gallina Canyon invites adventure. Whether you are drawn into the adventure of exploration (all those secret clefts and arroyos, all those deer trails up the mesas, the blue light under the fullish moon), or the adventure of the spirit (the silence of the canyon punctuated by winds and bird calls, bellowing elk, running water and thunderstorms, all which will seek you out and tell you secrets), or the adventure of play (ravens circling in an aerial mating dance, playing hide and seek in the ocean of sage, discovering rusty old bedpans by an ancient homestead and the ridiculous strutting of turkeys), or the adventure of rest (reading on the sunny porch or sleeping under a whirling band of galaxy stars)--- Gallina Canyon offers unique hospitality to the world-weary pilgrim. In a world where we more and more depend on outside entertainment, Gallina offers a journey into your own inner resources. There is much to hear, much to watch, much to draw, write, and mimic through song. Once you leave, the gifts of the canyon go on, as you find that nothing is quite as you thought you left it. Large enough to be constantly unfolding, small enough to hold you safe, Gallina is a perfect place to return to again and again and again.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/6

$130 a night; $500 for five nights; $600 for seven nights.
Add 6.5% sales tax to rates above.
We accept credit card payments via PayPal. See our website's rate sheet to pay.
(You do not need a PayPal account to make a reservation with a credit card.)
Half the rental fee is due at the time of booking and the other half upon arrival.
** We require a signed waiver upon arrival. **
No cleaning fee or security deposit.
Please check our availability calendar before emailing.

Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.