The Savage Traveler: Winter Trip 2015: McCoy Remmes 7 Springs Ranch

Sun. Feb. 1: In the morning we needed to not just pack up the camper and make a lunch, but also pack bags to stay at the ranch where we were meeting Ann and Shelby. We got on our way and took I10 west to Balmorhae, stopping only to eat our lunch at a rest area. The sun was shining but there was what Marv called “a 13.4 mpg headwind” which made the mid-fifties feel pretty chilly. We managed a couple of quick calls to keep track of Ann & Shelby’s progress and followed the directions we had to take T10 past Balmorhae State Park, where we had stayed on our two other trips to Texas. We turned south on T17 towards Fort Davis about 8 miles and exactly a mile past Boy Scout Camp Road we turned into the ranch. It was really thrilling to think that we had driven past this ranch on our first trip to Texas, never knowing that we were “related” to it. Here’s the story: Marv’s sister and brother-in-law, Ann and Shelby Robertsons’, middle daughter is Laurel. She is married to Andy McCoy. The McCoy family has a large number of lumber/hardware stores in Texas and other states called McCoy Lumber. Andy’s Aunt and Uncle, Brenda and Caare Remmes, manage the McCoy Remmes Ranch, which has grown to include about 40 contiguous ranches that stretch 34 miles over many thousands of acres. Caare has bought out others in the family but the headquarters, at 7 Springs Ranch, is open to the rest of the family and all are welcomed to it, particularly for major events throughout the year. When Andy learned we were going to be in Texas he encouraged us to visit the ranch and Brenda and Caare insisted we come and stay with them for a few days. They usually fly their plane from their home in San Marcos when they come, but it was being repaired so they had to drive the six hours to meet us. When we pulled in we were between two large one-story houses and, finding no answer at the home on the right, we went to the home on the left. Caare greeted us at the door and ushered us into a large game room, where we met Brenda and hugged Ann and Shelby. Brenda is an effusive, warm hostess who looks tiny beside her husband and talks a mile a minute and went to great lengths to make us feel welcome. She gave us a quick tour of the house, starting with where we had entered. The room was an outpost of Fort Davis (more on that later in the trip) in the mid-1800s and when they renovated the rest of the house about 6 years ago, they left the room as it was including the old wavy glass in the windows. Former owners had added on to the building so that now it has 5 large bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, along a long hallway lined with hooks and bookcases on one side. Straight ahead is a Great Room attached to a dining room with a table that has 12 places and can be extended to nearly double that. The entire wall is floor to ceiling windows looking over a large pond with hills, mesas and Star Mountain behind the pond. The dining room is open to the large, well-appointed kitchen with Caare’s office behind it. Everything is lovingly decorated with a western Texas motif and Brenda has a story to go with every book, picture, knick-knack, and piece of furniture. It is absolutely magnificent and yet so warm and hospitable that one feels immediately comfortable and at home. Our room was at the end of the hallway, Ann & Shelby were at the other end and Caare and Brenda have their master bedroom in the middle. After putting our things in the room we washed up and had a hearty dinner of beef stew and crusty bread. Then we all settled into the Great Room to watch Super Bowl XVIX, and see Seattle throw on second down and goal in the closing seconds in a play that will go down in infamy as New England intercepted and won the game.

Mon. Feb. 2: We got up before 8:00 and had a good breakfast of toast, fruit and an egg and sausage casserole. Their housekeeper, Paula, comes from Fort Stockton every Mon., Tue., and Wed. so Brenda insisted we not worry about dishes or cleaning up. Everyone piled into the Remmes’ white 4-wheel drive Suburban and, as the morning fog lifted from the canyons, Caare gave us an all morning tour of the sprawling ranch and his many enterprises. I can’t do justice to all he told us and showed us as we drove. He considers himself an Environmental Manager and believes everything comes down to relationships—between resources, animals, land, weather, geography, water, and people. He has an amazing breadth of knowledge that has allowed him to raise about 1200 head of cattle in this desert environment. He also can articulate what he is doing and how he bases his decisions. On the east part of the ranch, north of I10, he is installing acres and acres of solar panels that will make it possible to pump rather than truck gas and oil that are being mined, not only on their ranch, but also for surrounding mines. When the project is completed it will produce over 13000 kilowatts of power, and make the area an electric energy producer not just consumer. We drove several miles east on I10 and up a very marginal road to a remote hillside where we could look over the vista for miles around. I asked about a mesa on the horizon that he said was seven miles away and the ranch reaches beyond that. Brenda kept urging Caare to wrap it up and get us home by 12:30 for lunch, which he did. I was chuckling at her insistence when she told me on the side that if she didn’t keep reminding him, he would go on all day. Brenda served us a nice lunch of vegetable soup with crackers, cheese and sausage. Caare had some business to take care of so while he was busy Brenda showed us around the rest of the buildings. In a small outbuilding behind the main ranch house they have put in a gym with several machines, weights, and a shower. Beside that is an old bunk house that now has a small kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms with lots of beds. She said that the cousins (including Andy) always liked to have that house to themselves and it can easily sleep 10 kids. Across the drive is a house they lived in while they renovated the big house. The smaller house has three bedrooms, another kitchen, several bathrooms, and a nice porch. In a wide hallway there is a mounted full-size mountain lion that had come just steps away from the porch. Again, everything is decorated with the West Texas motif and includes chaps, ropes, and other items that Caare uses as a rancher.

When Caare was finished he offered to take us up into Mares Pasture across the highway from the ranch houses. As we were making our way up the rudimentary two track he came upon a leaking water pipe bringing water downhill from a cistern above. It made the track too slippery and muddy for us to continue. In another place a huge boulder had rolled down the hill into the road so we couldn’t go that way either. Assuring us that those repairs would be a top priority and fixed by the next day, he settled for taking us up to another mesa with a great view out over the countryside. His love and pride in the ranch are evident as he shows people around. Back at the ranch Brenda had a wonderful dinner of three kinds of Bar-B-Que from their favorite place in San Marcos with sides of cole slaw and green beans which she prepared. It was all delicious and we were stuffed the rest of the evening as we watched a spectacular sunset and visited until bedtime.