SPOT THE EXOTIC WILDLIFE
GEMSBOK
OWL
BOBCAT
AXIS DEER
CARA CARA
LONGHORNS
AOUDAD
MUSTANGS
FALLOW DEER
RATTLE SNAKES QUAIL
ELK
BLUE SNAKES
WILD PIGS
CORAL SNAKES
JAVELINA
ROAD RUNNERS HAWKS
JACK RABBITS
DOVE
EXPLORE
EXPLORE
Within the ranch, wilderness is king. Inside you’ll find a separate 2,500 acre area where exotic animals are raised in optimal habitat. There you will find every wild animal you see here.
COYOTE
DEER
MOUNTAIN LION BLACK BUCKS
WILDEBEEST
Within the ranch, wilderness is king. Inside you’ll find a separate 2,500 acre area where exotic animals are raised in optimal habitat. There you will find every wild animal you see here.
ELK
WILD PIGS
BLUE SNAKES
CORAL SNAKES
OWL
CARA CARA
BOBCAT
LONGHORNS
AXIS DEER
AOUDAD EXPLORE
EXPLORE
DOVE
JACK RABBITS
ROAD RUNNERS HAWKS
JAVELINA
MUSTANGS
FALLOW DEER
to the WILDERNESS of the WESTs MOUNTAIN LION BLACK BUCKS
WILDEBEEST
WELCOME
San Rafael Ranch Santa Elena, Texas capture the thrill
Inside this beautiful setting, panoramic vistas meet plush accommodations. The ranch includes a main house, guest casitas, and central community buildings with a kitchen, bar, and lounge. The dining room overlooks one of the property’s three lakes, and a patio with a liar’s pit.
Al and Loralee West invite you to settle into a secluded sanctuary of rustic elegance where exotic creatures run wild alongside every imaginable creature comfort. This experience takes you expanses away from the everyday for an authentic western-style journey that dynamically blends extravagant luxury with a passion for wilderness.
San Rafael Ranch was designed to preserve authenticity and artfully blend old with new. Hand-crafted materials, carvings, native stone, locally sourced wood, handpainted tiles, and found artifacts all draw upon the rich local history and setting. This lush legacy comes to life naturally as guests interact with their vibrant surroundings, both indoors and out.
The San Rafael Experience
where wilderness is
KING
20,000 acres
Texas Terrain
San Rafael stretches far and wide over 20,000 acres, an enclosed perimeter of the land secured by high fences.
True to their name, the Texas flatlands are as flat as a book, each chapter filled with cacti and mesquite trees rebelliously springing from the sandy soils, and each day’s adventure concluding with a breathtaking, fire-streaked sunset.
Exotic Wildlife Within the ranch, wilderness is king. Inside you’ll find a separate 2,500 acre area where exotic animals are raised in optimal habitat. In this enclosure, you will find white tail deer, elk, black buck, gemsbok, axis deer, aoudad, fallow deer and wildebeest.
HEARTis
where the
The main compound houses a lively 15-acre hub where community activities take place.
Common Areas with Uncommon Charisma Luxury Living and Entertainment Areas
the kitchen:
the lounge:
the exquisite creations of our chef
for a game in our entertainment lounge where you’ll find tv, movies, cards, games and gatherings
embrace
the cantina:
gather
together in an area right next to the heart of the kitchen for fine cocktails and even finer conversation the main dining room:
dine and dance
in a room that generously entertains 30 guests at a time the link:
stop in for a delightful spell at the bar area between the cantina and dining room
join in
the patios:
lie back and relax as you take your pick of multiple patios and gather around to share some tall tales around the crackling fire in one of our two liars’ pits the grounds:
meander
around three lakes and a historical cemetery
ADVENTURE is
where the
capture the thrill of the hunt: Let 20,000 acres be your guide in an unparalleled hunting excursion where you can set your sights on quail, dove, and deer when in season.
gaze upon the grazing
pick up some pointers within our fully featured shooting range with firearms instruction.
master your method
sit ringside under our covered ring for riding and events.
take a tour de horse power
with a shotgun and clay pigeons.
with one of our 4-wheelers available for guided or self-guided trip.
engage your gauge
embrace the great wide open
watch in amazement
within the rifle range.
from the observation tower as colors you never knew existed light up the fiery sky in a beautiful Texas sunset.
take aim
as your ride in open air hunt trucks, available for both hunting and touring.
exotic wildlife and thousands of acres of pristine prairie.
inside the hand gun range.
sit and stay
saddle up
for a bit to observe the hunting dogs at work.
and take one of our horses on a trail ride.
stretch out in a hammock, positioned throughout the property for relaxing, naps, and reading.
feel at
HOME on the range
Settle into a place of your own inside San Rafael’s Lodging: OUR CASITA ES SU CASITA • Three individual Casitas – One bedroom/bath each • North Guest House – three bedrooms with baths and a sitting area • Original Main House – three bedrooms with two baths and a sitting area • South Guest House – two bedrooms with baths, sitting area • Casa West – Loralee & Al’s house AMEN! FOR AMENITIES All rooms are fully equipped with phones, robes, hair dryers and back-up toiletries so that comforts are close at hand. Please remember to bring all your medications, as the closest store is 50 miles away.
RANCH GUESTS HAVE FULL ACCESS TO: • Office/conference room • Exercise room with machines and free weights • Gun/trophy room • Laundry room • Wireless (wifi) is available, most cell phones (mobiles) have service WEATHER While San Rafael Ranch generally has blue skies and warm days, the weather can change quickly and dramatically.You should be prepared for many types of weather throughout the year. In general, the relative humidity in this region is usually low. Afternoon and evening rains often cool the desert from July to October. The rainy season extends from mid-June to October with locally heavy thunderstorms and some flash flooding. However, the water recedes rapidly and the rainy season can be a delightful time to visit the desert.
• WINTER Though generally mild, periods of cold weather –including light snow or ice – are possible. Winter visitors must prepare for a variety of conditions. • SPRING: usually warm and pleasant. • SUMMER May and June are the hottest months. • FALL: usually warm and pleasant. It is highly recommended to check www.weather.com a few days prior to your departure for more accurate temperatures during your visit; please search by zip code 78591. DRESS FOR THE WEATHER A wide-brimmed hat, comfortable clothing, and sturdy walking shoes or boots are necessary for anyone planning to hike. Sunscreen is a must.
once in a
LIFETIME experiences
If these acres could talk ... a timeline
1700s The original ranch was a Spanish land grant, issued after the Rio Grande Valley was colonized in the 1700s. Large tracts near the Rio Grande, some given the names of saints, were made to influential citizens or as rewards for service to the king. This tract was about 2.8 million acres. It was broken up into a number of smaller parcels, or porciones, over the years.
1877 On a manhunt in 1877, a hard-bitten Texas ranger named John B. Armstrong captured outlaw John Wesley Hardin after what the officer later described in a telegram back home as a “lively shooting” aboard a train in Pensacola, Florida. The capture made a hero of Mr. Armstrong, who bought a 50,000-acre plot from the owners of an old Spanish land grant using, according to one account, the $4,000 reward from the capture of the Hardin.
1913 When John Armstrong died in May of 1913, the land passed down to his heirs and soon was known by the family name. He subsequently split up the ranch, giving 5,000 acres each to his grandchildren John and Lucy Armstrong. This 10,000 acre piece, which contains San Rafael’s current main compound, was later purchased from the Armstrongs by Albert N. Rushe.
1940s Sometime before WWII, a parcel covering about 28,000 acres was owned by Amanda Kelsey.
December 2000 Al and Loralee West purchased this piece from Mr. Rushe in December of 2000.
January 2003 The North ranch, containing 7,500 acres, was purchased by the Wests in January of 2003 from Ford Smith.
May 2003 The final piece of 2,500 acres, referred to as the West ranch, was acquired from George Henderson in May of 2003.
The Ranch today As plans to renovate this historic land commenced, the intent was to preserve authenticity and artfully blend old with new. Buildings on the property are a mix of preservation and new construction, but everything is designed with a unmistakable nod to times past. Hand-crafted materials, carvings, native stone, locally sourced wood, handpainted tiles, and found artifacts all reinforce the local history and setting. This rich heritage naturally comes to life as each new group of visitors interacts with their vibrant surroundings.
The modern estate includes a main house, guest casitas, and central buildings with a kitchen, bar, and lounge. The dining room overlooks one of the property’s three lakes and a patio with a liar’s pit. Designs for the current San Rafael facilities began in the fall of 2001, and were prepared by the MS&R architectural firm, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Construction started in late 2003, with Berkeley Builders leading the edfforts. The following is a brief chronology of the construction:
3. Shortly after that, construction began on the Dining Room and Link Bar (1,876 sq. ft.), the Kitchen/Cantina building (3,644 sq. ft.), and then the Lounge (2,100 sq. ft.). At this point, Loralee West decided to save and restore two of the ranch’s original bunk houses, which have been part of the ranch, along with the Main house, since 1830. These bunk houses were completely rebuilt, and they now serve as staff casitas.
1. The first two buildings to undergo construction were actually not part of the main compound. These were the two Ranch Manager’s houses.
4. The following phase included remodeling three existing buildings – the office, the north guest house, and the old main house. In addition, another original bunk house was saved and converted into a laundry facility.
2. The next group of buildings started were the pump house, the three guest Casitas (760 sq. ft. each), the Vehicle Storage Building (3,240 sq. ft.), and the Gun Room (1,036 sq. ft.).
5. The final set of buildings to be constructed included Al and Loralee’s personal facility, referred to as “Casa West;” the South Guest House; and a third new Staff Casita.
luxury in the
MAKING
No block of “Ol Yella” left unturned Three principles guided the construction of the ranch as it stands today. One, these buildings were built Texas big and required massive amounts of construction materials. Two, building materials have all been locally sourced wherever possible, requiring many unique arrangements to complete such a monumental task. And three, the intent to preserve the historical context of the property was a driving force that is distinctly visible and undeniably tangible around the estate. •
In keeping with local tradition, the primary construction materials for all new buildings include both a Texas limestone referred to as “Ol Yella” and stucco applied over adobe blocks, concrete blocks, and wood frame construction.
•
It took nearly 1.25 million lbs. of the “Ol Yella” Texas limestone blocks to construct the San Rafael ranch buildings. This stone was quarried just west of San Antonio and brought down on flatbed trucks, 25 tons at a time.
•
•
•
The wood beams, columns, rafters, and decking throughout the complex, both inside and out, are constructed with cypress. There is no such thing as a cypress store, where one can go to buy this lumber. Cypress lumber must be customordered from mills in Louisiana. The suppliers actually go out into the cypress swamps and cut the trees to order. The cypress is then rough milled to size and sent to the end user. The San Rafael Ranch required approximately 350,000 lbs. of cypress. After drying and curing the wood for eight to 10 weeks, the wood was milled to the correct sizes in the shop on the grounds of San Rafael. The colorful wall and floor tiles throughout the ranch’s various buildings come mainly from Mexico. Guests will see “Cantera,” a form of limestone cut into tiles and “Saltillo” tiles, soft clay tiles that are non-uniform in size. In addition, “Talavera” tiles were used for several of the Casita and porch floors and for many of the wall tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen. These tiles are all hand-made and hand-painted and also vary greatly in size, pattern, and shape. The porches around the Guest Casitas, the Kitchen, and the vehicle storage complex are
covered with a flagstone called “Oklahoma Sugarloaf.” This flagstone also comprises the ranch’s 22,000 sq. ft. of sidewalks, adding up to a half acre just in walkways! The total amount of “Oklahoma Sugarloaf ” used throughout the ranch is in excess of 2,000,000 lbs. •
Texas mesquite wood is prevalent around the property. Characterized by its dark reddish brown color and an abundance of cracks and fissures, Texas mesquite is an extremely hard wood by nature and is able to be finished with hand-rubbed oil rather than being varnished.
•
The array of hand carved details that punctuate the property are also made from Texas mesquite. Cabinets, shelves, doors, wall panels, mantels, and even flooring, are all embellished with customcarved embellishment. Amazingly enough, all of this carving is the work of one incredibly skilled craftsman, an immigrant from San Salvador who has been so devoted to this beautiful endeavor that he hasn’t returned home in 16 years.
•
The main complex, which incorporates all ranch buildings, covers about nine acres. If you factor in its two surrounding lakes, the span of the area is just over 15 acres.
San Rafael Ranch 290 San Rafael Ranch Road Santa Elena, Texas 78591 Phone: 956.481.3410 Fax: 956.481.4007
Ranch Manager – Blue Lanam 956.279.1718 Asst. Manager – Jorge Alvarez 956.330.3999