Celebrating Life at Bandy Canyon Ranch

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Family and friends were coming from out-of-town, out-of-state and even out of the country for my mother’s funeral. Wanting to have them close at hand and close to each other, I reached out to Bandy Canyon Ranch to find out if they had cottages available for that weekend. Fortunately, they did.

Nestled in a canyon in the San Pasqual Valley of San Diego County, Bandy Canyon Ranch is a treasured family memory. All of my nieces and nephews grew up coming to The Ranch at Bandy Canyon for special birthday parties. Now they were excited to be back and to experience The Ranch with their children (my great-nieces and great-nephews). What better way to celebrate the life of their grandmother/great-grandmother? Grammy Jo loved The Ranch and never missed an opportunity to visit it.

The Cottages at Bandy Canyon Ranch

When you first arrive, the first cottages near the parking area are the Canary Cottage (right), with the attached Nightingale Cottage.

Dove Cottage is nestled up on a hill near The Lodge.

The Swift Cabin and the Kestrel Cabins are located in a wooded area near the stream that runs through Bandy Canyon Ranch.

A view of three cabins – The Sparrow on the left, The Peacock on the right and The Blackbird in the distance.

The two-level Eagle’s Nest Cabin towers up between two magnificent trees. A corner of The Mockingbird cabin can be seen on the right. In all, The Ranch at Bandy Canyon has 15 cottages scattered around more than 100 acres.

“In all things in nature, there is something marvelous.” – Aristotle

FREE Printable – Nature Quote Aristotle

Friday at The Ranch at Bandy Canyon

Arriving Friday afternoon, each family checked-into their cabins and explored their surroundings.

Kyle (my nephew on the left), with his nephew, Dylan (my great-nephew on the right), settled into the adorably tiny Sparrow Cottage.

Payton (my great-niece) and her pug, Dude, took a walk. As the rest of the guests arrived, they checked-in, toured around a bit, then came over to my house for dinner.

After dinner, my family returned to Bandy Canyon Ranch and settled into their cabins for the night. Dude and Payton, above, are in their cabin having some playtime before lights out!

As the sun set over the mountains surrounding The Ranch, my family enjoyed a quiet evening of rest and relaxation without the distraction of modern technology. There’s no television at The Ranch at Bandy Canyon, although The Pelican Cottage (the living room, if you will, for Bandy Canyon Ranch) does have movies and a big screen for viewing them. Bandy Canyon Ranch is truly a place to unplug, unwind, and get back to nature.

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.” – John Ruskin

FREE Printable -Nature Quote John Ruskin

Saturday at Bandy Canyon Ranch

The next morning, the group woke up to a pounding rainstorm! While rain is unusual in San Diego County (less than 12 inches a year), the month of March is what we would call “rainy season.” Here’s a little tidbit for those of you planning a vacation in San Diego in the future: May and June in San Diego are known as “May Gray” and “June Gloom” because those two months are usually very overcast and cloudy.

Not worried about a little bit of rain (San Diegans love rain!), Payton and Parker take Dude for an early morning walk near the entrance to The Lodge.

After the rain let up, Belle and Hayden (both great-nieces) crossed the bridge leading to The Lodge at Bandy Canyon Ranch. One-by-one, the others headed to The Lodge to have a light breakfast of fruit, pastries, and beverages.

Caitlyn (great-niece), Dylan (great-nephew) and Nicole (niece) choose breakfast snacks and beverages at the bar set up in The Lodge as a self-serve continental breakfast area.

Kyle sneaks an early-morning breakfast hug from his niece, Belle. Afterward, the wet landscape doesn’t stop an impromptu game of tossing a football back and forth.

Kyle throws the football…

Little Belle leans in to catch the football!

Dylan joins in throwing the football back to Kyle.

As word spreads of the impromptu football game, more great-nieces and great-nephews get into the football action; Kyle throws the football high in the sky!

Jealous, Dude watches the kids play football from his bird’s eye view inside the cabin.

Free at last, Dude enjoyed running after the kids as they explored The Ranch at Bandy Canyon.

Parker, Kyle, Belle (you can only see one of her tiny legs in front of Kyle!), and Hayden walk along the muddy dirt path leading to the railroad car bridge. Erected by Charlie’s brother 40+ years ago, the railroad car bridge traverses the creek that runs through Bandy Canyon Ranch. With the ends of the railroad car removed and the sliding doors cut out of the sides, and a steel railing installed, this bridge provides an enchanting way to view the creek, especially when it is roaring after a rainstorm.

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

FREE Printable – Nature Quote John Muir

The other side of the railroad car bridge (see it peeking out in the distance?) leads to a beautifully manicured lawn area with picnic tables next to the horse stables.

On the east side of the lawn is another bridge that crosses over the creek to The Lodge (peeking through the trees on the right).

Finally, the girls (Parker, Belle, and Hayden) get to meet the horses! This is Dandy, everyone’s favorite.

Kyle, Belle, and Caitlyn meet Sheriff, the Ranch’s dog at the stables. In the meantime, Parker runs back to her cabin to get her sister, Payton.

Parker and Payton get close and personal with Spessie, the horse at the stable.

And, of course, Dude comes to visit the horses, too, and everyone smiles for the camera!

Belle pets Lela the horse…

And, she’s joined by her brother, Andrew.

Parker convinces her grandmother, Gail (my sister), that not only should they feed the horses carrots, but they need to ride the horses. Dude concurs. So, they make arrangements for an afternoon horse ride.

Chatting excitedly with a Ranch employee, Belle gets her helmet…

Parker gets her helmet. Can you guess what day this was? St. Patrick’s Day, of course! Parker thought to dress for the occasion with her St. Patrick’s Day T-shirt.

While the other girls get their helmets on, Payton takes a moment to greet Jake, the mini donkey.

Here’s a close-up of this adorable mini-donkey. The Ranch at Bandy Canyon has a petting zoo with Jake, the mini-donkey, plus a couple of sheep, a goat, rabbits and several ducks that swim in the creek and pond.

Mom and daughters pose for the camera – Tiffany (Payton and Parker’s mother and my niece), Gail (Payton and Parker’s grandmother and my sister), and Samantha (Payton and Parker’s aunt and my niece).

While Dandy is saddled, the girls give him lots of attention!

Payton, Parker, Hayden, and Belle pose with Dandy after he’s saddled.

Wonder who will ride Dandy first?

Belle!

No, wait! Caitlyn (in her St. Patrick’s Day shirt) is on Dandy!

Isn’t that Parker on Dandy?

That Dandy gets around!

The rest of the group gets saddled up for the ride, too. This is Andrew on Dualley…

This is Nicole’s (my niece) family: Belle (running on the left), husband Albert, Andrew (on Dualley, the horse), Nicole (pregnant holding onto Dandy) and Caitlyn (on Dandy the horse).

This is Dylan (my great-nephew), on Molly the mule, posing with his mom, Melissa (my niece and Nicole’s sister).

Melissa with her daughter, Hayden (my great-niece) getting ready for her ride on Dualley.

Tiffany poses with her girls on horseback before their ride. Payton is on Molly the mule and Parker (right) looks raring to go on Dandy!

Payton saddled up on Molly the mule and ready to go…

and they’re off! Parker (left), Payton (middle) and Hayden (right) lead the way for the rest. So, how do you top an afternoon of horseback riding in a beautiful, secluded hidden gem of a ranch?

By strolling around the ranch and stopping for photo ops (Dylan, my great-nephew poses with his grandmother, Dawn, my sister)…

or by laying in a hammock and enjoying the day…and

relishing the blue skies with giant puffy white clouds rolling by, leaving the rain behind, already an afterthought.

or screaming in glee at the sight of a swing hanging from a giant tree.

The swing is very low to the ground to prevent accidents…perfect for kids!

Think swinging on this swing is fun with one person?

How about two?

Parker joins her big sis, Payton (on left), for fun on the swing!

Oops! Payton is thrown off-balance for a moment!

Balanced once again!

Oops! Parker turns into a 3-armed monster on the swing when Payton jumped off behind her!

Hayden and Caitlyn join Parker for awhile on the swing.

Dude, the Pug, watches the girls from a safe distance on a rock.

And, when swinging was over, for the time being, Parker rode her bike up and down the long asphalt pathways that meander throughout The Ranch at Bandy Canyon.

When she spied Hayden and Belle drawing on the asphalt with chalk, the bike riding came to a halt and she had to join the fun!

My nephew, Kyle, and his mother and my sister, Dawn, pose on one of the bridges (this one leading to The Lodge).

That evening, the men and boys grilled hamburgers and hot dogs at the grill located at the pool’s kitchen/bar and we all huddled together inside The Pelican Cottage for a casual dinner.

The cute sign on the gate to the pool!

I created this special “postcard” of Bandy Canyon Ranch just for Pinterest.

Sunday at Bandy Canyon Ranch

The next morning everyone got ready to head out to San Diego’s Embarcadero for my Mom’s burial at sea. Above is Hayden (my Mom’s great-granddaughter) and her mom, Melissa (my Mom’s granddaughter) looking lovely dressed in their Sunday best for the funeral.

These pretty girls are Tiffany (my Mom’s granddaughter and my niece) and her two daughters, Parker and Payton (my Mom’s great-granddaughters), pose under the Bandy Canyon sign looking fetching in their best dress for the service.

The beautiful tiled fountain located in the center of the area known as The Pavillion, which is located between The Lodge and The Pelican Cottage, symbolizes the serenity of the morning.

Late afternoon, after my Mom’s burial at sea, family and friends returned to The Ranch to share memories of my Mom. The above photo is Ali, me, and Gina carrying bouquets from the ship. Mother (Gina) and daughter (Ali) are long-time friends of 28 years. My mother was Ali’s nanny (and her brother, Sam) for the first few years of her life. Gina is like a sister to me and her two children are my niece and nephew in my heart. Separated by thousands of miles most of the time, we have somehow managed to remain dear friends throughout the years with their many regular visits back to the U.S. They did not hesitate to come from England when they heard the news that their Grammy Jo had passed away.

Here’s Sam being silly, lounging on the lawns below the pool area. When he was a little boy, my mother brought both him and Ali to The Ranch for parties or just to swim in the pool.

Even though it was cold by Southern California standards, Sam couldn’t resist taking a plunge in the hot tub. After all, he’s from England, so a hearty soul has he!

Gina brought the kids a giant chocolate bar from England.

Later that evening, we all gathered together again in The Pelican Cottage to share a pizza dinner brought in by my brother, Glenn. Left to right in the photo above: Jay, Samantha (my niece), Ali (my niece-at-heart), Gail (my sister), and Sam (my nephew-at-heart); if you look closely, you’ll see my nephew, Chris, in the mirror taking this photo!

Hayden and Caitlyn share some girl-time together in the Pelican cottage.

Hayden and Belle get silly in the Pelican cottage. In the background, from left to right, Glenn (my brother), Dawn (my sister), and Mike (my cousin) get serious.

Boys will be boys! Three of my nephews get silly on the porch of the Pelican cottage (from left to right: Chris, Sam, and Kyle).

Later, Sam takes a breather on the porch by himself. There were many, many people there and these photos don’t include them all! I didn’t take one photo the entire weekend, so reached out to family and friends to send me their photos. All of these photos were taken by either Ali, Kyle, Melissa, Nicole, or Tiffany. Thanks to all for sharing!

Not shown in all these photos, but also present at some point over this 3-day event, were: Anna, Dorothea, Gretti, Tim, Zoe, Jim, and Jade.

Here’s a collage for Pinterest just for you!

A peaceful retreat nestled in a remote canyon in San Diego County, Bandy Canyon Ranch is the place to disconnect and recharge. Take a step back in time and enjoy this hidden gem communing with nature and spending nights in quiet… Click To Tweet

Weddings at The Ranch at Bandy Canyon

While Bandy Canyon Ranch does rent out cabins to overnight guests, it is also a destination wedding venue. In fact, Charlie and I were the very first couple to get married at Bandy Canyon Ranch 25+ years ago. To learn more about destination weddings at The Ranch at Bandy Canyon, visit their website. They also showcase more recent country weddings with stunning photography. Here are photos from our wedding at Bandy Canyon Ranch 29 years ago:

Me and my Dad crossing the bridge before walking down the aisle.

Me and Charlie walking down the aisle at Bandy Canyon Ranch after saying our vows!

Charlie making me laugh during the photo shoot.

My parents, Chuck and Jo, posing in front of a wagon at Bandy Canyon Ranch at our wedding. My Mom, a talented seamstress, made her dress!

Charlie and I pose with Charlie’s family after our wedding!

Charlie and I pose with some of my family on the steps leading up to the pool at The Ranch at Bandy Canyon.

We were married in September and it rained that morning. We did not have a backup plan. Fortunately, the skies cleared and with the help of a small army, we were able to mop up the rain puddles in time for our afternoon wedding!

So, whether you are planning a destination wedding, a corporate event, a dude ranch vacation, or a unique getaway for peace and solitude, add The Ranch at Bandy Canyon to your bucket list.

You Might Also Like:

5 Places That Aren’t on Your Bucket List but Should Be by Silvia at Heart My Backpack

16 Epic Places in the United States That Even Americans Don’t Know About by Leena at Culture Trip

The Best Horse Riding Vacations in America by Anna at Travel Awaits