R A N C H O D E L C IE LO

Story and photography by Judy Crowell

President Ronald Reagan photos courtesy of
Young Americas Foundation

ancho del Cielo,

(Ranch in the Sky)
sits at an elevation of
approximately 2,300
feet, on 688 acres of remote back
country in Santa Barbara, California. The harrowing, often fog
shrouded, 7 mile drive is laced
with hairpin turns, boulders and
breathtaking views of the Santa
Ynez Valley and Pacific Ocean.
A mile up, its obvious why this
magical retreat is not open to the
public. It would be several hours
later before Id fully realize how
privileged I had been to experience it. I had traveled there in
search of a place and discovered,
instead, the soul of a man a
man who, along the way, happened to become President of the
United States.
On first glimpse, the house appears shockingly small, and at
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a mere 1,500 square feet, touchingly intimate. An L shaped porch

fronts the 1970s Western entry,
warm and inviting in Nancy
red dcor, the only room where
guests were entertained. The living room was their inner sanctum,
containing paintings of Western

landscapes, a gun cabinet and the

famous jellybean jar within arms
reach of the couch. Only a select
few were allowed.
Evidence of the character of this
man is everywhere. In the master
bedroom, a king size bed is comprised of two twins joined. No
need to buy another bed when
they already had two. Mattress too
short? A bench at the foot of the
bed could handle the long presidential legs.
Standing in the two-person
kitchen, youre surrounded by
1970s Harvest Gold appliances,
reminders of his days with General
Electric. Perfect for whipping up a
favorite macaroni and cheese.
His gentle sense of humor made
me smile at every turn: at the
front door plaque (On this site in
1897 nothing happened), on the
riding lawnmower bearing the
presidential seal and on a hilarious

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poster, a spoof of Gone With The

Wind, showing him rescuing a
fainting Margaret Thatcher, Prime
Minister of England.
A round leather table on the front
porch is where the largest tax cut
in American history, the 1980s
Economic Recovery Act, was
signed. When asked at the ranch
what his proudest accomplishment
in life was, he would look around
the ranch, viewing the countless improvements he had made
himself, and answer, building the
dock and surrounding fences out
of telephone poles on the original
property. An oft told story involves a heart shaped stone at the
base of a sycamore tree planted to
commemorate their 25th wedding
anniversary. His gift to Nancy, a
canoe, dubbed the Tru Luv, was put
to use that evening when he rowed
her out on Lucky Lake to propose
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s e a s o n s

once again. She had always wanted

to be proposed to on a lake and he
was every inch a romantic.
Early in the mornings, after presidential homework was completed,
hed climb the hill to the stables,
prepare his Arabian, El Alamein, a
gift from the President of Mexico,
for a ride and ring the antique
train bell belonging originally to
Nancys father, for her to join him
on the trail. Following their ride,
Nancy would head back to the
house to fix breakfast, while the
President looked after their horses.
He received many saddles as gifts,
riding each one once, always English saddle.
Stories of him assisting Secret
Service agents who would fall off
their horses while on duty are endless. Once he phoned a new agent,
wanting to personally welcome
him. The agent was so thrilled to

be meeting Rawhide, the Presidents code name, that he came

barreling down the hill, standing
up on the stirrupsboth no nos.
The horse tripped in a ditch at the
bottom of the hill, throwing the
agent over the horses head, landing him upright on his feet, still
holding the reins. The President,
impressed, turned to his agent and
friend, John Barletta, and said,
Say John, does he always dismount that way?
It was Johns sad duty, when Nancy
couldnt bring herself to do it and
Alzheimers was taking its toll, to
tell the President that he could
no longer ride horseback safely.
Displaying his lifelong empathy for
others, the President turned to his
agent, who was visibly distraught,
put his hands on his shoulders and
said, Its OK, John. I know.
It struck me that the ranch and the

man were one. Both simple and

pure and good, with no room for
pretense. No room for guile. No
room for ego.
Ronald Reagan was the same
person whether with Mikhail
Gorbachev, Queen Elizabeth II
or a stable groom. Everyone got
the same respect. More than any
President in recent memory, I
believe that his public and private

personas were the same. To some

with a more intellectual bent, that
may have been a problem. To the
many, it was his strength and the
source of his becoming known as
the Great Communicator.
Following Reagans death, and
through the contributions of
generous supporters, the ranch was
purchased by the Young Americas
Foundation, a non-profit, non-

political organization dedicated

to promoting the conservative
movement to young people, ideals
embodied by the life of Ronald
Reagan. As stated on their website, www.yaf.org, Rancho del
Cielo serves as both a living history lesson and a testament to the
true character of Ronald Reagan.
How privileged I was to walk in
his steps.
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