It was one of our long term dreams.  A haven to retreat to, a longer pause in our travels, a legacy for our children and grandchildren that would fill them with wonder as it does us, everytime we step outside.   We spent over two years looking at properties up and down the Sierra foothills and up into Oregon, filling in pages of charts recording acreage, whether well and septic were in place, access, wifi, small town ambience.  

We found we kept circling back to McCloud and Mt. Shasta Forest Properties.  I came to believe that the mountain itself was seductive.  She’s such an iconic mountain, brimming with legend and unsolved mystery.  McCloud is a classic small town with literally NO stoplights and considerable charm and pride in its railroad history.

So last summer, we finally closed the sale.  I can’t count how many times we’ve found ourselves saying almost involuntarily, “So glad that we settled on this property!”  We seem to be in a constant state of celebration, even when we’re battling chipmunks who seem determined to move in with us, even when tourists steal our wifi on weekends (Starlink on the way!), even when the roadwork designed to be a temporary replacement for the road taken out by a glacier three years ago has delivered forty flat tires so far, all within the past three weeks.

When free range cattle started passing through our 5 acres last summer, we decided we were a ranch.  We’ve dubbed our land “Stronghaven Ranch.”  

We’ve made dozens of friends, and find that we’re entirely entertained by the very interactive board meetings and the eclectic, welcoming McCloud population.  

Stronghaven Ranch is a testament to our education in making big hearts’ desires a reality.  We believe that our almost compulsive floods of gratitude are at the root of our life victories.