Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Cecil.
Hi Lauren, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Charlie Cecil, Jr. (aka “Grandpa Cecil”) first traveled to Big Bend in 1935, when the infamous FM 170 River Road was a dirt road winding from Presidio to Terlingua. He loaded his truck bed with large rocks to be able to make it up the hills without burying his tires in the sandy soil. Some four decades later he would retire to the area (6 miles southeast of Presidio) after having fished and hunted there on business trips and weekend trips with friends. In 1979 Grandpa Cecil and his wife, Carrie (yes, “Grandma Cecil,” originally from Flint, Michigan), moved a modest 1974 Berkely trailer house onto their property to live in. They affectionately named the ranch “CC Ranch,” and worked cattle with a local ranch hand, Beto Marquez, and his friend Fabian. Fabian, at one time, lived in the old adobe house that is believed to have been built circa 1915. The house is still there today. Grandpa and Grandma Cecil provided a safe haven for my husband, Charlie Cecil IV, from the time he was 5 years old. Charlie (my husband) had a tumultuous childhood, and he found great peace when his grandparents would whisk him away to their desert retreat. It was this solace that forged the love of this place into Charlie’s soul. He lived with his grandparents for a couple of years and attended Kindergarten and some of 1st grade in Presidio. He stood out as the only fair-skinned blonde-headed kid and quickly learned some Spanish and how to throw rocks should he find himself in a rock fight after school (and he did find himself in rock fights after school). Fortunately, Charlie’s best friend, Beto Marquez, was also the school bus driver so he picked up little Charlie every morning for school. Charlie became quick friends with Beto’s youngest (late) daughter, Erica, and his youngest son, Sammy; they remain friends (like family) to this day. Charlie began whisking me away to CC Ranch in 2000 and proposed to me on the property in November 2001 (we had dated for 2 years in high school, 1993-1995, and then almost another 2 years before we married in June 2002). Charlie inherited CC Ranch from Grandpa and Grandma upon their passing (Grandpa in 2007 and Grandma in 2016). We bought an adjacent property at state auction, renamed the entire property Rio Bravo Ranch and started our primitive camping venture, Rio Bravo Ranch Campground, in 2019. The campground was a labor of love. We built and installed the shade structures, picnic tables, fire rings with cooking grates, firewood lockers (with the help of our good friend and welder, Jerry White), and outdoor shower to service the 3 sites, RB1, RB2, and Star Party (accessible by 4WD vehicle only). We worked hard to build a place of solace for others to enjoy. Secured within the locked gate, campers visit from far and wide to enjoy the “360 views” of the Big Bend Ranch State Park Mountain range (the campground is just 5 miles from the entrance of the 311,000-acre state park) at least 600 yards from the nearest campsite. I manage the campground via Hipcamp and Airbnb and have maintained Superhost status throughout the 3 years. We have over 100 5-star reviews. I sort of LOVE hospitality. In 2020 we started our next venture, Big Bend Jeep, a premier Jeep rental company to aid visitors in experiencing all that Big Bend State Park and Big Bend National Park have to offer. We provide a quality product (a 2020 Jeep Rubicon with a 2.5” lift, 35” tires, all the bells, and whistles, etc.) with my favorite…hospitality. Always dreaming of the next venture, Charlie and I most recently bought another adjacent property in June of 2021. This property is special because it has an authentic adobe house built in 1984 by Earthspace out of Santa Fe, NM on it. This was especially exciting because for the last 3 years our family of 5 (we have 3 daughters: Channing, Holland & Reagan) had been camping in a small, one-room building without plumbing when we would stay at the ranch (we live in Abilene, TX and travel to Rio Bravo once a month and sometimes twice a month and most holidays and weeks at a time summer and Christmas). Charlie had admired this house as a child and always knew it was something special. The house is less than 20 yards away from where the late artist, Kelly Pruitt, lived in a jacal that is still somewhat preserved today. We named the house after the Mexican Mountain opposite Rio Bravo Ranch, La Centinela (the Sentinel, meaning the lookout), as it looks out over the Rio Grand River and we believe is looked out by the surrounding Mexican mountains: La Sierrita, Cerros Las Cuchillas, Sierra Rica (one of the tallest mountains in the region and an area where PonchoVilla staged his raids on Ojinaga, Mexico) and its namesake, La Centinela. The architecturally-designed adobe is perched high above FM 170 (the River Road) which is widely considered the most scenic road in the entire Lone Star State. It is geographically located just west of Alamito Creek and its confluence with the Rio Grande. The alluvial hills are the very beginning of riverside elevation on the U.S. side. Their significance extends back to the earliest settlers of La Junta in the Trans Pecos Region through the Jumano Apache then through generations of our family and now for our guests. The views from the 1,000+ sq ft back porch are second to none from sunrise to sunset. Then the views of the stars take over. We have decided to offer the house as a luxurious desert accommodation, providing high-quality amenities and a high-quality experience. Some of these amenities to compliment the views (from EVERY window in the house…including the view of the Rio Grande from the window in the master shower) include: New furniture from Ar Haus, Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, custom mesquite (from the ranch) tables crafted by our friend, Stephen Lowry, a custom concrete coffee table designed and built by Thomas Lancaster (Marfa Cementworks), The Lone Rider framed print by Jon Flaming, American Cotton organic cotton sheets, Redland Cotton organic cotton bath towels, Molton Brown bath products, Cuisinart/Kitchen Aid/Williams Sonoma – stocked kitchen, Google Nest Wifi (NOT easy to get great wi-fi through the thick adobe walls, but we did it haha), JBL Xtreme 3 speaker and so many thoughtfully-procured design elements (i.e. geodes cut and polished by Grandpa Cecil, music composition composed by one of the previous owners, etc.). The house is a blend of a vintage vibe with new comforts. It represents the desert and its rugged beauty. My mother-in-law, Grandpa, and Grandma Cecil, and unknown Native Americans are buried at Rio Bravo Ranch. The place has been in my husband’s soul for his entire life. I got here as quick as I could, and now it’s in mine too. This house, La Centinela, will always be a work in progress for us. While we do love it as it is, we want to highlight its admirable qualities. So, we will continue to remodel and renovate, interspersed with making the adobe available for guests to book on Airbnb, Vrbo, and soon our own booking website. We’re making it available for yoga retreats, painting workshops, weddings, parties, songwriting weekends, etc. Yes, I want to continue providing that superior hospitality. I’m creating a guidebook, reaching out to sources for advertising, attending events, etc. At the end of the day, we care similarly about the things that mattered to Kelly Pruitt: art, history, conservation, sustainable building, and sustainable agriculture. So, that is what will lead us to our next venture whatever it may be. I’m afraid this is the short version of this story.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our biggest obstacle has been our commute to work for these businesses. It’s a 7-hour drive between where we live full time (Abilene, TX) and where our hearts live (Rio Bravo Ranch / Presidio, TX). Our family of 5 makes the trip at least once a month every month and sometimes more than that. We make the most of our time working on-site, and we have built quite the team of friends in the area that take care of our guests and other things while we’re not there.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am concentrating on building my vacation rental business at Rio Bravo Ranch with the campground and La Centinela as well as incorporating the adventure side of things in owning and managing Big Bend Jeep. I’m passionate about helping my guests plan and execute their Big Bend Vacations. I’m like a long-distance travel agent, really. My husband, Charlie, works full-time as a surgeon. He’s often the visionary behind these ventures, and I’m the “face” of it taking care of the day-in, day-out logistics, and management. Sometimes he has the ideas, not knowing that we will really bring them to fruition. For example, he originally mentioned that we could provide the area with a Jeep rental company. We both acknowledged the need for one as we met countless visitors who couldn’t experience all the state and national parks had to offer in their 2wd sedans and trucks. Our friends who worked at Big Bend Ranch State Park were always telling us of visitors who needed rescuing or even just guidance on where they should and should not take their personal vehicles. We discussed it for a couple of years (formed the LLC for it, bought the website domain, everything, almost everything). Well, I arranged for advertising for Big Bend Jeep to be released in the 2020 issue of Stewart Ramser’s Big Bend Travel Guide…before we had even purchased a single Jeep! Charlie was floored. I told him we had no choice but to start the business! Big Bend Jeep opened almost simultaneously as the 2020 Big Bend Travel Guide was published. Our deep-rooted history of Rio Bravo Ranch and South Presidio County, our love for the land of Big Bend and the great state of Texas, and our commitment to providing a quality product/experience coupled with unmatched hospitality sets a stay at Rio Bravo Ranch Campground and La Centinela apart, far apart. Personal attention to customer service and a streamlined operation sets Big Bend Jeep apart, far and away apart. We take the business to heart. Our children are very integrated into the ventures as well. They are expected to help out too, sometimes joyfully and sometimes in the dead 116-degree heat of summer. They are proud of their work, and it shows in the online reviews and in the local and long-distance relationships we’ve built with other business owners and our campers/house guests/Jeep renters.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’ve been tremendously inspired by Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. My favorite podcasts include “Get Paid for Your Pad,” “Bigger Pockets Real Estate Podcast,” “Entrepreneurs on Fire” and “Where the Buffalo Roam” who we joined as guests for two episodes. I’ve also been a member for a short time of VRMA (Vacation Rental Management Association) and found great value in the online resources for managing vacation rentals.
Contact Info:
- Email: riobravoranch1979@gmail.com
- Website: www.riobravoranchtx.com
- Instagram: @riobravoranchtx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riobravoranchtx
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/9lpwy8Yowog
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/big-bend-jeep-presidio-2
- Other: https://www.riobravoranchtx.com/
Image Credits
Charlie Cecil
Jerod Foster
Kinsey Hotchkiss
Gabby Campbell
