,Joe Rivera owned a ranch, which had been passed on to him by his father, Conrado. The Rivera family had lived in the region for many years and owned other property nearby. Conrado bought this property in the 1930s to be near  his aging father, Reyes Rivera. 

Besides the little red barn we saw near the entrance, the only  building on the land just beyond were a modest, single story, white frame house, a shed, and off in the distance, a shepherd’s hut that we were told, was part of the original homestead.

With Joe’s Rivera permission, we drove along a rugged path to the top of the first mesa, Lefebres Mesa, named for the French family that long ago settled via Canada to Taos. We came to discover  the orginal name of the ranch was “Lefebres Ranch”, though the family  has no remaining tie to it. From there we gazed out over the rim at the breathtaking expanse of the ranchland below. We continue to explore the land, discovering Lefebres Creek, which flows out of the mountains, goes underground, and eventually empties into the Canadian River to the south.

Twin Willow Ranch- now Twin Willows Ranch- covered 1,100 acres, almost equally divided between the pastureland and high country. At about 7,500 feet elevation, it rose to 8,900 atop the mesa. The green pastures extended to the foot of the mesa, which was cloaked in scrub oak and stands of huge, healthy Panderosa pine, White fir, and Douglas fir.

After  exploring the land and peering out over the valley, we all agreed that the land was simply extraordinary. We loved the mix of pasture  surrounded by forested mesa.We wanted a ranch that we would enjoy as a family, a place where we could hike, ride horseback, care for animals, especially rescue animals. Most of all, we wanted a ranch that would serve as a destination, a place from our everyday lives, where we could all come together.

Twin Willow offered all that and more. We knew the search was over-We found what we were looking for. We bought Twin Willow Ranch from Joe Rivera.