Sonoita resort designed for vets with post traumatic stress

When Boulder Crest celebrates its grand opening later this month, the historic and breathtakingly beautiful ranch in Sonoita will bring its mission of posttraumatic growth to a national population that since 9/11 has grown to more than 700,000 combat veterans and 1.4 million family members.

Privately-funded by an impressive list of individual donors and organizations, Boulder Crest is the brainchild of Ken and Julia Falk. Ken is, a 21-year Navy SEAL veteran who founded the organization and opened the first retreat near his Virginia home on Sept. 6, 2013.

His inspiration for Boulder Crest began while Falk was attending Georgetown University as a graduate student. Often during breaks in his studies, sometimes before returning to his home, Falk would stop by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he would visit his brothers in arms.

“What he found out from the servicemembersoldiers he would talk to is that the recovery process inside a hospital is a challengingdreary and difficult experience that wasn’t working real well,” said Brian Bell, program director of programs at the Boulder Crest retreat in Sonoita.

Falk would invite warriorssoldiers and their families undergoing treatments at the hospital to his property outside the urban sprawl of Washington, D.C. The close-to-nature setting offered on theat Falk’s property provided the veteran and family members with safe and serene surroundings that fostered emotional and psychological growth.

“Early on, KenHe would invited experts in alternative therapies for post traumatic stress out to work with some of the warrirossoldiers and their families and what they quickly found out is that what they were doing was very effective,” Bell said.

Soon, the success of Falk’s efforts highlighted efforts began to cramp his family’s lifestyle and there was a need to formalize and expand the workeffort. Falk secured a donated 37 acresion of land where a lodge was constructed, in nearby Bluemont, Virginia, and Boulder Crest was born. The retreat is located on 37 idyllic acres, first surveyed by George and John Washington and camped on by Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers.

No less historic is the property acquired in May by Boulder Crest in nearby Sonoita. The 130 acres, formerly known as the Apache Springs Ranch was first established by Thomas Gardner, an entrepreneur and settler in the mid-1800s. The ranch sits on land that was traversed byPrior to that the property was home to Apache Native Americans, notably Geronimo and Cochise.

Since acquiring the property, Bell said Boulder Crest has held several events, including a “Songwriting With Soldiers” weekend that brought combat veterans together with Nashville-based composers.

“The soldiers would sit down with a songwriter and basically, tell their story,” Bell said. “The weekend concludes with a powerful concert and the forging of lifelong friendships.”After a few days, we put the collection of songs on a disc that they can take with them.”

New construction and building renovations have also been part of the effort to prepare the property for the start of Boulder Crest programs early next year.

“When the warriorsoldier gets here, regardless of whether they are here by themselves or if they bring their family, we want to offer them a five-star resort experience,” Bell said.

In addition to an ample and luxurious ranch house that serves as both a central gathering area and dining facility, the property boasts private casitas and opulent lodges that house a small number of visitors. The most recent building under construction at the property is designed specifically to accommodate veterans with disabilities.

The property is nestled in the high-desert wilderness of the Santa Rita Mountains, deep inside the Coronado National Forest. Visitors need only step outside to experience the healing power of nature, enjoy hiking trails, horseback riding, exercise facilities and tranquil settings.

“We really work at getting at the invisible wounds and putting the combat veteran in a place where they feel safe and have nothing to think about except healing and growth getting their life back,” Bell said.

A veteran himself, Bell said his first experience back in the United States after tours of duty in the Middle East made him intimately familiar with what his fellow warriors soldiers experience after they return from war.

“My wife booked a stay at an oceanside resort and it sounds just perfect,” he said. “But what happened for me, as a veteran, is that I was constantly on alert and couldn’t relax. I was worried about the kids and the ocean, about the noise, about safety.”

Visitors to Boulder Crest are offered four “paths” to healing, Bell said. The Warrior PATHH (Pogressive Alternative Therapies for Healing Heroes) athh program is a seven-day retreat that helps the combat veteran find post-traumatic growth through progressive and alternative therapies. The Couples PATHHathh program provides combat veterans and their partner with therapy during a three-day program. The Family PATHHathh is a five daytwo, to seven-day program that includes the entire family, and the Caregiver PATHHathh program helps those living with loved ones enduring post-traumatic stress, who have become their primary caregiver..

On Thursday, Nov. 30, the Boulder Crest retreat will celebrate its grand opening with an event that will start at 10:30 a.m. at the ranch, located at 415 Garden Canyon Road in Sonoita. Medal of Honor recipient Edward C. Byers, Jr., will be the keynote speaker.

Sonoita and the whole Patagonia areis in the one of my favorite spots in Arizona. It is right in the middle of the Sonoran desert just South of Tucson yet, due to its higher elevation, the area is a Sky Island. In the American Southwest sky-islands are magical places where remnants of vegetation from the last ice age have retreated up the mountain ranges as the the lowland around them turned to desert.

Sky Islands are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world. As the meeting point between desert and forest, they offer a blend of tropical and temperate climates that can sustain many creatures, and are often the location of streams and other riparian areas.

Here is a picture of the area:

Sonoita sis in rolling subtropical grasslands with a mix of oak and pine surrounded by higher mountains covered in the lower elevations with ponderosa pine and, near the tops of the taller peaks that are crowned in spruce, fir, and aspen. The area is has a number of vineyards, believe it or not.

I hope the vets enjoy it as much as I have.

The money quote that explains why PTSD is so crippling:

A veteran himself, Bell said his first experience back in the United States after tours of duty in the Middle East made him intimately familiar with what his fellow warriors soldiers experience after they return from war.
“My wife booked a stay at an oceanside resort and it sounds just perfect,” he said. “But what happened for me, as a veteran, is that I was constantly on alert and couldn’t relax. I was worried about the kids and the ocean, about the noise, about safety.”

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