That place is Backland, which opened in September 2022 on a 160-acre Kaibab National Forest inholding about 10 miles southeast of Williams. The parcel was homesteaded in the 1920s and hosted ranching and sheepherding operations over the years. Now, it’s home to a concept that combines an immersive, ecologically conscious experience in nature with many of the comforts you’d find in a luxury hotel.
At first, you might feel a tinge of panic: What will I do with myself? But after a few hours of sitting in an Adirondack chair on the front porch while watching deer grazing in the meadow, you’ll stop thinking about your phone and start listening to the wind blowing through the pines.
Kirk and Sherry Sinclair are the owners of Historic Shankle Ranch, where the treehouse is located. Sherry says the idea came from a desire to provide a space for the family’s grandchildren. But once the Sinclairs purchased more property, they turned the treehouse into a rental so others could enjoy it.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay here,” Sherry says. “It’s a totally different experience — it’s like you’re disconnected from the world.”
“There was lots of internal excitement about making sure it was done properly, but also celebrating the fact that we’re making an exciting new structure here,” says Samuel Langner, the community relations manager for Xanterra Travel Collection, which operates the South Rim’s hotels.
Moore and his wife purchased the property in 2021 for a similar reason: They love the area and enjoy taking their own family to Tombstone. “We just love that it is very family friendly and attracts all sorts of people,” Moore says. “We have people from 9 days old to 90 years old come to visit.”
There’s a good reason the place feels so inviting: It’s been the Sayres’ family home for more than three decades, and they’ve been renovating and expanding it since they moved in. After their two children grew up and moved out, they had a lot of extra space, so they began running a three-room B&B in October 2018.
“I wanted my kids to grow up in a ranch setting, surrounded by animals and space to run around,” Vendituoli says. “I went to see Rancho Milagro and fell in love with the property. Although it needed a lot of work, it’s in a beautiful, secluded location abutting the historic Babocomari Ranch, an original Spanish land grant that is 3 miles wide and 30 miles long. Rancho Milagro actually sits on property that was part of that land grant. Another selling point was the fact that my parents live next door, so my kids can walk or ride over to be with them whenever they want.”
Where the couple landed was DreamCatcher Inn at Chiricahua, which original owners John and Julia Kirk had operated for nearly a quarter-century. The Kirks were ready to retire, and the numbers made sense. And so, for the past year, Keesee and Robles have been making the B&B their own while keeping regular guests happy. “Those are some hard shoes to fill,” Robles says. “John and Julia were really great cooks.” Here, Keesee interjects: “But we’re really great cooks as well.” “I was getting to that,” says the man now known as “Chef Ray” in online reviews of the B&B.
Today, the horses and the boxcars are long gone, but the B&B still honors the site’s legacy by offering a nice balance between historical charm and modern amenities.
“What’s stayed the same is the feeling you get when you’re here,” says Amy Draper, an eighth-generation Tucsonan who owns the B&B. “What’s evolved is its use, but not its character. The inn gives its occupants a sense of place, history and connection to the area.”
And a little pampering as well.
Travelers through Oak Creek Canyon might know the property as the Butterfly Garden Inn, which it was during the previous owner’s tenure. But that name covers only one chapter of its history — which started in the 1920s, when the first five cabins were built. Those buildings “have an attention to detail that you don’t often find in early cabins,” Harrell says.
