For some, “off the grid” is a buzzword. For Rennie and Andrea Radoccia, it’s a way of life. In 1984, the couple bought a plot of land at the mouth of Mescal Canyon, far from municipal power and water sources, and set about making it their home. They drilled a well, and Rennie, an architect, designed buildings that would be heated by the sun in the winter but shielded from it in the summer. The buildings themselves were made from limestone quarried from Mescal Wash.
And while the property once was powered by, in Rennie’s words, “a couple of solar panels and car batteries,” it now features two large solar systems that power the Radoccias’ home and Mescal Canyon Retreat, a B&B the couple created from their now-adult children’s two bedrooms. Guests often take advantage of hiking and birding opportunities in the Prescott National Forest, which borders the property, or relax with a massage or a soak on the secluded hot-tub terrace.
And the vegetarian breakfast includes homegrown produce, organic grains and eggs laid by the Radoccias’ chickens. “Off the grid” never looked so on target.
1550 Abbey Road South
Clarkdale, AZ
United States