Roxanne Bell

ZZ Ranch – AZ. Great Ranches of the West

“The Cowboys are on horseback, herding the cattle to higher ground toward me. Hooves scrape against rocks a half-mile away, and coyotes howl in a dark canyon to the west canyon to the west. Chills run up my back as I think what else might be lurking over the southern hill. I’m glad the darkness […]

ZZ Ranch – AZ. Great Ranches of the West

“One morning Dan’s father, George, decided to go out and check the pumps at the various ranch wells. He parked his pick up at the first pump. Suddenly a helicopter zoomed over the surrounding boulders. Presuming it was Border Patrol, Dan’s father waved, checked the pump and then drove up a small canyon to check […]

ZZ Ranch – AZ. Great Ranches of the West

“When the Bells originally bought this ranch, their first foreman, Val Cason, had worked for the notorious Mexican bandito Pancho Villa. As I settle into the ranch house in this southeastern corner of Arizona, I have a few fleeting thoughts about the old Wild West movies I saw as a boy: the shootouts, galloping posses […]