What the Land Teaches When You Grow Up Listening

TXR: You grew up in a very specific part of Texas. Can you tell us about where you’re from and what that landscape was like?

Allison Ryan: I grew up in El Paso, and we spent many childhood weekends at our place in the Davis Mountains, which is in Madera Canyon about ten miles north of the McDonald Observatory. It’s a dark sky area, so I was literally under the stars all the time.

It’s very remote. It’s very quiet. You’re really aware of the land and the environment because there’s not much else around. You notice the weather. You notice the seasons. You notice how everything changes.

TXR: What did growing up in that environment teach you?

Allison Ryan: I think it teaches you patience and perspective. Things move slowly. You can’t force anything. You learn pretty early that the land is bigger than you are, and that you’re just a part of it.

It also teaches responsibility. If something needs to be taken care of, you’re the one who has to do it. There’s no one else coming.

TXR: Was land ownership always part of your family life?

Allison Ryan: Yes, and although it was a normal part of our lives, we were always reminded how fortunate we were. We spent time on the land. We worked on it. We took care of it. It was where family time happened and where you learned what responsibility actually looks like.

TXR: How did those early experiences shape the way you think about land today?

Allison Ryan: I think growing up on land gives you a really long-term view. You understand that decisions you make today matter years down the road. You also understand that you don’t really own land — you’re just stewarding it for a period of time. That idea was ingrained pretty early for me.

TXR: You didn’t immediately build a career around land. How did you find your way back to it?

Allison Ryan: I didn’t set out thinking I was going to work in land. I did other things first. But land ownership, conservation, and stewardship were always sort of in the background of how I thought about value and impact. Eventually it became clear that the things I cared most about were directly tied to land.

TXR: For readers who may be unfamiliar, can you explain what Explore Ranches is?

Allison Ryan: Explore Ranches partners with landowners to help them share their land through short-term stays and outdoor experiences. A lot of landowners are looking for ways to support the land financially without selling it, and this gives them another option.

For guests, it’s about access. It’s about giving people the opportunity to experience private land in a way they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

TXR: Tell us about bringing ranch owners onto the platform in the early days.

Allison Ryan: Absolutely. I mean, it was really a year-long project of meeting with, and traveling across the state to meet and talk to different landowners to see if this would be something that any of them would be interested in.

I go back to Alice Strunk on the Devils (River). Alice’s ranch is at the headwaters, and it’s completely inaccessible to the public. Even if you float the Devils, you can’t access the headwaters. To open her gates was such a huge deal. Alice raises sheep and goats, and that ranch has been in her family for, I think, over 150 years now. She tells me all the time, “Oh my gosh, Explore Ranches guests have been so great.” She loves visiting with them, she loves telling her story.

Giving people a place to create these memories and these really unique experiences, while also hopefully providing an education — a really unique education about the state, about the land, about their history — that, to me, is priceless.

TXR: How did the idea for Explore Ranches first come together?

Allison Ryan: My co-founders and I all grew up in land-owning families, and we shared a similar perspective. We saw that landowners were under pressure, and that access to private land was becoming more and more limited.

We wanted to create something that helped landowners keep their land while also allowing more people to experience it in a responsible way.

TXR: Stewardship seems central to how you talk about the company.

Allison Ryan: Because it has to be. Land is a finite resource. The way it’s treated today has long-term consequences.

We partner with landowners who care about stewardship, helping them welcome guests in a way that conserves what makes their place special. Guests get to experience some of the most pristine natural environments while learning what it takes to keep a place healthy, from water and wildlife to grazing and habitat. And a portion of what we earn goes back into conservation efforts, because if we’re going to enjoy these places, we ought to help take care of them too.

TXR: How much does your West Texas upbringing show up in how you approach the business?

Allison Ryan: A lot. Growing up in a place like that gives you a deep appreciation for quiet, for space, and for how special these landscapes really are. It also gives you a sense of responsibility. You don’t take access lightly, and you don’t take land lightly. That absolutely informs how we think about Explore Ranches.

TXR: What do you hope people take away from their time on a ranch through Explore Ranches?

Allison Ryan: I hope they come away with a better understanding of where they are and what it takes to care for land. Even a short stay can change how people think about land and conservation.

If someone leaves with more respect for these places than they arrived with, that feels like a success.

Check out the photo gallery below of a selection of ranches available on the Explore Ranches platform