Just An Exit

I have spent most of my life living in places that are just an exit. To be fair I did spend nearly a decade in a condo in downtown San Diego, and I loved almost all of that lifestyle. However the freedom of the country, the solitude, the space, the autonomy and the self discovery seem to lure my heart and mind with ease. One day back in 2019 I was driving from Tahoe to my home in Penryn, CA and stopped at the Gold Run rest stop. As soon as my feet hit the ground I knew I had found my next exit. There was something so magical to me in this place…an energy in the air; a beauty to the trees; the hum of the interstate; hustle seemed to blend into nature with ease and the understated wilderness captured my imagination. I never looked back. I went home, found the property we now enjoy as Not By Luck Ranch, and started my journey into creating a new chapter. With amazing grace so many pieces of my life came together the day I purchased this land. Taking this exit did come at a cost, some aspects of my former life were shed and change can often be hard to navigate. Through it all I trusted myself and I trusted that God would not bring me out here to watch me fail, so I continued on down this exit not knowing exactly where it would lead.

Fast forward almost five years and here I am, walking goats in the forest, and comforted knowing the magic I felt on a random summer day in 2019 was real. I am grateful for all the exits I have explored and learned from. I do subscribe to the notion that life is a journey not a destination, but forever this place will be in my heart. These animals fill my soul and it is this land that makes that possible. Gold Run is no longer just an exit.

I invite you to plan your visit (or next visit) to Not By Luck Ranch because I know you will enjoy the beauty, the people, and the goats that call this exit home.