Where we are

About Us

Where We Are

Canelo is a small community, tucked away in the secluded, oak woodlands of southeastern Arizona, 70 miles southeast of Tucson and 17 miles south of Sonoita, AZ.  We are also 15 miles west of Sierra Vista and Ft. Huachuca.

There, amidst creeks lined with cottonwoods and rolling hills of native grasses, we have shaped and nurtured our 40 acre homestead into a place of learning, demonstration and exploration.  Our rambling adobe home and guesthouse were built in the late 1880’s and have been added onto and changed during subsequent generations and families. Since buying the place in 1985 we have extensively remodeled both buildings using a collage of natural paints and plasters. The houses provide comfortable accommodations and gracious gathering spaces for guests and workshop participants. Small straw bale cottages and structures onsite provide examples of our ongoing work and research. See Canelo Buildings for photos of our on-site projects.

Our site is surrounded by The Coronado National Forest, the Audubon Research Ranch and the Canelo Hills Cienega Preserve of the Nature Conservancy which, that together with their combined riparian zones, provide a rich habitat for wildlife and make it one of the most desired birding areas in the southwestern United States.

We invite you to join us in the comfort of our home where you can enjoy the warmth of our kitchen after a good day’s work and engage in lively conversation or simply relax in the beauty of the place.

Climate Information

Canelo has an elevation of 5,000 feet and should be noted that it is a very different climate than nearby Tucson.  On average we are 10 degrees cooler than Tucson all times of the year and sometimes more. We also have a higher averrage rainfall and therefore a very different ecosystem. We enjoy all four seasons.

During the coldest time of the year our daytime temperatures average around 55 degrees F, light snowfall is typical several times during the winter and rarely lasts a day.  The hottest month of the year is June which averages 92 degrees, the monsoon season of July and August, when there are frequent afternoon thunderstorms, has an average high of around 85 degrees F.  Spring is dry, can be windy, high temperatures average around 85 degrees, freezes are possible at night into late April.  Fall, like many places is beautiful, the first frost typically happens in early November.  There can be some mosquitos in late spring and towards the end of summer that are present at dawn and dusk.

Our workshops are primarily in the spring and the fall when nighttime temperatures are warm enough to sleep outside and yet the daytime temperatures are comfortably in the high 70’s to 80’s.