Sprucedale Guest Ranch

Whitney and Janae

Our year was looking pretty normal.  Emma & Kayla finished a good year in school with Holden happy to be home with Janae.  After our family’s phenomenal summer at Sprucedale, we reluctantly went back to our winter home in the Phoenix area.  We were settling back into city life, when it became clear to us…  Read more of Sprucedale Ranch 2013  Newsletter

Sprucedale Ranch 2013 Newsletter

New Baby

Whitney and Janae welcomed their new baby boy from their home yesterday at 6:11 am, in San Tan Valley, AZ.
Not sure of the name yet possible… Hyrum Whitney Wiltbank

Mom and Dad-  Life is moving way to fast in their old age!  They are preparing to sale the house in Eagar, Arizona and custom build a house in Snowflake, Arizona while still working on a cabin location at the ranch.   Mom enjoys volunteering at the hospital auxiliary and dad faithfully gets in his truck to check on and feed the horses at the winter pastures.

Wiltbank's

Crystal Lipsey

Wood Boys

Faye- Crystal had the most interesting year of us all! She is a sophomore in high school, and made both the volleyball and softball teams.  She was also just asked to coach her church’s volleyball ladies team! John does field service at Intel for his company and spent a great deal of his time in Albuquerque. Faye Marie finished chemo for her MS and is doing well.

Billy- Sam is becoming well known for his hunting guide servicesand just finished a three day winter hunt that had a temperature of anegative seven degrees! Caren again played the leading lady in Alpine’s melodrama and hopes to return for another performance this coming summer. Billy is staying busy with some remodeling projects and tending to his horses.

JJ- Breanna just turned ten and seems to be growing ten inches everyday. Ashley is fifteen and is enrolled part time at Utah Valley University. JJ stays busy substitute teaching and loves the summer when he can work on his garden. Bobi is recovering from a recent foot surgery, but is still able to stay up with her beauty salon clients and her family’s busy schedule.

Stephanie- Anthony Jr. loves playing fall and spring baseball.  Nolan and Dillon want to follow in his footsteps, and they are practicing so they can do kid pitch this year. Anthony Sr. has started doing some traveling for his company which allows Stephanie time to scrapbook and make frozen pizzas for dinner while his away!

The Biz

The 3 Emer's

Willis Family

Lil’ Emer- Isabelle turned eight this year and was baptized. Avery is counting down the days to kindergarten, while Briggs enjoys his male bonding time with his dad. Emer had back surgery and is healing great. He has learned to balance physical therapy, Brownies, soccer practice, and laundry. Aleesa continues her career as a payroll
specialist for a small accounting firm.

Whitney- Emma started 1st grade in a new charter school, and it has been quite an academic adjustment for her. Makayla enjoys her time at home with all of the princess dress up stuff to herself. Janae is pregnant with their first baby boy and loves spending any spare minute she can find taking classes at the local Apple store.

Tiffany- Jaycee enjoys preschool but is ready to go to the “big school” (kindergarten). Landon loves to go to work with his Daddy and is the cutest little cowboy you will ever see. Baby Kade is seven months old and is a sweet, super smiley, and very cute baby boy.  Brian is enjoying league basketball right now and Tiffany loves to play volleyball every chance she gets.

Ellis & Phyllis- They are very busy renovating and decorating their new house in Eagar. It is a nice log house and Phyllis enjoys putting Ellis’ constructions skills to work. They loved spending their first Christmas in their new house together. Ellis is delivering propane for a local company. Sadly, with their new move and job they have decided to stay in town this summer, but hope to come out to the ranch as much as time will allow. They will truly miss the summer guests, but will come back during the fall to help out.

Katy and Chilton's Wedding

Bawden Update

This book was written by Emer’s wife Esther it was not only a history of Sprucedale Guest Ranch but his life in Arizona and helping raising kids around the world at Double Bar K Ranch.

I have so many wonderful memories from Sprucedale.  The people the came when I was kid, and now their kids are coming back and bringing their kids, and now their kids are coming back and bringing their kids and they play with my kids and my grandkids.  Sprucedale was neat place to grow up on!  I think of all the forts and dams we built, horses we rode and the game we played!  It really was a little bit of heaven, especially a heaven for kids!  These great people that I played with as kids are now adults and what friends we are!  We have made wonderful friends with people of all walks of life; from doctors, to lawyers, movie people, scientist, engineers, and everything in between!  We have met people from just about every state in the union and from several other countries.

First Started taking guest in 1921

Sprucedale Guest Ranch 1921

Janae and I (Whitney) are very happy and excited to let you know that Mom and Dad have asked us to take “the reins” of running Sprucedale and we have accepted! This will make the third generation of our Wiltbank family that has run Sprucedale Guest Ranch. Those of you who know me know that Sprucedale has been in my “blood” from the very beginning. For over 60 years Sprucedale has brought some of the best families from around the world together into an atmosphere of kinship and pure family fun. It always has been my dream to have the opportunity to carry on that Sprucedale tradition.

While my heart has always wanted to be at the ranch, I knew I needed additional tools to be successful at carrying on Sprucedale. I realized a higher education was crucial for operating our family business. Completing my MBA and CPA has been quite a journey for kid who just wanted to be a cowboy; however, the accomplishment of these goals has made it possible for me to be prepared to fill this position for Sprucedale. Now I will not have to manage the operations from a distance but will actually be able to spend the summers at the ranch.

Janae and I are excited that the timing is right for us to play this role for Sprucedale. Our mission while serving you and your family at the ranch is to maintain and build an atmosphere where “Families Come Together.” By providing wholesome recreational activities in a safe family friendly environment, we know we can help you and your family make memories that will carry you/them for a lifetime.

Family Photo