J.H. Strachan - known as "Red" to friends and family, was born in Corinth, Mississippi, but his family was drawn to the lush El Paso Valley surrounding Clint, Texas, and pulled up their antebellum stakes and moved to the wild west. Growing up in a farming family, Red was well schooled in the agricultural arts, formed an intense love and respect for the land and took a shine to the 3R's - Ridin', Ropin' and Rodeo!

Attending Sul Ross College, Red, and many of his schoolmates supplemented their meager finances hiring out to area ranches as day labor and helping with round ups. During these years spent as a weekend cowpuncher, Red was drawn to, then enamored with and then became a wholehearted convert to the rancher's lifestyle and the dream of owning his own spread was forever embedded in his soul. 

Returning to Clint and the green valleys of the Rio Grande, Red began farming - but ranching remained his dream.  In the meantime, Red married, started his family and made the Clint farm a success. 1980 brought the opportunity to fulfill his dream when he found that Old Alazan Ranch was available and Strachan became farmer and rancher.

While Waynelle and young daughters, Staci and Shanda were not quite as excited by the acquisition, Red assured them the Big Bend of Texas held a secret and its own magic - and the magic came. Quietly at first, like the spirits of the earliest inhabitants, or the silent padding of a prowling cougar, then with the furious thunder of longhorn cattle across a Texas plain - the Big Bend captured the spirit and heart of the Strachan clan.

From a mere 65 miles distance, new neighbors, Lee and Murphy Bennett welcomed them to the neighborhood with the traditional warmth of West Texas and a bit of advice. "might as well settle in 'cause - when we  drought out, you can't sell and when it is green, you - won't sell!" and truer words have never been spoken. There, at the end of the road, despite droughts, the heat, and the cold, Old Alazan Ranch remains a welcome sight to family, friends, and guests.

While the Clint farms are operated by daughter Staci, her husband Jon, and their two daughters, Red spends much of his time at the ranch. Waynelle divides her time between the ranch and the Clint farm where she, along with Staci, operate Old Alazan Company, the only commercial cultivation of Long Stem Texas Bluebonnets, (Big Bend variety of course).  Shanda, when not crisscrossing the nation as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, returns to Old Alazan to rejuvenate and renew herself under the clear skies and freedom of West Texas.

Old Alazan Ranch is a working ranch - cattle, cowboys and ranch work occupy much of the daily routine, but Red and Waynelle always have time to welcome guests. ...who quickly become... new found friends on a quest to capture their own memories of the Big Bend magic - at the end of the road where panoramic vistas inspire awe, the black velvet of the night sky with a million sparkling jewels leaves you breathless and the hospitality is warm, inviting and always with open arms.