Couple Finds Freedom with Western Ranch
By Katy Read
Back when they ran successful manufacturing businesses, Iris Behr and John Muir were constantly on the move — driving in and out of Detroit, flying back and forth to Europe. But now that they live on a remote patch of Idaho wilderness, they rarely feel the need to leave it.
Behr, 50, and Muir, 44, own a guest ranch, where they spend their days riding horses in the mountains, hiking through the forest, practicing yoga, watching wildlife and helping people unwind and have fun.
No wonder they don't miss the city.
"One of the things guests ask us most about is, 'Why is everybody so happy here?' " says the German-born Behr. "That's genuine; you can't force that. Working together and doing what we truly love has intensified everything."
Ten years ago, they operated two companies in Detroit that produced spray-painting equipment for the automotive industry. When Behr's father, who had founded the companies in Europe, suffered a series of heart attacks, their job pressures intensified. For a while, they traveled overseas almost every weekend. Then they learned that their two grown sons were not interested in following them into that industry, and realized they'd eventually have to sell the businesses anyway. They decided to stop waiting to pursue the activities they treasured most.
"We wanted to share our love for nature and horseback riding and the outdoors in an unspoiled environment with as many people as possible," Behr says.
When Behr happened across an advertisement for a guest ranch, they spotted a way to meet all those goals. After checking out places for sale, they eventually discovered Hidden Creek Ranch, a century-old former cattle concern near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, that had once belonged to newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The rundown buildings needed work. But from the moment the couple came upon the ranch, set in a secluded valley ringed by a national forest, "the rational part of us fell away," Behr says.
"We both looked at each other and went, 'Wow,' " Muir recalls.
In turning the place into a comfortable, elegant resort, they vowed to be sensitive to the environment. They built cabins from dead standing timber and positioned buildings strategically to avoid cutting trees. They learned to control flies by releasing friendly, larva-eating bugs. They also use biodegradable materials, serve organically grown vegetables and avoid using paper plates and other disposables while making their recycling visible to guests.
"We show that if it's possible to do this in a commercial operation, it's so much easier to do it at home," Behr said.
Earth-friendly habits are just part of what guests can learn at Hidden Creek.
Over the years, Behr and Muir have developed programs designed to put guests in touch with the earth, with ancient native traditions and with each other. In addition to activities such as riding and fishing, Hidden Creek offers lessons in yoga, meditation, Native American plant remedies and animal tracking. Guests may participate in a sweat-lodge ceremony. Some tackle a challenge course that includes a catwalk and climbing wall — experiences so exhilarating that participants "wind up hugging, kissing, laughing, crying," Behr said.
Helping people play takes a lot of work, and sometimes the pressure can mount. That's when Behr steps away and spends some time by herself. "I come back and I'm feeling refreshed," she says. As for Muir, between the varied days and the charms of nature, he says he rarely feels much stress at all these days.
"It's just so beautiful, waking up in the morning and looking out our bedroom window at the mountains and the trees and the horses in the pasture and the wild turkeys, elk, deer and coyotes," Muir says. "The serenity, the togetherness that Iris and I have here is just wonderful."
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