A 220-acre working ranch is located just minutes from the frenzy of State Highway 6 on the banks of the Brazos River. It is aptly named The Brazos Bend Ranch. Visiting the area, much of which is covered with pecan trees, is truly a tranquilizing experience.

Pete and Yvonne Byler purchased the ranch just before the First Colony boom began. It had been on the market a long time as the economy was depressed.

Pete and Yvonne wanted a smaller ranch near Houston to replace their 1000-acre ranch in Crockett. Having grown up in rural Louisiana, only 20 miles from the Texas border, in Hackberry, Pete longed to remain close to the land. Yvonne was particularly interested in raising cutting horses

They run 40 head of cattle and 10 cutting horses on the land but call it “just a hobby.” At one time Yvonne employed a full-time trainer and bred and trained more horses. However, this became too difficult, so now she sends the horses to a trainer near Fort Worth.

Currently, she has 5 horses in various stages of training. The goal is to get them ready for Futurity Competition, which is the first competition for a 3- year-old.

Despite the current emphasis on maintaining low cholesterol, the rancher has no difficulty selling beef cattle. Demand for beef has increased. “The Atkins diet and the fajita craze have been a boom for the beef industry,” he says.

The acreage is a haven for wild game - deer, coyotes, pigs, and wild hogs. The hogs root up the ground until “ it looks like it was plowed.”

The slough attracts big egrets and wood ducks, which fly in every year.

Following instinct, blue egrets build their nests in trees near the water.

The land surrounding the slough is 4 feet higher than the rest so it never floods. A person can tell what land floods by noting where the previous owners placed their buildings.

Pete and Yvonne try to preserve the buildings that were on the land when they purchased it 10 years ago. One small white frame building was evidently a dentist’s office. It still had the dentist’s chair and equipment in it when they purchased it.

The family’s favorite spot on the ranch is a cliff above the Brazos, which they refer to as “The Point.” At flood stage, the river rises within 4 feet of the cliff and is probably a half-mile wide at this point.

The area is well-equipped with barbecue pits and picnic table and the grandchildren relish family gatherings at this special place. In addition, employees and friends use the ranch for bar-b-ques and bonfires.

Miguel, an employee who walked onto the property and asked Yvonne for a job soon after they moved in and has been with them ever since, takes great pride in his work. He is near 70 and “is the hardest working man.” He takes care of the property “like it was a golf course,” mowing and weeding it constantly.

Everyone seems to enjoy the land as much as the owner does, all smiles as they and their children ride around the property, which glistens on a beautiful fall day.

Pete and Yvonne want to keep the ranch as pristine as possible.

Some changes, however, are inevitable. One obvious encroachment is a large utility easement, which they fought for a long time.

“There will be a levee coming pretty quick,” he says. That will be a good thing as it “changes the property value.” The levee, which will run diagonally across the ranch, will take in half of his property and will serve to protect some of Sienna Plantation and Riverstone.

Fitness trainer Jill Harrison, the Bylers’ daughter, found a unique spot for The Fitness Retreat in the grove of pecan trees near the entrance of the ranch.

There members can exercise on the latest equipment, take Pilates classes, or receive a full spa treatment while watching clouds drift through the sky or horses amble through the glistening grass. In spring, their colts bolt through the fields beside them.

They have promised their grandchildren that they will never sell all of the property. They want the area on the west side of the levee to be some kind of conservatory and will put it in a trust so the grandchildren will always have use of it.

Only one other family in the area has retained its 800 acres of ranch land. The Exxon property and Sienna Plantation, of course, were sold to developers. Developers, he says, are generally looking for large plots.

When asked about his happiest times at the ranch, Pete immediately responds with, “Bringing the grandchildren out here on The Point. There is nothing anywhere around. It is dark and almost soundless.”

There have been no bad times here. “The place has been a good time for everybody involved, " he explains.

The family has found what so many crave, a tranquil environment.