The
early Spanish Conquistadors believed the mountains behind MMR
would be the perfect place for growing apple trees. Not only was
the climate right but the altitude and the soil reminded them
of the areas in Spain that produced the best
apples.
The
Spaniards planted an orchard of apple trees in a small community
at the base of mountains now called Manzanos. They named both
the community and the mountains after the Spanish word for apple,
manzano. The trees flourished and remnants of those original
trees can still be found today in and amongst houses of Manzano.
They might be the first apple trees ever planted in America.
Though
the trees from that era have since gone, the Spanish chose one
of the most ideal regions in New Mexico to plant apples. Many
people might speculate that growing apples on the side of a mountain
would be "fruitless", but apple trees love the mountain
climate. Apples thrive with sharp changes in temperature, which
enhances the taste of the fruit. While orchards lower in elevation
may seem less likely to freeze than those on the mountainside,
heat rises up the mountainside and provides the higher orchards
a greater success ratio in surviving freezes than those located
lower in the valley. For over 40 years the property of Manzano
Mountain Retreat has been producing some of the best apples and
most delicious apple cider in New Mexico.
In
1995 the historic apple orchards became the host to a new summer
camp, Apple Wood Camp, brought about by the owner of Darnell Apple
Orchard. The owner, being an architect and builder, designed and
constructed the main dining hall, activity hall, and five group
cabins as "summer only" buildings. A year later Scott
and Spencer Garrett, the developers of New Mexico Sports and Wellness
recreational clubs, purchased the Apple Wood Camp and renamed
it Apple Mountain Camp. Their goal was not only to create a summer
camp facility but to develop a high altitude sports training facility.
Their dream reached reality when in 1997 and 1998 swimming gold
medallists Tom Jager and Janet Evans used Apple Mountain to host
their Gold Medal Swim Camp. In 1999 the Garrett's sold their recreational
clubs to a national chain but retained ownership in Apple Mountain
Camp. In 2000, Scott Garrett and his family purchased all remaining
shares of AMC and commenced a significant remodeling and expansion
effort, renaming the facility Manzano Mountain Retreat. It is
the vision of the owners to make Manzano Mountain Retreat into
a world class corporate and sports training facility.
Manzano
Mountain Retreat currently hosts numerous returning groups including
LDS church youth groups, the Albuquerque City Council, Rotary
Youth Leadership Camps, Woodsmen of the World Camps, Presbyterian
and other church youth camps, A.R.C.A., Entrepreneurs Training
Camp, A.P.S. teacher retreats, and Buddhist conventions, just
to name a few. In sports, MMR has hosted not only Tom Jager's
Swim Camp but also numerous soccer camps including Winning Mood
Dutch Soccer Camp, New Mexico Olympic Development Soccer Camps,
as well as Fran Fraschilla's Lobo Men's Basketball Team, the UNM
Women's Track Team, High School Football Camps, cross country
track teams, and mountain biking groups. With the recent completion
of the gymnasium, we are ready to host indoor sports and gymnastic
teams too!
The history of Manzano Mountain Retreat is just beginning....
