In 2021, Cassia and Jesse Yi’s 10-by-20-foot back yard in San Diego was starting to feel a little cramped. With two young children, the couple longed for a place the whole family just “go outside and be outside.”
“We were thinking we’d buy, I don’t know, five acres, and then eventually build on it and just have a little weekend getaway,” explains Cassia.
However, just a year later, the two found themselves the proud new owners of a 26-acre property with two sprawling log homes (one clocks in at 4,500 square feet, the other at 3,900 square feet) 40 minutes away in Alpine, California. Cassia recalls that Jesse found the listing and sent it to her, and while they both thought it was interesting, “It was much, much more ambitious than what we were looking for,” as she puts it. And yet — they couldn’t get it off their minds.
“There was just something about this property,” Cassia recalls. “Like the logs … I’m from Montana, and the logs are from Montana. Or how it is [located] on Red Hawk Ridge, and my dad owns a ranch in Texas called Red Bird.”
Inspired by some entrepreneurial friends turning a home into an event venue outside Aspen, Colorado, the couple decided to take the leap. The log structures, built in 1992 and lived in by the original owners up until the sale, called for a bit of repair, so Cassia and Jesse called in the necessary experts, even bringing a professional down from Oregon to resurface the logs.
“Despite that, we knew these log cabins are so strong, and to hear that, if well maintained, they could last for hundreds of years … that really got me,” Jesse explains. “A big part of us doing this is we are looking for a legacy that our great-great grandchildren could eventually enjoy.”
With plenty of room to spare, the couple have opened up their getaway for others to join in on the memory making, renting the property out for weddings and events. Cassia explains that it’s not just the mountain ambiance (the property is perched at 3,500 feet elevation) that sets them apart, but the intimate feel of the property and the opportunity it presents for weekend-long celebrations.
“The biggest thing that we do differently is that we can offer a retreat-style wedding. Everybody who rents it does so for the whole weekend, from Friday to Sunday,” she says. “Because it can sleep 38 people, they have their wedding parties stay with them there, and they do their rehearsal dinner there. Then they do a farewell brunch, so it becomes this whole retreat for them and their closest loved ones.”
But Cassia and Jesse are happy to share their family’s ranch with more than just brides and grooms; the couple also lists the property on VRBO and Airbnb and are open to hosting corporate retreats as well. To them, it’s important the property remains a rustic retreat, but not defined by any one style or use.
“We wanted to still stay true to that old-school cabin feel, but we wanted it to feel more luxurious, warmer and brighter. And yet — I really didn’t want it to feel like a resort,” says Cassia. “I want it to feel like you’re driving to the country and you’re really out there.”
With so much on the agenda, Cassia, herself, is out there weekly to oversee operations. But it’s not all work and no play. “As a family, we go any weekend that we can,” she says. “If our kids don’t have an activity, and if it’s not booked, we’re there.”
Book your event! Visit the Red Hawk Ridge website to learn more about their venue and get in touch with Cassia and Jesse.
