About Us

Our New Adventure!

Hi! We are the Dudley, Gemmer & Crabtree family.

Our little adventure started in 2019 with just the seedling of an idea. We have a diverse set of backgrounds as a family — real estate & property management, culinary & restaurants, nursing & physical health, law enforcement, political, lumber distribution, national lab operations, event planning, and business management (whoa, that’s a LOT).

We started asking ourselves - how can this all fit together? We purposed ourselves to find an avenue that would bring us all together and serve our home state of New Mexico.

Our seed of an idea lay dormant for a while, but in 2022 it sprouted when the opportunity came to purchase a beautiful set of 140 acres called Manzano Mountain Retreat. The previous owner had operated the retreat for over 20 years, turning it from an apple orchard into a multi-use sports training facility and event venue.

Now — it’s our turn to water the soil. It is our vision to build on the seeds planted before us to grow the Retreat into the ideal New Mexican Venue for weddings, retreats, and gatherings.

We hope you join us as we learn and grow in this new adventure. Bring your family and friends to our annual Harvest Festival, let us be your hosts for your wedding or vow renewal, or bring your team for a retreat in the mountains. We love this place and can’t wait to share it with you!

Our Brand Identity

If you’ve been around long enough, you may have noticed our new logo. The Manzano Mountain Retreat identity refresh was approached as a means to refine and inspire a fresh quality to the retreat’s vision. The elegance of the brand graphics juxtaposes itself with the rugged woods and retreat aesthetic. This juxtaposition honors the past in today’s modern world, while reflecting the diversity of our family.

With round attributes, the typeface complements the mark, and is representative of the friendly, welcoming atmosphere of the grounds and our staff. Highlighted in rich earth tones, the mark shows a tree growing delicately inside a full apple, with seven seeds and eight leaves. The seven seeds inside the fruit symbolize a full retreat and complete experience of growth. The eight leaves symbolize a new order that rest and recuperation brings, realigning people from the stress of life to the potential of fresh, new beginnings. The sans- serif typeface was chosen to express a more contemporary feel, illustrating that Manzano Mountain Retreat continues to function as a retreat from today’s modern world.