Left, a University of Michigan student takes in the view at the entrance of Rancho del Cielo.

The gate to the ranch is at an elevation of 2240 feet above sea level. The land, in the Santa Ynez Mountains, was once part of a Spanish land concession given to a soldier named Jose Francisco de Ortega, who settled here in 1794.

For Ronald and Nancy Reagan, it was love at first sight -- for the ranch, that is. The president said, "From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over us. No place before or since has given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does."

On November 13, 1974, Ronald and Nancy Reagan bought the 688-acre Tip Top Ranch and renamed it Rancho del Cielo, which in Spanish means "Sky Ranch." Reagan was serving out his last weeks as governor of California, a position he had held for eight years. It was his refuge as he prepared to run for president in 1976 and 1980.

This is how the adobe ranch house looks from the entrance of Rancho del Cielo. Visitors are usually surprised by its modesty and simplicity. It is no Hollywood designer house.

Indeed, the original part of the ranch house was built in 1871 by Hispanic settlers named the Picos. When the Reagans enlarged it, the interior grew only to 1,500 square feet. It retains a rustic feel to this day, heated by one fireplace in the den and another in the living room. Often it is chillier in the house than in the sun outside.

The old ranch house at Rancho del Cielo was built by Jose and Juana Pico in the early 1870s. Born Mexicans, the Picos obtained the title to the ranch from the U.S. government under the Homestead Act signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

The Reagans were horse people, as this sculpture suggests.

A tack barn, on higher ground, is located behind the ranch house. When Reagan became president, the Secret Service built its headquarters near the tack barn.

Today Rancho del Cielo is owned and maintained by Young America's Foundation, which has taken pains to preserve the ranch just as Ronald and Nancy Reagan left it.

Not exactly the right address, since it's in California, but still....

Reagan biographer and Washington Post correspondent Lou Cannon insists that the 40th president never called Rancho del Cielo the Western White House. That's what the media dubbed it. Reagan once told Cannon, "There's only one White House, and that's in Washington, D.C." [Reagan quoted in Peter Hannaford, Ronald Reagan and His Ranch (Bennington, VT: Images from the Past, 2002), p. xi.]

This sign, so typical of Ronald Reagan's arch wit, is at the entrance of the ranch house.

The coat of arms reflects the pride Reagan took in his Irish heritage.

President Reagan rang this old railroad bell outside the tack barn at about 9 every morning. It signaled to Nancy that he had finished his "Washington homework," so they could take their daily horseback ride together.

After the ride, Nancy would prepare lunch. Then she would ring the bell, summoning Ronnie to take a break from his ranch chores. (Chores is perhaps not the best word -- Reagan cleared brush and built fences for relaxation.)

During the eight years he was president, Ronald Reagan spent about 350 days -- almost 1/8th of his presidency -- at Rancho del Cielo. Photographer Steve Malone, right, took thousands of pictures of the first family when they were at the ranch. As a result of all this exposure to the 40th president and his family, he has a cache of interesting stories. Steve works for the Santa Barbara News-Press.

Steve Malone next to the Tax Cut Table taking a photograph.

Gleaves Whitney at the famous Tax Cut Table at Rancho del Cielo, in March 2004. The pigskin-covered table and chairs are designed in the Mexican equipal style (bark tethered to bark). The table became famous on a foggy August morning in 1981, when a photographer captured Reagan signing his famous tax cut legislation. The president also delivered a number of Saturday radio addresses at the table.

Lake Lucky is a few paces from the ranch house.

The Reagans had a canoe called Tru Luv that they enjoyed taking out on the lake.

There are two great views from the ranch's highest point, Lookout Mountain, which rises to 2587 feet. This view to the northwest is of the Santa Ynez Valley with its charming towns and vineyards.

The other great view from Lookout Mountain is toward the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Reagan loved the view from Lookout Mountain and would often ride his horse there to take in the scenery. He said, "You can watch boats cruising across the Santa Barbara Channel, then turn your head and see the Santa Ynez Valley unfold like a huge wilderness amphitheater before your eyes." [Hannaford, Reagan and His Ranch, p. 72.]

This view is from the mountain road that winds back down toward the Pacific Ocean. The Channel Islands are visible on the horizon.

Between the coast and the mountaintop is a canyon that Spanish explorers called El Refugio, "the refuge." Refugio Canyon is accessible from U.S. 101 about 25 miles west of the city of Santa Barbara. At the base of the canyon are lemon and avacado groves. Live oaks and chaparrel are dominant higher up in the canyon.

Historian Lee Edwards, who has written a biography of Ronald Reagan, takes in the view of the Pacific from the ridgetop of Rancho del Cielo.

Gleaves Whitney on Lookout Mountain, Rancho del Cielo (March 2004).