Take a short, scenic drive north of Benson to the ranching country and you’ll find an unexpected destination for bibliophiles, or anyone interested in how a bookstore can thrive for more than 30 years in a relatively secluded ranch house.

Winifred Bundy opened the bookstore 33 years ago in a ranch house she has lived in for 52 years. She’s likely to come out and show you around in her stocking feet. Make sure to get the tour, as the stock (mostly new books, with an emphasis on Southwestern and Western themes) is organized according to a slightly individualistic code, and Winifred is a great source for recommendations.

She learned about the Southwest from the great Lawrence Clark Powell, one the West’s finest authors and a famous librarian (in circles in which a librarian can be famous). Bundy now publishes several one-of-kind editions of his work and sells tapes of conversations with Powell accompanied by music from Tucson band Calexico.

The best-written history of this territory has got be Powell’s short “Arizona: A History”, published on the bicentennial and reissued by the University of New Mexico Press in 1990. I highly recommend buying the slim “Southwest”, a special edition of three evocative and learned essays about the desert by Powell published by Singing Wind.

In 1997 Powell had this to say about Bundy and her shop (he was interviewed in the Tucson Weekly):

“Winifred Bundy. . . was a student of mine. When she finished school she wanted to start a bookstore. I said, ‘Where are you going to put it in town?’; and she said, ‘I'm not going to have it in town, I'll have it out at the ranch.’ I said, ‘You're crazy’; and she said, ‘I've always been.’ We got off to a flying start. She was a wonderful student--learned to write by writing. I don't believe in courses in writing. I don't believe in creative workshops. Winn was just a naturally bookish person. She started a shop, and it's lasted as one of the (few) surviving bookshops in our community. She was right. People come from all over the world now to find her.”

If you plan to buy any books—and it’s difficult, many find, to drive all the way out there and not purchase something, there’s simply too much great stuff that can’t be found elsewhere—take cash or a checkbook; Winifred said she “doesn’t mess with credit cards.” She encourages booklovers to bring lunch and have a picnic on the ranch, and don’t miss saying hello to the mule and beautiful white horse who share a pasture along the road leading to the shop. A well-stocked children’s reading room makes this a great family destination, especially when Winifred’s friendly dog comes out from the back room looking to play.

From Benson’s main drag, 4^th St., take Ocotillo Road north about three miles, then turn right on Singing Wind Road; if the gate is closed, open it. The bookstore is at 700 W. Singing Wind Road, 520/586-2425, and is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, including most holidays).

Originally published in the Sahuarita Sun