1 of 16
Crystal Wise
2 of 16
Crystal Wise
3 of 16
Crystal Wise
4 of 16
Crystal Wise
5 of 16
Crystal Wise
6 of 16
Crystal Wise
7 of 16
Crystal Wise
8 of 16
Crystal Wise
9 of 16
Crystal Wise
10 of 16
Crystal Wise
11 of 16
Crystal Wise
12 of 16
Crystal Wise
13 of 16
Crystal Wise
14 of 16
Crystal Wise
15 of 16
Crystal Wise
16 of 16
Crystal Wise
Green grass and blooming wildflowers covered the rolling hills of a local 350-acre forest ranch as we drove in for an overnight getaway on a spring afternoon.
Despite living in Weatherford most of my life, I never knew this hidden gem awaited on the other side of my hometown until recently. It’s not surprising to learn that many locals haven’t heard of it, as it’s so submerged into nature.
From our home: 10 miles west on Interstate 20, another six miles down the hills and around the curves of Old Dennis Road, through a gate on to the property and a second gate with a special passcode sent via email, and then another mile eastbound on the ranch before we reached our destination. As I said, it’s simple to miss if you don’t know it’s there.
Founded in 2016, Fuller’s Folly River Ranch is the creation of Fort Worth investment advisor Bill Fuller, whose family quickly became a friend of ours through our shared love for nature. Known cattle ranchers, his father purchased the large property on the southwest edge of Weatherford nearly 60 years ago.
But when he acquired it recently, he knew he wanted to create a haven for visitors to immerse themselves and find harmony in nature.
“I think really all it takes for people to come away appreciating and loving nature is to actually get close to it,” Fuller says.
When planning for a trip to the river ranch, visitors have their choice between a traditional early-1900s farmhouse, a luxury safari tent, and an impressive two-story treehouse.
The eastern edge of the ranch meets the Brazos River, where guests can float, kayak, and swim while the center of the property houses a barnyard with goats, chickens, and their beloved donkeys, Sugar and Dennis. Guests can schedule a visit to help feed the ranch’s barnyard friends.
They also boast the only fairy forest in Parker County, noting that it’s important to respect the fairies’ paths, and they encourage visitors to build new homes for them.
Fuller has, undeniably, redefined camping with his unique stays.
“We’re becoming an urban society, so this is my part in planting the seed,” Fuller says.
The Hobbit Treehouse
A little red wagon waited at the edge of the parking lot, ready to carry our family’s luggage down the long boardwalk to the Hobbit Treehouse. My 18-month-old daughter ran through the greenery, past a tree that was partially hollowed as a reading nook and past several gnomes placed along the pathway.
A large wooden porch wrapped around the entire home, which hovered 15 feet over the edge of a small creek. Beneath, a monstrous wooden table — which could sit, at least, a dozen — swung from the main fixture.
Walking into the Hobbit Treehouse was walking into a fairy tale. Proved by the dozens of visitors who left a similar note in the guestbook, there’s no other way to describe it besides “magical.”
The cottagecore-style venue was covered in remnants of an enchanted forest — butterflies, moss, fairy figurines, and mushrooms. A tall wooden bookcase ladder from the living room led to a loft with two bunks and a queen-sized bed. Plus, there’s another private room downstairs next to the living room, with a bed whose warmth was that of a cloud.
The small kitchen — with an ornate woodland chandelier — was prepared with all the tools we needed to make homecooked meals. And large windows brought the outdoors inside, allowing us to admire the beauty of nature from every inch of the property.
As I showed my family around, my husband was impressed when he learned that I could control the waterfall that flowed into the nearby creek. It was a trick Fuller had taught me just a few days prior when I went to learn more about the property.
“If you concentrate hard enough, you can actually imagine water pouring into the creek,” Fuller tried to convince me before he discretely turned on a timer to the waterfall. A few moments passed before the water came out, but we were already engrossed in our next conversation.
“Whoa! What just happened with the water?” I had asked Fuller a few weeks earlier. He responded that I concentrated hard enough, so it worked.
Later that evening of our family stay, we spent several hours on the patio, heated by the fire table, and beneath the full moon as we sat in the hot tub, which overlooked the calm woods. Surrounding us, nothing but the bright stars above, a visit from the barn cat who wanted to cuddle, and a complete, utter stillness. We toasted with a glass of champagne to such a festive evening.
The sound of singing birds and a barnyard rooster ready for his day woke us up in time for sunrise. As I brewed coffee and prepared pink heart-shaped vanilla waffles for our daughter, I felt graced by the most perfect adventure.
Sundancer on the Brazos
Our return to Fuller’s Folly — at the Sundancer on the Brazos — was just as much a treat.
The same silence welcomed us as we approached the stairs to the luxury handmade safari tent, though a few weeks had passed, so everything was a little bit greener and livelier than our visit to the treehouse.
We climbed the wooden stairs to the tent, which Fuller had delivered from South Africa, and saw a large buffalo skull by the front door. He said he discovered it at the river several years ago and estimates that it’s about 150 years old, from when the Comanche tribes lived on this land.
A large porch wrapped around the tent, overlooking a creek (and another hidden waterfall). Made of a thick canvas exterior, Fuller says they “insulated the heck out of it” with wooden walls and flooring inside.
Opening the door to the safari tent was an immediate welcome that provided such a warm comfort. Fuller decorated the space with Southwestern-style pieces and antiques from local shops. Cowhide rugs laid across the floor, while a wooden trunk in front of the couch held a handful of board games.
Large windows that open directly to the outdoors placed us directly among the wildlife, and we fell asleep to the trees shuffling around us.
During our stay, we spent our evening outside, appreciating the nature that surrounded us. We sat for hours in the hot tub, which is one of the only wood-fired hot tubs in the nation. We also invited Fuller and his new bride to share stories with us about the property.
“What I really love about the tent is that you really feel like you’re part of the forest,” Fuller says.
The History of Fuller’s Folly
It’s not only Fuller that recognizes such a ubiquitous specialness in this property. In fact, Fuller’s Folly has garnered a lot of attention for several movie and television producers.
Most notably, a Nickelodeon reality TV show “Dude Perfect” and the United Kingdom-based cooking show “The James Martin Show” filmed a segment on his property. The river ranch also served as the backdrop for a scene from “The Old Man and the Gun,” starring Robert Redford and Tom Waits, and was considered for the filming of “Yellowstone.”
But beyond the unique haven that Fuller’s created for several to enjoy, he is proud of the rich history that his land claims.
“When they were building a pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico, they hired geologists to walk the entire pipeline to make sure they didn’t destroy any ancient sites,” Fuller says. “When they came through here, they had to reroute the pipeline three times because of ancient land.”
Among some of the artifacts discovered: a hand cream and electric iron dating back to the 1930s and an arrowhead that Fuller estimates about 5,000 years old. He said he also discovered petrified wood, from tens of thousands of years ago, and petrified coral from when the earth was underwater millions of years ago.
“It’s one thing to know the history,” Fuller says. “But it’s another thing to have the evidence in front of you.”
