Rancho La Puerta 2025

Bird of Paradise outside the administration building at Rancho La Puerta

Cardio funk classes with Milo Levell, nutritional talks with Sohailla Digsby RD, wellness talks by medical adventurer Dr. Brandee Waite, a mountain hike with friend and life coach, Emily Boorstein, time with my daughter, Ruby, swimming, visiting with old friends, and forging new friendships were some of the many highlights of my recent 2025 Rancho La Puerta trip. Rancho la Puerta, on the outskirts of Tecate, Mexico, is an expansive wellness resort that includes 4000 acres of hiking trails, gardens, gyms, yoga and dance studios, spas, swimming pools, a cooking school, an organic garden, and more. I first visited the Ranch in 2009 as a musical guest presenting a piano concert and singing classes, and have returned in the same capacity over a dozen times through the years. In fact, it is where I met my better half, Joe, who was a fitness instructor at the Ranch for some 30 years (that’s another story for another time).

Siempre Mejor, which translates to Always Better, is the motto of the Ranch. Indeed! Each visit provides opportunities for personal renewal and growth. At the end of the week, I ALWAYS leave with a feeling of gratitude and resolve that I am on the right path. My path includes the magic bullet of diet and exercise, self care, friendships, continuing education, travel, and meaningful work: teaching, studying, and performing music. As always, it’s good to return home, and as I look forward to a busy month ahead, which I refer to as “March Musical Madness.” In the next few weeks, I’ll work my own students in my studio as well as take to the road for work with a variety of students and teachers in the Western Washington region. As I step into March, I’m filled with energy, and a sense of calmness, ready to tackle what lies ahead. Siempre Mejor!

Are you ready to study piano in 2025? Check out my online, and on your own music course.

On Demand Piano lessons with Laura Dean:

Honoring Chief Earl Old Person (1929-2021)

“Legend of the Plains” by Charles Wakefield Cadman, an early 20th century composer whose compositions were often inspired by Native American melodies. Played by Laura Dean.

Missoulian photo

Get up. Jump up. Try hard and don’t give up. – Chief Earl Old Person

Chief Earl Old Person died of cancer at the age of 92 on October 13th. Old Person was a national treasure who served as the chief of the Blackfeet Nation for more than 60 years. He was an expert of Blackfeet language and culture, an advocate for tribal land and water rights, an inspired political leader, and an international ambassador. In his lifetime he met every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. He also met Queen Elizabeth, the prime minister of Canada-Pierre Trudeau, and the shaw of Iran. In his later years, he created home recordings of traditional stories and songs for the benefit of future generations.

I grew up in Choteau, Montana, on the Eastern Rocky Mountain front, about 70 miles south of Browning, Montana-the headquarters of the Blackfeet Reservation-the last stop before Glacier Park. The Choteau Bulldogs and Browning Indians were in the same athletic conference. Throughout my elementary to high school years, I regularly traveled to Browning for swim meets and to watch basketball and football games.

Earl Old Person rarely missed a high school basketball game-Browning is legendary for champion basketball teams and enduring fans. For his last visit to the Browning high school gymnasium, his casket was placed in the middle of the basketball court where thousands of mourners came to honor his memory and to say their final goodbyes. The mourning period lasted for four days and included processions, dancing, songs, and stories celebrating the life of the beloved chief.

Earl Old Person singing the Badger Two Medicine Song

New York Times: “Earl Old Person, Chief of the Blackfeet Nation, Dies at 92”

For an unforgettable story of high school basketball on Montana’s southeastern reservations, read: Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn by Larry Colton