Of course, he and his family (some nearby in Scottsdale, others who fly in) don’t have to leave the homestead at all. The Adams’s home was designed to blend into the landscape - restrained and elegant, not loudly exclusive. The main house, clad in native stone, leads to the separate casita across a bridge over a wash that swells from mountain runoff in winter and monsoon rains in summer. The natural dry-stacked stones—a blend of earth tones from eons of exposure - were hand-culled from the original DC Ranch excavation.

A custom mesquite door and slate roof, with copper-clad walkways and outdoor sitting areas, reaffirms this earthiness, and an old bench, set with colorful pillows, welcomes family and friends. Just beside the bench, a vintage child’s red pedal toy exemplifies the family spirit within. “The front entry sets the tone for the textures and warmth to expect inside,” Fox says.

So, too, Adams programmed extensive desert landscaping of mesquite, palo breas, ironwood and saguaro to return the site to its original high-desert beauty and avoid visual clutter by neighboring homes and golf course activity. The result is privacy looking in from the outside and grandeur looking out from within. “We wanted a one-story ranch-style for convenience in day-to-day living - more expensive construction but well worth it,” Adams explains. “We don’t worry about any of the little ones falling down flights of stairs because of the open floor plan, and they have the run of the house, including the very popular media/game room to occupy them.”

He adds that the proximity to the golf course is another recreational amenity: “When the golfers are not out, the kids have a great time letting off steam in the fairway.” Adams’s large family visits as individuals and groups. His six children and their children require space and privacy but want family intimacy, too. The dining room, for example, offers both mountain views and warmth. The perimeter of its circular table expands to seat everyone during the holidays. “Over Christmas we had 12 folks sleeping in six bedrooms during the night, and 21 kids and adults in the house during the day,” Adams recalls, noting that he relinquished his large master suite for the family of one of his sons. In the master bath, one grandchild quickly claimed the jetted tub with his toy boat and learned a lesson in maritime, and bath time, diplomacy. “My 8-year-old grandson, Ben, loved the tub and had to be reprimanded for saying, ‘Gee, mom, this house is great. Pops must make a lot of money!’ Maternally chastened for 10 minutes or more in etiquette, he asked, sailing around the question, ‘So mom, what does Pops do for a living?’”