Our story
Full Circle
Palo Santo was built in 1998 by Ralph and Ann Mathieu. Snowbirds who wintered for many years in Lajitas, this was their winter retirement home where they shared many happy memories with their children and grandchildren.
I am the current owner, Chase Kincannon, a fifth-generation Texan who has been coming to the Big Bend his entire life. As a kid right out of college, I spent a season as a river guide in 2006. While living in Lajitas, I met Ann, who was, by then, a widow.
She was part of our running group, joining us for nights of dinner and dancing with her best friend and neighbor, Miss Elle, who lived in the adobe home down the road. I have an especially fond memory of Ann hosting us for an Oscars watch party in 2006, where she welcomed us into her home, full of food, friends, and hospitality.
Ann was an artist, which is evident in the design of the home. The light in this house changes and shifts, painting the views and shifting the colors from different perspectives throughout the day and into the evening.
Ann and Miss Elle are credited with the restoration of the Santa Maria and San Jose Episcopal Mission chapel in Lajitas, which you can see from the porch of the house. Ann did all the stained glass in the chapel, and Palo Santo features one of her original stained-glass works.
Ann passed away in 2018, and the property changed hands. In 2025, I had the great fortune of being able to acquire the property and renovate it. Most of it had not been updated since its original construction, and I wanted to modernize and refresh the property while still preserving Ann's artistic vision.
I'm very pleased with how the house has turned out, and hope Ann would be, too. It's an honor to extend the hospitality she shared with me twenty years ago, now out to you, our guests. It's my sincere hope that this special place brings you the peace and lifelong sense of wonder that it has always brought me.
Meet Chase
As I mentioned before, I'm a fifth-generation Texan, originally from Erath County. My family arrived when it was still part of Mexico, so we've been here for four of the six flags of Texas.
I have a BA in Texas history from Tarleton State University (2004). I run a private financial planning/wealth management firm, based in Austin.
I spend my time in Austin, Terlingua, and Lajitas, but you won't catch me calling myself a local in Big Bend - that title is reserved for folks who spend the summer there!
I also built and own Fossil Knob Ridge, our sister property in Terlingua. I hope you'll check that out - I'm very proud of it and it has a very different feel and vibe from Palo Santo.