My family had a great time with the alpacas Tuesday. (Dave Grembi Photo)
The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia has beautiful mountains/landscapes and is loaded with all sorts of history.
However, thanks to my daughter, my family took an entirely different type of outing Tuesday. We visited Point of View Alpacas Farm in Mt. Sidney and owners Teri and Dave Grembi certainly delivered a memorable experience with their small herd of huacaya alpacas.
You have a chance to walk an alpaca for about a one-mile round trip that took about an hour and included not only a lot of information about alpacas but even a chance to feed “your” alpaca.
Dave Grebe asked for a volunteer to take the “lead” alpaca and when no one else immediately volunteered, I thought why not and got the lead spot for most of the trip.
Alpacas are basically gentle animals and our group of about 15 including children walked all 11 alpacas on the farm. Sometimes an alpaca will balk and just stop but the owners said not to worry because it would start back on its own and they were right.
The farm has a great “panoramic view of both the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains” that you see in full view during your walk past the lavender field and through the pastures to Middle River.
The owners not only encourage you to take pictures but will take pictures for you and who can resist a photo with an alpaca. Dave is a huge Beatles fan and every alpaca’s name is some sort of Beatles reference and at my age, I really like that.
I don’t have pets but these gentle, cuddly animals quickly bond with you and like being hugged as long as you follow instructions the owners give you.
The alpaca fleece — these alpacas are all scheduled to be sheared next week — was referred to in ancient times as the “fiber of the gods” in ancient times because it was used to make clothes for royalty. The farm store had socks, yarn, gloves and other items that were soft but yet apparently can last a long, long time (we bought two pairs of socks and gloves).
The price is only $25 if you walk an alpaca and kids can walk with an adult and the alpaca at no charge. And get this — no payment is requested or required until after the walk.
I cannot recommend this outing enough. It’s unique, fun and not that expensive for what you experience. You learn a lot — alpacas in a herd all have a common poop spot so coyotes and other predators cannot get a sense of their location as easily — of different information and I certainly hope to have an opportunity to do this again.
For more information, visit this link.
2 Responses
Looks awesome to do!!!
It really is Phyillis . So much fun and so relaxing