Our Night at an Alpaca Ranch

So for those of you who have been following along, you know that we have been “semi-permanently settled” in Albuquerque since January. My oldest is thriving in a public middle school and all three of the boys are loving going to karate at the same gym three times a week. However, our compromise when we decided to settle was that we would travel all summer long. So we hit the road on May 29^th and we will be traveling all summer long, with the goal of returning to Albuquerque on August 1^st.

Our very first stop was Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM, which funny enough is a complete misnomer because the Aztec Ruins are really the ancestral grounds of the Pueblo Native Americans. At the ruins, the boys earned their 20th Jr. Ranger Badge and we enjoyed a great history lesson.

After our hike, we went up to Colorado to stay at Pleasant Journey Alpaca Ranch. I had made arrangements a few days ahead of time to stay on this farm through our Harvest Host membership. (For more information on HarvestHosts, check out my previous post on Buying Local While You Travel.) The hosts Susan and Glenn Kacsh were wonderful! They provided us with a flat place to park and a little table outside where we could eat while we watched the alpacas. In fact we could even see the alpacas from our own couch!

We took long walks around, enjoying the amazing views of the San Juan mountains. This gave the boys a chance to really run around and “be boys” for awhile. The hosts had plans to give us a tour that night, but unfortunately one of their newborn calves was having trouble breathing and they had to take him to the vet. However, the next morning Susan gave us wonderful tour of the ranch. On the tour, we got up close and personal with the alpacas, visiting the baby and mother alpacas, the herdsires and all of the other alpacas. Susan told us about the processes for sheering and breeding alpacas. She was very knowledgeable, recognizing each of the over 50 alpcas by name, parentage and attributes. The boys learned so much and were able to ask her questions as we went.

Before we left, we visited her store where she sells alpaca fleece, hand spun alpaca yarn and professionally milled alpaca yarn, as well as rugs, scarfs and other things made from the alpaca yarn. The boys each picked out a little finger puppet and we got some lovely dark brown yarn for my aunt who likes to knit. If you’re looking for alpaca yarn or any products using it, you should consider contacting Pleasant Journey Alpaca Farm!

This was such a great experience! I can’t wait for our next Harvest Host experience. If you’re interested in signing up for a Harvest Host membership, feel free to use my name “Heidi Raki” under the referral code and we’ll both get an extra month added to our membership.

5 Ways to Buy Local While You Travel

As a family we try to buy locally no matter where we are. This is much easier when we are stable for longer periods of time like we have been in Albuquerque since January. Now that we have hit the road again for the next nine weeks, we have be slightly more creative when trying to support local business and farmers. It’s really easy to slip into buying from big box stores that are convenient, but not always great for the economy or the environment of the places we are visiting. So, how do we buy locally while we’re on the road? Here are a few ways:

1.) Find the local farmer’s markets – Most areas have weekly farmers markets, especially in the summer. A simple google search for “farmer’s markets in (whatever city you're in)” will generally give you a list of markets, as well as times and locations. We also try to stop at roadside stands whenever we see them.

2.) Check Craigslist – Farmers who sell local eggs and local honey often advertise on craigslist. They will often meet you out somewhere or you can pick things up at their location if you’re comfortable with that.

3.) Scour the bulletin boards at local haunts – Small supermarkets, laundry mats and restaurants often have bulletin boards where locals can post small advertisements for goods, services and events. This is especially true in smaller towns. We have used these boards to find eggs for sale, weekly farmer’s markets and even craft fairs.

4.) Ask the locals – I used to watch Rachel Ray’s $40 a Day and one of her biggest tips was always to ask a local where the best restaurants are. This is a tip we have used not only for restaurants, but also for farmer’s markets, things to do, and pretty much anything that we might want or need while we’re in an area. If you want to support local, ask the locals!

5.) Harvest Hosts – This trip we have added a new method of finding local farmers to support. Another fulltime RVer referred us to Harvest Hosts, which is a network of farms and wineries that will allow you to stay a night or two on their property (in your RV) for free. These are mainly dry camping opportunities, but the program allows you to find plenty of farms you would have never found otherwise. The membership fee for the program is only $45 a year and then you are asked to purchase something at each farm you stay at, which is kind of the point for us. Our first Harvest Host stay was at an alpaca farm and it was so cool that it deserves its own blog post, so come back in a few days and I’ll post pictures and a description of that fun night!

Do you have any tricks for buying local while you’re traveling? I’d love it if you shared your tips in the comments. It’s great when we all learn from each other!