K is for...

Kamas in Summit County, Utah.

The Kamas Valley is mainly agricultural land with farms both large and small.  Deb, a friend who grows alpaca and llama on her piece of land in the beautiful valley, invited us up to help with the shearing her llama and alpaca pack.
The day before, it had rained in the Salt Lake Valley but, the upper elevations (Deb is at 6400') had several inches of snow.  It was all melted by the time we arrived but, it was cold. We were properly dressed for the chill, thank goodness.

The animals were divided by gender and we herded the grrls in to the barn first.  I'm not sure this llama (I think her name was "A") would have been so happy had she know what was coming.

Deb had her eye on two fleeces she knew would be fabulous as they were from the two young alpaca.  Skye had a golden red coat that was just what Deb expected and this beautiful mottled gray fleece just may turn out to be a show winner, as it held together beautifully.   The grrls were quite the sight for the boyz as they paraded around 'in the buff' after their bit of grooming.

The llamas are bigger than the alpaca and it took several men to hold them down while a little extra grooming was accomplished.  Here is Smith helping to hold Grace while her toe nails are trimmed. Later he did get baptized with a bit of llama spit. He was a good sport but couldn't wait to get home and shower. Thank goodness it was the last llama.

It really was quite a day, almost like our own mini-fiber festival. Deb and her beau, Jim (who turned out to be an old college friend of mine), fed us everything from vegetarian chili to buffalo burgers.  The day was clear and sunny and couldn't have been more beautiful.

Kamas is a bit of heaven.

Comments

[Kelly]

ohhhh sounds like fun! You would never know it was cold from those pictures. It looks sooo nice!

[Cassie]

Very very cool. I'm sure that's the first time I've seen llama shearing anywhere.

Did you get some llama fleece?

[Zarah]

Fun times, I love a visit to the farm! (My grandparents owned on a dairy farm. So fun to feed bottles to the baby cows.)

[Lauren]

I've only been in Kamas a couple of times, but I loved it too! How cool you were able to go and do that.

[Cara]

Poor Smith! Taking one for the team!! Love that last picture.

[Melissa]

Great story and great pics!

[Lisa]

What a great day! And I love the yarn you dyed over the weekend! You have been a busy grrl!!!

[Chris]

Sounds like a great time, other than the llama spit...

[Carole]

I love the teepee photo at the end! Dale had one before we were married and we keep talking about getting another one.

[Anne]

Sounds like a lovely day - there are several trail rides we want to take to explore that area better!

[Susan]

That looks like it was a lot of fun! I have to ask why just the females were sheared, though. (Maybe they were just sheared first?)

[Sarah HB]

Sounds like a great day!

[Kristi aka Fiber Fool]

That must have been quite the experience! Thanks for documenting it so well and sharing it with us, Margene!

[Vicki]

Oh! Gorgeous!! Those animals' faces are cute, but I just love seeing them in herds -- always makes me smile (thinking of all that fleece, I suppose).
; )

[amanda]

What a great day!

[Lucia]

The valley looks lovely -- having just spent the weekend in Vermont I am comparing and contrasting your majestic mountains with our little ones. Both have unique charms.

[Lolly]

Blue days are finally here! I know you have been looking forward to it ;)
Great pics! and a lovely blue sky above!

[Laura]

Fun fun!! How interesting that they seperate the girls from the boys. Hmmm....

[Lizzy B]

What fun! That fleece is gorgeous!!!

[hillary]

That sounds like so much fun. That Smith certainly is a good sport! Llama spit - ewww.

[Katherine]

Oh, wow, Kamas in the spring. What a fun day! Well, a fun working day!

[Rebekah]

I want to live there!

[Kim]

Such a beautifully brilliant sky! Perfect, since the June Project Spectrum color is blue. :)

Big hugs, sweetcheeks--thank you for sharing your beautiful photos with us. xoxo

[lisa Co. Springs]

Very fun! Did you bring home any fiber?? My friend Ellen is shearing her llamas in a couple weeks....you can bet I'll be in line for some of that woolly goodness :)

[Chef Messy]

Llamas in Kamas! Alpacas are so cute...

[Sylvia]

Your photos really capture the feel of the high country. Thank you!!!

[Snow]

An excellent use of the letter K, Margene!

[Kathleen]

so i guess there was no kayaking in kamas?

[wool winder]

Looks like hard work, but what a treat to spend the day in such a beautiful place.

[Birdsong]

What a spectacular place! I had been wondering about your "k" hint earlier, and this was better than anything I could have guessed up.

[Starry]

Margene, I'm delurking to say that you are a born geographer! You've always got great pictures and descriptions of places.

By the way, looking at all your great "lacy" socks inspired me to try a sock that wasn't just stockinette. I'm almost done the second one and not only am I pleased with the results, I think the pattern makes the sock go quicker and be more fun!

[susan]

They can call it "spit" all they want but it's vomit, pure and simple.

[caroline]

Fine. Get me hooked on ANOTHER part of Utah. heh.

[Debi]

Wonderful K, did you bring a sweater for the naked furries?

[Laurie]

I like everything except the llama spit. It must have been quite a wad to need a shower afterwards.

Wouldn't it be great to check out the 'paca fleece on the "hoof" (toe?) What a fun day!

[Marcia]

When my son Tom was first out in Utah, he bought a piece of land in Kamas with the intention of building a log house on it. It later became the down payment for his house in Silver Summit!

[Wanda]

I would never think that would be fun, but reading your account changed my opinion on that one. Thanks!