Vermont Travel Notes

Travel to Vermont and you will see the dairy farms that are a large part of the state's image. But from time to time you'll see other animals too, some of them exotic breeds you would not expect.

There are a goodly number of sheep and goat farms now (mainly to support all the small cheese producers here), exotic bovines such as Scottish Highlander Cows that look like Musk-Ox cousins (there are usually some out at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe), buffalo and elk (they're being raised for restaurant consumption), miniature horses and donkeys, and I even know of a camel (it's on Route 2 a little south of Richmond VT, on the west side of the road).

I know of several places with Llamas and Alpacas but I did not know there were so many of them until I read the list of Alpaca farms in VT on the Sponsors page on the Northeast Alpaca Association's Fall Spectacular website.

The public is invited to the show being held at the Champlain Valley Expo this weekend, November 2, 3 and 4, 2007. About 100 Alpaca farms from all over the northeast will be displaying some 500 alpacas.

These are fascinating animals and you can learn more about them at Benefits of Alpacas page on the Log Cabin Farm website.

Alpacas originated in the Andes mountains of South America so it is a breed of animal very much at home in the mountains of the northeast but they adapt well to other environments as well. They are small, easily handled animals known for being intelligent, calm, and clean. They don't need a lot of land, they are disease resistant, and they produce a fiber as soft as cashmere that's also lighter, stronger and warmer than wool. The hair is just cut off them like shearing sheep wool, so the animals are not butchered.

You can even purchase an Alpaca there. "Coco," pictured above, can be yours for just $20,000 for example. Everybody in your neighborhood has a dog or a cat but you can set a new standard with an alpaca in the backyard! Besides Coco (who is owned by Alpacas of Easton ), there others for sale on Alpacas For Sale page on the Association's show website.

(c) 2007 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn