Conveniently, there is a llama farm a mere 10 minute drive from our house! For only $12 per person…read more(and free for our toddler), we booked a tour at Dakota Ridge Farm. The Farm also offers private treks for a more quiet, romantic experience with your very own llama.
We pulled into the charming, inviting farm on a Saturday afternoon, ready for our field trip! Our friendly tour guide greeted us and brought Mike out right away. Mike was a beautiful and loveable llama that really looked more like a "Cusco", or maybe even "Cookie". But, Mike it was.
I must admit, when I get close to a llama, I get nervous one will spit on me. Our tour guide reassured us that llamas don't enjoy spitting either and they use it as a last line of defense or if they are incredibly agitated. He also informed us that these creatures of the Andes are not happy with intense heat and that some llamas have been known to spit at County fairs in the middle of the summer when the sun is angriest with us, Northern Hemisphereans. Somehow, Dakota Ridge farmers keep their llamas happy enough that, supposedly, they have never spat (at a human?). You can confirm that fact when you book your own tour.
The tour was interesting for us, adults, and mildly entertaining for a toddler. Let's be honest, he just wanted to run around the farm. At the beginning, we let him do just that, walking back and forth through a stable, sometimes following a loose hen. This is really what we wanted, though. We have an abundance of farm books at our house, and this trip is one of many in the future that will allow our son to chart his own course in a new land, surrounded by all kinds of life's creatures.
After some needed independent exploration, we would pick Elijah up and introduce him to a llama or even a group of llamas. Mind you, we have dozens of stuffed animals, but no real ones. The tour guide asked what kind of exposure our son had had to large animals...we said none. However, our spiritual little boy had no problem petting, and even grabbing these large, gentle animals' faces and necks. And how did the llamas respond to a grabby toddler? Lovingly... The nervous mom in me had to step back and trust that Animal and Baby were forming their own special bond that I was not to interrupt. I think it is important to mention that I have a toddler who is, in general, quite hesitant to try new things, but something drew him to these beautiful creatures, and he was not afraid. I'm glad this farm is only 10 minutes away, because that interaction definitely makes me want to come back.
This is probably a good time to add that our tour guide mentioned that the farm offered special sensory visits for children with certain sensitivities.
During our tour, we saw llamas of all ages and sizes (or "alpacas" as my husband referred to them throughout the tour - we still don't know the difference). I would say the older llamas were more toddler-friendly. When the tour was over, we walked a bit more around the farm, and Elijah practiced stepping in puddles. His mud-filled shoes are still in my car because...I just can't.
While we had a great time on our field trip to Dakota Ridge Farm and made many new llama friends, I can't possibly write about llamas and not review the book "Llama Llama Red Pajama". Ambitiously, we've tried to create a somewhat multilingual home for our growing family with Spanish as the second language spoken (followed by Turkish and Hebrew to a much less frequent degree). I purchased "Llama Llama Rojo Pijama" as one of Elijah's Spanish books. Here is my one complaint...the word "llama" means both a loveable cousin to both the alpaca and the camel, and also "calls". So, when the llama calls to his mother, he llamas his mother. La llama llama rojo pijama a su mama llama y llama...o algo asi. It's confusing! Sorry to the other parents trying to find fun Spanish-translated books, but I think this one might be better in...not Spanish.
In conclusion, go to Dakota Ridge Farm already!
