On Monday, my son and I took a two-hour drive to do a Llama Walk at Aspen Ridge Llamas. We took a lot of water for the first day of the heatwave and spent our afternoon with the Llamas. Aspen Ridge Llamas is on the other side of Prince Albert, and although it’s a longer drive, it’s worth the ride. An added bonus is the beautiful drive and view on the way there. We made notes of places to stop the next time we go to visit the Llamas (and there will be a next time.)
Before I get into the Llama walk, I want to talk about Morgan. Morgan is the owner and operator of Aspen Ridge Llamas. She is an amazing and knowledgeable young woman. She bought her first llama at age 13 and jumped in from there. This year, at 16 years old, she’s opened up her venture to include llama walks for the public. This is open to anybody who loves animals and who wants to learn more about llamas, including group homes, kids, adults and anybody else that wants to walk with some of the sweetest animals ever. Never underestimate the healing power of animals.
As a side note, these ones don’t spit!
When you walk with Morgan and the llamas she spends the walk answering questions and telling you about what she’s learned raising them as well as talking about the other animals at Aspen Ridge.
We came on a perfect day. This little cutie had just been born. Her momma, Dottie, was obviously a very proud mom. The rest of the female llamas are all pregnant and waiting for their little ones. It turns out llamas are pregnant for 11 months so they have a while to wait. (CAN YOU IMAGINE???)
Morgan and her brother did the walk with us and we had so much fun with them. I wasn’t sure if my son would be able to walk a llama, but they had the perfect one for him. He got to walk Aspen, and she was amazing with him. She ran with him when he ran and slowed down when he wanted to stop. He also stopped when she needed to eat or scratch. I’m going to be honest, he had an easier time walking her than he does with our own dog.
Aspen was Morgan’s very first llama and is loved by anybody who is lucky enough to meet her. She was the perfect choice for my son to walk – and she even forgave him when he kept calling her a camel. (I also learned that alpacas, camels, and llamas are two-toed cousins!)
I walked the beautiful London. She followed along with me and liked to stop for breaks as we went. She missed her friends, but she still made for a great walking partner. She and I walked slowly behind while my son and Aspen raced on together. I think we were paired up well. London is very unique because she has two different coloured eyes. I think her personality makes her pretty unique as well.
We had a lot of fun, and the llamas were very curious and friendly with us, but what I loved watching was how they interacted with Morgan. They loved her and frequently stopped for a pat or a cuddle.
We stopped to visit the cows and saw a couple of calves as well. (We were very safe around the barbed wire.) They were friendly cows. We’ve spent a small amount of time around cows before but this was the most interested I’ve seen my son. He stood there so patiently until the cows came over to him. He talked to them all while holding onto Aspen.
After the visit with the cows, we started our walk back. Before returning our llama friends, we stopped to meet a few more special animals.
It was hard to get my son away from these two. He loved the new little one. He was able to feed, talk and pet it. He really fell in love, and it was even better because we still were able to have Aspen and London with us while we met the new animals.
After we returned the llamas, it was still hard to get my little one to leave. He wanted to play there all day. Luckily the air-conditioned car with snacks in it was enough to convince him we should head to our next destination.
I loved our afternoon and I’m so happy we went. We will be back again this summer, for sure. I need to thank our gracious host, Morgan. She made the visit amazing, along with our fabulous new friends: Aspen and London.
Llama Walk at Aspen Ridge Llamas
Website: aspenridgellamas
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Aspen-Ridge-Llamas
Location: www.google.com/maps/place/Aspen+Ridge+Llamas
Price: $7.50 per walker