After the four of us enjoyed a day filled with fun, treats, and wine tasting, we headed off into Palisades’ countryside for a self-guided tour of the orchard’s and vineyards before the sun goes down.
The previous month, Al and I drove this ‘Fruit & Wine Byway” in western Colorado and therefore I knew exactly where to go. The area is small and there’s only one main road, thus it’s not difficult to get around. However, I do have a good old-fashioned map along, just in case.
This map also highlights the ‘scenic byway’ and makes notes of interests along the way. I believe I found this particular Palisade, Colorado map at the visitor center in Fruita just off Interstate 70.
We do a quick drive through downtown Palisade and then proceed in the direction of the East Orchard Mesa Loop. This scenic loop takes us past orchards, vineyards, and quaint produce stands. It’s September 21st and the trees no longer bear the sweet, delicious peaches that were abundant in August, instead we find apples not quite ripe for the picking.
We drive past produce stands, orchards growing apples, and then vineyards. I knew just the spot to pull over so Ashton and Tasha could see grapes still growing on the vine. Their interest and knowledge in wine still amazes me. Tasha even plans to get married in a vineyard someday…..once she finds the right man, that is. I’m not sure how or when Tasha developed her interest in wine, but I do know how daughter, Ashton developed hers……Sydney, Australia.
When Ashton studied abroad, she engaged in several wine tours in Australia and developed a taste and curiosity. I’m sure it started out as an excuse to drink alcohol before turning into a genuine interest in wine. Since she wasn’t 21 years old yet, the U.S. drinking age, she found herself in a country where she was of age….well, need I say more? We won’t even mention the term “pub crawling”. Thus, the story of how my little girl turned into a wine connoisseur.
Ah, back to the vineyards and orchards……. I stop for the gals to walk among the rows of grapevines. They are giddy with delight and snapping away with their iPhones. There’s still plenty of grapes on the vines for the gals to observe and gently touch.
We hop back in the car and continue our journey. I turn down a side road then into what appears is someone’s driveway / home. The girls are perplexed. Now I am giddy with delight; I have an impending surprise for the ladies.
Just as we were exiting our parked car, the owner of Suncrest Orchard Alpacas steps out of the barn to greet us. He’s carrying something?
Suncrest Orchard Alpacas provides informative tours year ’round on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays from 9-5 or by appointment. Whew…..it’s Saturday. This time, my spontaneity worked well. The guy is obviously carrying a bundle of joy as evidenced by his huge smile.
The four of us approach the fence and in unison respond, “Aaawwww….hoowww….. cuutte”! Ashton, Tasha, sister-in-law, and myself are enamored with this one week old baby Alpaca. It’s obvious the owner is passionate about is brood of Alpacas. He graciously spent an hour sharing his vast knowledge of these interesting animals.
We were enthralled. We all asked lots of questions. As long as we asked questions, the owner eagerly and passionately shared.
The month prior when Al and I visited, the owners mother was on site to give us the tour including a tour of the building where they spin the Alpaca yarn. This was probably the first time I had wished I was into knitting. I so would buy some of this Alpaca yarn. Soft is an understatement.
With the setting of the sun, we reluctantly tore ourselves away thanking the owner profusely for his time. We were all truly fascinated and entertained by this impromptu stop. Another huge thank you to Suncrest Orchard Alpaca Farm for an irresistibly good time.
Time to return to camp. We have dinner waiting for us on the picnic table …….
Live Laugh RV 
45 responses to “Irresistible cuteness!”
do they spit like camels? or are they more like sheep?
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I guess they can occasionally spit but nothing like llamas or camels. Oh, and they do NOT like to be touched. The owner was the only one they are ok with.
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You certainly have the cuteness factor goin’ on in these photos Ingrid. 🙂
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Love that you are having such a good time with your family. And those alpacas are adorable.
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They are extremely cute and yes it’s always nice to spend time with family 🙂
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Ahhh … How easy it is to get drawn to things we cannot acquired!
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How true…..these cuties don’t even like being petted 😦
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I like your close up shots with the hay hanging out of their mouth! They are cute and boy their fur is warm! Way warmer than sheep wool.
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And soft. I think IF I needed a super warm sweater, I would definitely go with Alpaca. Thanks for stopping by.
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Those are the most adorable alpacas ever!!
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Definitely cute. I was glad we could visit and watch for awhile!
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Great pics of th alpacas…and they didn’t spit? They must be very well behaved. 🙂
And I think it is better that daughter chose to be a wine connoisseur over being a shot queen. 🙂 🙂
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No, they didn’t spit but they also didn’t get too close to us. Oh my gosh….’shot queen’, no that would not do….LOL…..wine connoisseur is fine!
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We have alpaca around here. I see them in the fields on the way to Bandon, but sadly I don’t think they do tours.
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Most do not, but this particular farm does offer tours and I just couldn’t resist taking advantage of the opportunity 🙂
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Great Captures – thanks so much for sharing:)
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Thanks…..too cute not to share 🙂
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Those things are adorable…
No daughter of yours was ever on a “Pub Crawl”, it was a “learning curve”, you said it yourself, she was studying abroad….
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Love it…… I know daughter totally agrees as she tried explaining it was all part of ‘her education’. 😉
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Nothing beats Alpaca wool for keeping warm in winter! There’s a store in Boston’s Quincy Market that sells sweaters made exclusively from Alpaca yarns. I used to treat myself every year on my birthday with a new alpaca sweater; pricey but very definitely worth it!
I love the pics you posted, but was very surprised to see mesas in the same shot as vineyards and orchards! I never realized mesas existed outside of the desert! Interesting how blogging teaches something new every day!!
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Colorado has mesas of all kinds; some forested, some rock like the one in Palisade. After seeing how labor intensive processing the wool is, it’s no wonder Alpaca products are pricey. I’m sure they last a very long time though. Quincy Market? It’s been almost thirty years since I was last there!
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Aren’t they just the peaches cream?
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Yes they are….so cute we had trouble pulling ourselves away.
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They really are cute little guys.
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Absolutely…..too bad they don’t like being touched!
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Now that’s the way to end a day — and a post. Looks like you all had a wonderful day. 🙂
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Ah, but the day was not over…..next post – dinner 🙂
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What a fun day for you and the girls! I love your alpaca farm photos!
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Thank you……it definitely was a great day!
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You have a lot of adventures stored up in your head (and your computer). The alpacas are so cute. I’ve never seen one up close. Can’t help you with the knitting. Perhaps you should learn! It would be a good activity while living in a small box!
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Little by little the adventures will be shared. Somehow I don’t see myself knitting anymore than you. 🙂
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They look so adorable! I think it’s the huge liquidy eyes that get to me, maybe the softness, maybe those long lanky legs. Oh heck…the whole package is just so sweet.
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Yes, they are adorable. The long eyelashes really got me!
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What a great surprise for the girls:) The Alpaca are so cute, especially those little ones. Super photo to end your mother daughter day!
Glad you had such a wonderful ladies time!
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Thank you. There were plenty of aaawwww’s that’s for sure.
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The Alpaca reminds me of a furry camel..and I think they are just so ugly that they’re cute!! Especially the one who says, “Mike, Mike…Guess what day it is?”
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Their legs do remind me of camels. I was surprised, they don’t like being touched and fortunately they didn’t spit 🙂
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Your Ashton and our Carrie sound like they could be sisters. Carrie loves to drink “good” wine. And for a while I thought she changed her middle name to “pub crawl.”
Yes, Alpacas are adorable. Your last photo is absolutely precious!
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Exactly, a wine tour is just a posh persons pub crawl 🙂
When I go to restock up on wine from our local winery, Marco always takes me into the cantina to taste his ‘latest’ wine or he will open a bottle for a quick wine tasting.
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Love it….I’ll be sharing that with my daughter. 🙂
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It was really sweet to see that precious Alpaca mother/daughter moment and I was happy to have captured it. Oh, how funny about our daughters. Did she study abroad?
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Alpacas have such adorable faces, don’t they? 🙂 That fresh produce store looks like quite a find.
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All the fresh produce stands were unique in design and the fruits were delicious. Yes, Alpacas do have a cuddly cuteness about them. 🙂
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Aww the last picture is the BEST! Alpacas are fun to watch when they are at play too.
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The babies running around were so cute. The one week old little boy still wasn’t totally stable when he hopped around. Very cute!
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