Hot Springs & Monterey, VA

Alpacas still crowd-pleasers A spacious barn is open to visitors last Saturday at the Diamond Triple C Ranch in Millboro - complete with a shrub sculpted in the shape of an alpaca - where a herd of 22 alpacas is housed. The ranch, managed by Vanessa Minnick, participated in National Alpaca Farm Day. (Recorder photos by Gina Hamilton) Alpacas played to host to more than 50 visitors. Alpaca fur is used for the fleece fibers that is made into clothing and other items. Visitors enjoy a look at the friendly alpacas. Cindy Edwards, left, of Hot Springs, talks with manager Vanessa Minnick. According to Minnick, present-day alpacas are descended from those in the Andes Mountains of Peru, and some from Bolivia. The farm has 15 adult males, three baby males, and three baby females, which are strictly used for the fine fleece fiber they produce, not for food. Minnick is a former Bath and Montgomery county school teacher. "It's a perfect job for me because I'm an animal and outdoors person," she said. The 78-acre farm is owned by Stephen and Gwen Coltrin of Pennsylvania. Fred Reese manages the property. The alpacas seemed as curious about visitors last Saturday as the visitors were about them. The farm store at the Diamond Triple C Ranch, Echo Valley Fruit & Fiber, displays an attractive selection of clothing. All items were made from the fleece of alpacas and also included bags and blankets. Minnick said the alpacas at the farm can come from such farms all across the U.S., but they usually come from the ranch of owners Stephen and Gwen Coltrin in Oklahoma. The couplehas operated the Millboro farm for about four years.