Chances are, you have seen an alpaca at our local county fair. Alpacas are the smaller relative of the llama with adorable faces – am I the only one who thinks all the brown ones look like Chewbacca? Julie Robinson and Charlie Garrott, owners of Mt. View Alpaca Farm in Olympia, discovered the alpaca allure shortly after buying their farm.
Creating an Olympia Alpaca Farm
Julie and her husband Charlie bought their farm in 2018. “Due to the shape of the inside of the house, we did not move in until 2019, until most of the restoration was done,” Julie says. “The previous owner died and his family lived in Dallas, so no one was around for about six months, except for the wasps, mice, etc.”
While it needed some TLC before humans could move in…that didn’t stop them from getting some four-legged fluffy residents soon after. “We got into alpacas after we purchased this farm in 2018,” shares Julie. When they learned about the large Tenino Alpaca Farm – now T90 Ranch – selling off their herd of 750, they started to do research and talked to the owner, Dr. Barnett. “We purchased 6,” she continues. “The following year, there was another small herd being rehomed in Winlock, so we bought them. Then there was a farm in Port Orchard that was selling their farm and their alpacas with three white females left, so we bought them. This is what is referred to as alpaca math.”
Alpaca math brought them to a total of 19, 13 females and 6 males. Currently, they are on cria – baby alpaca – watch. “One of our girls is due to give birth any time,” Julie says. “She was due on September 4. They are pregnant for a minimum of 11 and a half to 12 months.”
Aside from their herd of alpacas, Julie and Charlie have been working on creating a large garden with grapevines and a 10-foot by 24-foot greenhouse. They put in a 60-foot raised bed for flowers in the front yard, which serves as bee and pollinator food. “It has been a lot of work so far, but hoping to just get to garden next year,” Julie says. Other animals on the farm include 12 chickens, two dogs and seven beehives.
Are you an RVer? Mt. View Alpaca Farm is a Harvest Host site, so you can book an overnight in your RV at their farm, where you can mingle with the alpacas and enjoy a quiet evening on a farm.
Why Alpacas Make Good Livestock
Julie and Charlie have fallen in love with the alpacas, citing their fun personalities as part of their charm. “They are calm and peaceful and sometimes full of antics,” Julie says. “They all have their own personalities.”
As herd animals, you definitely have to have a group of them. Julie says at least three, and the more there are, the safer they feel. The good news is, they don’t need as much as space as some other types of livestock, but they should be kept separate from other livestock to avoid injury.
And what do you do with an alpaca? Mt. View Alpaca Farm in Olympia raises them for their fiber. “The fiber is super soft, highly insulating, waterproof and hypoallergenic.” Shares Julie. “It does not contain lanolin, which is something that is in sheep wool. The yarn is wonderful to use with knitting and crocheting.”
National Alpaca Days
Mt. View Alpaca Farm is one of the local alpaca farms that participates in National Alpaca Days. Always the last weekend of September, the event was created to help bring attention to the industry and allow people an opportunity to visit and mingle with the animals, says Julie. During the weekend, local farms open up their doors for visitors to meet and greet alpacas, see demonstrations, feel fiber, tour their farm and learn about raising and breeding alpacas.
Mt. View Alpacas will be doing tours during the 2025 National Alpaca Days from 1 p.m. through 5 p.m. for groups of no more than six people at a time.
You can head to the Alpaca Owners Association website and find a list of all participating farms for the year’s National Alpaca Days.
To schedule a tour any time during the year, you can reach out to the Mt. View Alpaca Farm by calling 360.357.8267 or emailing mt.viewalpacas@gmail.com.
