See (and smell) alpacas up close during a field trip to Winterset.
Writer: Emmett McMenamy
Photos: Duane Tinkey
A herd of 40-some alpacas lives on a serene farm in the hills east of Winterset. Feel free to swing by for a visit the next time you’re in the neighborhood.
Aron and Kari Shultz own the operation, known as Rusty Stars Alpacas, and have turned it into a relaxing outdoor destination in Central Iowa. Anyone can visit and feed the alpacas for free.
When I went, I drove over on Highway 92 and turned onto Rustic Lane, which runs up to the Shultz house and a little shop. I parked in a grass lot, where Aron popped out to greet me, and soon enough, he was teaching me the alpaca basics — how to feed them, how to pet them and which ones are friendly.
Most alpacas enjoy human interaction but aren’t cuddly like dogs. They do like treats, though, so visitors can get a cup of pelletized grain to feed them by hand. The adorable herbivores have big eyes, long camel-like necks and thick fur, called fiber, that feels like a soft rug.
The Shultzes shear the fiber once a year and spin most of it into balls of yarn, as well as a few little handmade items. Each ball has a tag that identifies its specific producer. “It’s not very often you can take a photo with the animal that your sweater came from,” Aron said. “Several people have made things and then come back to show us what they made and to see the alpaca.”
Rusty Stars Alpacas imports all of its other alpaca items, like socks, from Peru. Alpacas are native to that region, specifically the Andes Mountains, but they adapt well to other places. Since the Winterset herd has always lived in the United States, they’re comfortable in Iowa.
I walked around the pack and met Millie (the friendly one), Stella (the hungry one) and Barry, the farm’s only llama, a cousin of the alpacas in the camelid family. I visited on a hot summer day, so most of the animals huddled under a shady tree, where I sat down and petted Millie’s silky fiber. With the breeze and the birdsong, it made for a peaceful summer afternoon.
I chatted with a family (of humans) who drives almost an hour every month to hang out with the alpacas. The place is open for free visits from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. most Saturdays, in addition to ticketed special events, like the annual shearing.
This year Rusty Stars Alpacas sent 10 alpacas to Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines for a third summer in a row, but they’re still a relatively unusual sight in Iowa.
“Who gets to see an alpaca, right?” Aron said. “It’s not like alpacas are on every corner. Most people have seen a picture but have never experienced them in reality.”
