and Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch

We are long time Alaskans who chose to relocate from Fairbanks to our dream ranch in North Idaho. Finding this wonderful 40 acre piece of property was the beginning of another great adventure.

We would like to invite you to visit Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch, located on a ridge just 15 minutes from beautiful downtown Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Suri and huacaya alpacas are our passion. Breeding alpacas for good conformation, and luxurious fiber of the highest quality is our goal.

OUR HISTORY

Andy and I met at a remote radar site near Indian Mountain, Alaska where we were both employed. I wanted to go bear hunting, and Andy agreed to be my guide. A year later we were married. Since then we have shared many adventures together, including raising a family and many journeys across Alaska, from the tip of the Kenai Peninsula in the south to above the Arctic Circle in the north.

For the first eight years of our marriage we lived in a remote cabin on Indian Mountain. Andy worked at one of the White Alice Sites about a mile and a half from our cabin. Our transportation was snow machines in the winter and three wheelers in the summer. We subsisted almost entirely off the land, our larder supplemented with canned goods flown in from Fairbanks. I cooked and baked on a wood stove and oven that Andy made for me out of steel he welded together. Our two older sons took correspondence courses for school and the youngest three were potty trained in an outhouse located in the great Alaskan outdoors.

After our adventures on Indian Mountain, we moved to Fairbanks in the interior of the state. I took a job at Nordstrom, where as manager of several different departments I learned about the fashion world. When Nordstrom closed their store in Fairbanks, I started working at Design Alaska, Inc. an architecture, engineering, and survey firm. Before the end of my 18 year career I was a shareholder and the company’s Human Resources and Office Manager.

Before I met Andy he was in the Navy for four years teaching nuclear power. When his duty time was up he turned his energy towards his dream of exploring Alaska. Working two full time jobs he saved enough money to purchase a new pick-up so he could drive the ALCAN Highway. Upon arriving in Alaska he hired a guiding outfit, Rust’s Flying Service, to go goat hunting and after his first successful trip he was hired on as an assistant guide. He has been an assistant guide for other outfits and has guided all over Alaska for over 30 years.

As our family grew it was time to move from Indian Mountain to Fairbanks so our three young sons could start school. Andy retired from Eielson Air Force Base after 30+ years as a manager in the engineer squadron.

As we got closer to retirement we wanted a little less winter. I wanted a ranch and one thing led to another. Our adventure with the alpacas is proving to be great fun and a rewarding experience. Alpaca people love sharing their knowledge and will go out of their way to do so. We deeply appreciate and thank all the people that have helped us along our life journey.