The Alpaca Barnhaus in the Jemez Mountains-Quiet & Comfortable at 8700' $145/nt

Love animals? Connect with alpacas and our two Anatolian Shepherds! How about a winter get-away? When the snow starts, you will need AWD or 4WD. We have a sledding hill, easy access x-country skiing, a nearby ski run call Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, and a wood-burning stove to warm you. (We also have forced-air heating.)

IT'S TIME TO MAKE YOUR SPRING AND SUMMER RESERVATIONS.

NEW: Nomad Mountain Pizza in La Cueva opens in the spring of 2018. This is no ordinary pizza place and another great asset to our mountain community.

The owners are your neighbors and will gladly show you around and make sure your stay at The Alpaca Barnhaus meets your needs.

The Santa Fe National Forest is just steps away. (Check out Facebook Aspen Ridge Alpacas for more photos.)

Being in nature is magical, a retreat from the workplace. (Wi-Fi is weak or non-existent. However, you can use our home porch if you need access to the internet.) In fact, infusion of nature is the antidote to nature-deficit disorder. Get smarter. A business retreat had this effect as cited by Richard Louv in The Nature Principle: 'New ideas bubbled up each morning .... several breakthroughs were the direct result of the outdoor experience that allowed our childlike awe, openness, and creativity to flourish.' The Barnhaus has no cell phone service. Enjoy an isolation vacation to recharge your own batteries. Enter a world of nature.

Relax in the mountains in a perfect getaway/base camp--winter, spring, summer, or fall.

Centrally located in the Jemez/Valles Caldera area. The Barnhaus is ideal for small retreats for writers or artists. Plan your next adventure or romantic getaway at the Alpaca Barnhaus. You will be back! For your viewing pleasure, we recently purchased DVD movies that were filmed in this area.

The Alpaca Barnhaus is located on one acre in the Santa Fe National Forest just 3.5 miles off the National Scenic Byway known as “The Jemez Trail” (NM Hwy 4). This two-bedroom home is surrounded by aspen and conifers. Perched at the top of a mountain, the quiet serenity of the surroundings makes it a perfect getaway for couples or individuals looking for a retreat in nature.

Walk across a large meadow to the pond. Continue up the ridge to a gorgeous overlook of San Antonio Canyon where the San Antonio River offers great fishing (but you have to drive around because the steep cliffs don’t invite even the most adventurous!)

You may choose to hike to the river through Mushroom Basin. The hike takes about an hour one way. A picnic lunch may be in order. During the winter months, snow is on your nature menu. Close by is an excellent hill for sledding, and cross-country skiing is ideal. Near Los Alamos are down-hill ski runs.

The house has two bedrooms upstairs in the loft (queen-sized bed in one bedroom and full-sized bed in the other bedroom) and a half-bath upstairs in the loft. A single bed is downstairs. On the first level is a full bath with a shower. The cabin has a forced-air furnace, ceiling fans and wood stove. At this altitude air conditioning is unnecessary since the temperature in the summer rarely gets above 80.

The Alpaca Barnhaus is furnished in a way that makes you feel like it's your home too. The kitchen is fully stocked with cookware. If you’ve forgotten to bring something, Amanda’s Country Store is just down the hill in La Cueva. For your convenience there's a washer/dryer with eco-friendly washing products. A picnic table is on the side deck. If the night is clear, take the comfortable air mattress outside and enjoy stargazing from the deck. The bird feeders and hummingbird feeders invite feathered friends. We do not charge a cleaning fee as long as you leave the house as you found it. $50 if you do not care to clean the house. 90% of our guests clean the house. There are no additional fees.

OH, ALPACAS! The owners have an alpaca ranch near the Alpaca Barnhaus. Mickey and Evelyn will be happy to introduce you to these friendly fur-bearing animals. They are quiet, odor-free, gentle on the environment, and produce exquisite fiber that is made into yarn and other alpaca products. As you stand in the barn area, the alpacas will run down the rocky hill, enter the barn, and weigh themselves! Indeed, you will get up close and personal with the alpacas as you learn about them and get a chance to feed them with their special pellet supplements. Alpacas are known to be the most intelligent of all livestock. Our guarantee: You and the alpacas will smile.

About 20 minutes south in historic Jemez Springs are restaurants, a saloon, a historic hot-springs bathhouse with massages, and an outdoor hot-springs pool. Jemez Springs is home to several outstanding artists, too. Farther south on Hwy 4 is the Jemez Pueblo Walatowa Center with its fine museum and native-American crafts.

In the other direction toward Los Alamos you will enter the awe-inspiring Valles Caldera National Preserve. Tours can be arranged online or in Jemez Springs. Off the road in the Valles Caldera you will wonder at the Valle Grande where you can usually spot elk herds.

Continue driving to Bandelier National Monument with its ancient cliff dwellings. This is another good place to have a picnic. Afterwards loop back up to Los Alamos and visit the two outstanding museums. The museum run by the historical society takes you back to the formation of the plateaus and the foundation and operation of the Los Alamos Ranch School. For the making of the atomic bomb, the Ranch School gave way to Los Alamos Scientific Lab. The second museum, The Bradbury Museum, takes you through the war years to the present.

Barnhaus Amenities

• 1296 sq ft

• 2 bedrooms w/half-bath in loft, Bedroom #1 queen-sized bed #2 full bed

• 1 bath with shower on ground floor

• Fully furnished (1 queen & 1 full bed upstairs, 1 single bed, sofa bed downstairs)

* Deep air mattress can be used for two more guests

• Washer/Dryer

• Vaulted ceiling with loft

• Deck and covered front porch

• Wood-burning stove

• Forced air furnace (propane)

• Full-sized refrigerator and propane range

• Ceiling fan

• Nestled in conifers and aspen

* Fully equipped kitchen

Great location • Quiet and private

8700’ elevation • Maintained dirt road

Amanda’s Country Store in La Cueva is minutes away from Aspen Ridge Alpacas. Check out Amanda’s website for information about groceries, snacks, ice, bait, area info, and camping supplies.

Drive twenty-five minutes from Aspen Ridge Alpacas and experience the amazing Valles Caldera. The Valles Caldera National Preserve (now a national park) was a private ranch until 2000, when Congress created it from a well-known ranch known as “the Baca Ranch” in New Mexico’s volcanic Jemez Mountain Range. This 89,000 acre property is situated inside a collapsed crater. Studded with eruptive domes and featuring Redondo Peak (11,254 feet), this old ranch property is now being developed to explore a new way of managing public lands. The preserve is open to the public, but we guarantee you’ll find the visit unlike any other you’ve had in a park or national forest.

Keywords: Cozy house with wood-burning stove and plenty of wood. Clean and well furnished,

Anatolian Livestock Guardian Dogs, Alpacas, Near Recreation Areas,