Retiredice Alpacas – Alpaca Farm

Talk about serendipity! I was doing some Christmas shopping in the foothills, hitting all the normal haunts — Apple Hill, Amador wine country — when I passed Retiredice Alpacas on Mt Aukum Road. Probably like most of their visitors, I had to turn my car around an investigate the potential for locally-​made alpaca gifts.
I was very glad to have made the U-​turn! This cozy store is located at a private residence with basic signage from the road. The proprietor sells both locally-​made and imported clothing and accessories made from alpaca fleece also procured locally. The fabric is incredibly soft, and she offers a good range of hats, scarves, clothing, and various yarns and raw fleece. The product line is heavily feminine, but there are some unisex designs.
To protect the surprise, I will not disclose what I bought for others. I did buy a new hat for me with a cool design and long flaps to keep my neck warm. This is a real nice store with some great offerings to help support the local economy. Plus you can see some real alpacas next to the store and maybe get a good story from the owner as well!

The best alpaca farm EVER. Ok, I’ve only been here but I can’t imagine any place with friendlier hosts and cuddlier alpacas. Even the cats on the property are incredibly nice and cuddly. This place is owned by a couple, they manage everything and do it with so much care and love, they welcome people to drop by the farm and visit without prior notice. You drive up to the gate and honk, one of them will come out to greet you and then show you around the farm, bring baby alpacas for you to pet and let you stray a little and pet whatever you want.
I’ve been here twice, and met the man and the woman on separate occasions. They genuinely love telling their story because each of them have much passion and love in the way they talk about their animals. They welcome you to stay as long as you like. The first time I was there, I was petting/​hugging alpacas for over an hour. I believe it’s just them two working on the farm so for them to take so much time out of their day to let people visit means a lot to their warmth and passion.
There’s also a gift shop but they didn’t make me feel obligated to make any purchases. I did however, find such a cool furry, incredibly soft hat that I had to buy it anyway. Last time we went, I donated to their «alpaca donation box» but the man sincerely said that there’s no need to donate.
This is a must do for those in the Placerville/​Somerset area.
The lady has become a serious expert on alpacas over the years, if you have questions about your own pet alpacas, be sure to contact her! They will also sell alpacas. The awesome and difficult part about having your own alpaca is that they’re pack animals and so you can’t just have one!

Wonderful people, beautiful animals, & amazingly soft products.
There is nothing better (in my opinion) than functional art. The knitted & woven products here are just that.
I like knitting my own custom treasures from their yarn but they have awesome things already made in their small, humble shop.
So real & so perfect.

Wonderful owners! Amazingly comfy socks are sold in their shop. I have two pairs & have gotten my friends hooked on them also. Shop local & patronize these good people.

I want an Alpaca!!!
Stayed with my sister in law in Placerville for a few days around Thanksgiving, and really wanted to see some Alpacas. After reading about them a few years ago, I’ve wanted to visit an Alpaca farm ever since. They are soo cute, and have the softest fur in the world.
I wouldn’t have known about this place unless my sister in law told us about it. She also buys eggs from them (on the honor system — bring your own carton!). While there are quite a few Alpaca farms up here, how do you know which one to choose? Some Alpaca ranch owners /​farms won’t let you go right up to them, but Paige and her hubby are very cool about it, so I’m very glad my sis in law was able to point us in their direction.
I was very impressed with this place, primarily because of the owners. Paige and her husband (whose name I unfortunately didn’t get) have been together for over 30 years, and they devote their lives to these beautiful creatures. They are good people. This is apparently one of the few Alpaca farms where you can actually go right in and pet the alpacas (or at least try to — they can be a little bit shy and don’t like to be pat on the head, but if you are patient enough you can pet them and feel their amazing fur). According to Paige’s husband, The alpacas here at this ranch are friendlier than most because Paige spends so much time with them.
I’m going to upload pics that should give the gist. They also have a little store where you can buy alpaca items. Omg there is one hat (which I’ll upload a photo of) which was the softest thing I have ever touched in my whole life. And it was nice to see no animals were killed to make it (it was all WOVEN fur). You can also buy yarn and many other handmade items at their store.
A word about their name, «Retiredice.» My sister in law explained that the owners are basically retired (but I think they still work with the Alpacas out of love), and they wanted to combine the word «retired» with «paradise,» but «Retiredise» seemed confusing, so… thus, the name Retiredice. At least, knowing the story kind of helped me to remember the name.
One last thing I want to mention about these folks is they truly are animal lovers. Paige’s husband told me they recently had something like ten feral cats running around their property, and rather than dumping them off at the pound, they actually paid to have them all fixed (umm… on that note, for anyone even THINKING of dropping a cat here, please don’t. It’s not fair to do that to them when it costs them a lot of work and money!). Anyway, people like Paige and her hubby are really rare. If I could give them six stars just for being such good people, I would.
There is no charge to see the Alpacas but you can build good karmic points and help them out by purchasing something from their store! If you’re looking for a place to go and see some alpacas, this is definitely the one to go to.