When we started looking for a retreat, our thoughts first turned to the Texas Hill Country, an area that includes the western halves of Austin and San Antonio and most of the land in between.

Located about 15 miles west of San Marcos, on Ranch Road 32, Tierra Prometida has the advantage of sitting on top of a winding, scenic ridge known locally as The Devil's Backbone. Tierra Prometida is Spanish for "Promised Land". We chose this name because we felt these 150 acres were a rare gift from God (this location is popular). We also felt that it would somehow overcome the references to the "devil's backbone" and the powerful local belief that numerous ghosts (Spanish monks, confederate cavalry, nature spirits, etc.) occupy our pastures. Our ranch was even featured once on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries.

The animals are peaceful and happy. While the dry rocky hills bear some resemblance to the Andean altiplano, it is a bit  warmer here. This country embodies much of the Texas mystique. Country music, Tex-Mex food and barbecue, cactus and roadrunners all proliferate here. The ranch is hilly and rocky but covered with junipers, oaks, and the endangered Texas Madrone. Natural springs run for much of the year, and fossils, even the occasional dinosaur footprint, are found.

The Backbone Tavern just up the road is a friendly watering hole where you will find a cold beer and maybe a country music personality in one of their back-porch music sessions. In the summer, Canyon Lake is minutes away for boating and water fun. The wonderfully artistic community of Wimberley, with its market days, bed-and-breakfast establishments, bonsai exhibits, glasswork museum, and beanie babies, is just across the valley. Even Luckenbach, Texas is nearby. San Marcos is only 15 miles away with restaurants, a sizable university, and one of the largest outlet malls anywhere. If you have an hour, you can get to Austin or San Antonio for the metropolitan experience. There is something for everyone in this area and visiting Central Texas is well worth the trip...even without alpacas!

Our mission at Tierra Prometida is to develop a herd of pedigreed alpacas that excel in conformation, fiber quality, and temperament. Realizing that the alpaca industry is as much a fiber business as a livestock business, we are working particularly to improve fiber quality and introduce Texans to this superior product. As much as possible, we are trying to combine these attributes affordably. We researched buying and breeding alpacas for several years before we actually started and have been delighted with the animals, the other owners and breeders in the alpaca community, and the bright future of the whole industry.

Kern on pasture duty.

Tierra Prometida is the oldest and most experienced alpaca ranch in the Texas Hill Country. We have learned to deal with the challenges (e.g. the heat) and the blessings (e.g. the mild winters) of this particular environment. In this part of Texas, there is a long-standing livestock experience, some of which has not been good!  Many ranchers have lost money on  exotic livestock and we are frequently asked how alpacas are different from, say, emus. The answer to that question is extensive. Alpacas don't have litters of offspring where the market for animals could be quickly flooded. The Alpaca Registry is now closed to non-pedigreed imports effectively closing the door to most alpaca importation. Besides, alpacas are a cash-producing livestock in South America and the South Americans are not so willing to send them here. Alpacas already are a useable livestock animal with a product (the fleece) that doesn't require destroying the animal.

Alpacas are friendly, gentle, and require little maintenance and have supported landowners for many years. Bringing them to Texas just expands an already-thriving industry rather than trying to create a new one.

This is Louie the Llama. He served as a guard to a herd of laboratory goats. We adopted him after his herd was destroyed and he became, well, unemployed.	A neighbor's curious cattle.