About Us - LLama Web

Welcome to LlamaWeb!

LlamaWeb is intended to provide information about llamas for people interested in these South American camelids. This information includes pointers to llama farms, so that you can contact different individuals who own llamas. There are listings of current llama “events” and pointers to llama related services, such as llama trekking, bed and breakfasts or T-shirts. In addition, the fun of having llamas around is emphasized, including some “games” involving llama themes.

I am Dale Graham. My husband and I bought our first llama, an 18-month-old male llama, Pumpernickel, in 1984. Since then we have expanded to a moderate size – we currently have 32 llamas (with a new one expected shortly!). Tom started up a llama trekking service, LlamaTreks Unlimited, which operated for 4 years in the George Washington National Forest. My interests were more on the research side, as my training was in genetics. I have authored a number of articles on llama coat colors and coat color inheritance.

Tom and I have always been heavily involved in the llama community. We were in on the start of GALA (the Greater Appalachian Llama Association), started L*A*M*A*S (the Llama Association of the Mid-Atlantic States), each of us has served a term as a President of L*A*M*A*S, we sponsored a GALA conference and also a L*A*M*A*S conference, and helped with the sponsorship of the first ILA Llama Jamboree, held in Culpeper, Virginia.

I was the newsletter editor for GALA for its first year, and I was the newsletter editor for L*A*M*A*S for its first three years of existence. I served for 5 years as a Director of the International Lama Registry, and, during that term, was influential in developing the rules for the Registry and also the rules for the closure of the Registry. We have also supported the State Fair of Virginia Llama Show, as chairs of the Obstacle Committee, and I have been the chair of the State Fair of Virginia Llama Show committee for the past 4 years.

In terms of non-llama experience, I am a molecular biologist who recently shifted to computational molecular biology. I now do a lot of work to assist researchers in understanding how to use computers for increasingly sophisticated analyses of their data. Tom prefers to avoid the computer side of the business as much as possible, although he has had to pick up some knowledge willy-nilly.

I started LlamaWeb because I wanted to post information about llamas and our farm on the Web. Then I realized it would be a good idea to encourage other farms and other information and opinions besides my own.