Meet Darin and Lisa
Our story began with a love of adventure. Darin was born and raised in West Jordan, Utah and Lisa was a midwestern Air Force brat. We met at the South Pole research station in 1999 during our year of contract work in Antarctica. Life at the South Pole is like no where else on the planet. Our warmest summer day was a balmy -23 while the coldest was -113 with a windchill of -183. The cold presents various challenges like needing to bring ice cream inside 3 days before you plan to eat it so it can thaw. Summer season is October to February with the winter season spanning February to October again. During the winter there are no regularly flights and emergency flights can only be arranged for severe emergencies and with a great deal of risk. We had 47 people on station during our winter. Despite working a scheduled 56 hours per week, there is plenty of time to learn new hobbies, read, work on craft projects and get to know people. The station did have a small hydroponic greenhouse that began producing cherry tomatoes by about August. You know some one really loves you when they give you the only sliver of cherry tomato on their pizza. During our winter in isolation there was plenty of time to dream of exciting places to go and adventures to have. These dreams would take us around the world doing things like adventure racing in Morocco, snorkeling in the Philippines and surfing in Nicaragua.
Darin became a utility helicopter pilot in 2004 at Precision Helicopters in Newberg, Oregon. Lisa went to school to become a Pathologists Assistant in North Chicago. After school the big challenge was to find work in the same zip code. After 6 years of distance we both found work together in Northern California and moved to the small town of Red Bluff. In 2007 we were married on a cliff in Utah overlooking Canyon Lands. It was Darin’s work that would bring us to the beautiful state of Idaho in 2013. Idaho was the first place we had ever lived where neither of us thought “This is great but where should we move next?” We enjoyed living in Southeast Boise but had no idea how our lives would blossom.
We have always loved the desert and the idea of exploring the vast open spaces of the west which one day led to Lisa saying “Hey Babe! Maybe in a few years we should get some property and buy some camels!” Darin who has always been up for anything simply said “Sure Honey. Of course you can have some camels.” A year later, when there was an add for a camel on Craigslist, Lisa and some friends drove up to meet him. It was love at first sight. They didn’t realize that the pasture sloped away from the fence and that he was a full foot taller than he appeared. When all 7 feet of him was unloaded a week later there was a brief “Oh my Gosh what have we done? “ moment, but we lucked out and found he is truly a gentle giant. Samson entered our lives and we have never looked back.
In the beginning we boarded Samson with our good friends and went to see him as much as possible but camels are extremely herd oriented and bond closely with the people that they see every day. We just weren’t developing the relationship that we wanted so Darin decided it must be time to get a ranch. We found our dream property in Kuna and Thunderstorm Ranch was born.
Darin has Scottish heritage so when it came time to add cattle to the farm it could only be Scottish Highland Cattle. We bought our first “fold” of Highland Cattle in 2018 and have had the pleasure of seeing many adorable calves born. We quickly learned that anyone who says “dumb cows” have never been around them. The bovine learning curve was as steep as the camel one. Who knew you didn’t just put them on grass and that they do everything else? There were vaccinations, fly pour overs, hoof care and and breeding schedules to learn. We have been so fortunate to have the help of our local farmers to teach us how to care for our animals and keep our pastures green.
Cows and camels get along ok but camels truly need other camels. In 2021 we added Leroy Jenkins and Carl to our herd. Carl came from a ranch in Texas and Leroy Jenkins was purchased from Colorado Camel Dairy in Berthoud, Colorado. That’s right! Camels are also dairy animals. Just like cow dairies, you keep your females and sell your males. By the way, camel milk just happens to be delicious! In 2022 we gained Mr. Pickles, Atlas, Mungus and Caliche. They had been born on a dairy in Missouri and then purchased by a rancher in Utah. Since then, we have been working with our herd to provide unforgettable experiences and wonder to our local community and beyond.
Our newest addition are our two mini donkeys, Manny and Monte. These two gentlemen are quickly adapting to life on the ranch and their tiny little pack saddles and panniers. Can you say Party Donkeys? And what would a ranch be without a big flock of chickens and two great big dogs? You can usually find us working on some sort of project or enjoying the evening on the porch with Angus and Maddie, our two Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. Stop in and say hello!
