Although Wyoming Connections Academy is a virtual school, that doesn’t stop students and staff from taking field trips in the real world. Six students with the academy from the Cody-Powell area took part in a trip last Friday to see operations for the Powell-based pack llama farm, Llamas Unlimited.

As part of the trip, students were able to learn how the llamas are cared for, how the farm operates and how the llamas are used to help hunters in the backcountry. Under the supervision of the farm’s owner, Levi Kunneke, students were also able to feed and pet the llamas.

Llamas Unlimited began in 2019, following a disastrous elk hunt that ended with Kunneke’s camp being destroyed by a grizzly bear while she was away. She began to look into pack animals that could help reduce the number of trips needed to get kills out of the mountains.

“The llamas just kind of happened, I think it was a godsend,” Kunneke said. “They’re really smart animals and pretty quick learners.”

Now, seven years in and after selling 10 of the animals, the farm has 14 llamas that are either bred there or bought from other operations in Wyoming and Montana. After several requests from local hunters, Kunneke began renting the llamas out to help on pack trips.

“Our love for the mountains was the impetus for all of this, so it made sense,” she told the Tribune in a previous interview.

When asked by one of the students Friday what one thing Levi wishes that more people knew about llamas, she joked that “why they spit” is a good answer after talking about her own experience with an ornery llama that left her covered head-to-toe.

Wyoming Connections Academy, operated by Pearson Education as a local auxiliary of the virtual K-12 Connections Academy, has been operating out of Cody since late 2024. Their mission is to offer a virtual alternative to both traditional and homeschooling curriculum.

The academy is always looking for new experiences to share with their students, said elementary and middle school special education teacher and event chaperone, Amy Aguirre.

“We’re always looking for new things, like last year how we did the Cody Trolley tour looking at the Christmas lights. The kids will recommend places as well so we don’t always repeat the same field trips,” Aguirre said. “The students and I thought this was an awesome trip, I definitely think this would be a good one for us to follow up on in the future.”

For more information regarding the WCA, call 1-800-382-6010 or visit WyomingConnectionsAcademy.com.