An 84-year-old Wyoming Navy veteran spent decades building a 207-acre llama ranch with his late wife; after donating it in 2025, the property has now opened as a sanctuary for veterans and first responders

Al Ellis and his late wife Sondra had spent decades building the biggest vision of their lives, a 207-acre ranch near their two-story log home off US Highway 191 in Boulder, a town of roughly 100 people 12 miles south of Pinedale. Ellis, an 84-year-old Navy veteran and former commercial driver, had turned to become a llama expert later in life.According to him, he has followed what he calls “butterfly moments”, seemingly small encounters or decisions that, looking back, changed the direction of his life. On Friday, another such butterfly moment unfolded on his ranch. The land he once called a “hell hole” is now officially Boulder Crest Wyoming, a sanctuary where veterans, first responders and their families will have a place to step away from the weight of service, allowing them to reconnect and learn to grow in the aftermath of trauma.

From ‘hell hole’ to home

Ellis grew up in San Francisco where his parents ran a bodega and produce stand. “By the time you’re 8, you can take your orange crate down the street,” he said to Cowboy State Daily, remembering how children scavenged for things to put in discarded wooden crates.At 17, Ellis enlisted in the Navy, serving between the Korean and Vietnam wars. His time in the Navy eventually led him towards diving, which became the foundation for much of his adult life. He spent roughly two decades as a commercial fisherman and diver, harvesting abalone and sea urchins along the California coast. He also built businesses with Sondra, including seafood operations and restaurants.He bought a fishery with an old freezer that had, during World War II, stored shark livers for their vitamin A. He converted the fishery into a seafood restaurant named Andrea’s.Then the couple visited a friend in Alpine and fell in love with Wyoming. They eventually bought property near Jackson Hole, where Ellis began exploring the mountains.

A llama sanctuary

Soon, Ellis read an article about mountain pack llamas. He quickly acquired six llamas and spent the next decade guiding trips into the Wind River, Gros Ventre, Tetons and other nearby mountain ranges. “It was unbelievable how many people on my trips had never seen a night sky,” he said.As his herd grew, he realised that the 12-acre property wasn’t enough. In 1998, the couple bought a run-down cattle ranch near Boulder. At the time, Ellis claims the property was an “eyesore.” “I was enticing my wife from a 5,200-square-foot log home on the Snake River to come to a hell hole,” he said.But by 2012, they had transformed the property together, and it was home to about 200 llamas, including 60 pack llamas. The animals became Ellis’ business, his passion and, eventually, the reason he and Sondra built the log home where they planned to grow old.

Giving away his land for a cause

The idea of giving away his sprawling llama ranch began taking shape in the summer of 2025. Ellis was watching television when he came across Johnny “Joey” Jones, a military veteran and co-host of Fox News Channel’s “The Big Weekend Show.” Jones lost both legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq and wrote the New York Times bestseller, “Behind the Badge: Answering the Call to Serve on America’s Homefront.”Inspired, Ellis reached out to Jones by email and sought advice on how to go about gifting his property to serve veterans and his first responders. While he thought nothing would truly come out of the initiative, Jones saw his email and connected Ellis with Ken Falke, a retired Navy bomb disposal specialist and co-founder and chairman of the Boulder Crest Foundation.“As soon as I met (Ellis), it was like ‘wow,’” Falke told Cowboy State Daily. “I was a diver. He was a diver. I was in the Navy. He was in the Navy. There was this really interesting connection.” Within months, Ellis had entrusted Boulder Crest with the property.Sondra died in August 2025 after a lengthy health battle. The timing made the gift even more momentous. “Llamas are the reason this house is here,” Ellis said during Cowboy State Daily’s January visit. “We visualised being old here and wheeling over to the big windows to watch the llamas.” Now the house and land will have a different kind of life.Before Christmas 2025, Ellis donated the ranch along with the two-story log home to the Boulder Crest Foundation. His vision had always been for the land he and his wife built to continue to serve others. “We want other people to enjoy this space, people who deserve it, people who we owe something to,” Ellis told Cowboy State Daily in January.

A space for the community

On Friday, Boulder Crest formally introduced its Wyoming campus to community leaders, veterans, first responders and supporters from throughout the region in a grand opening. The celebration included a skydiving performance, the national anthem sung by local EMT and fourth-generation Sublette County rancher Sue Briggs-Stanfield, and a performance by the Wind River Indian Eagle Spirit Dancers. Ellis and his family were recognised throughout the program, as was another guest of honour, the land itself.Boulder Crest Foundation was founded with the idea that trauma does not have to be the end of the story. Its Posttraumatic Growth programs are designed to help veterans, first responders and their families move beyond simply coping with what happened to them and discover new strength, purpose and possibility. The PATHH program – Progressive and Alternative Training for Helping Heroes- helps veterans and first responders transform struggles into strength and thrive in the aftermath of trauma.The Wyoming campus will bring those programs to a region where geography itself can make accessing support difficult. “Al didn’t simply give us a piece of land, he entrusted us with the opportunity to create something that will serve people for generations,” Boulder Crest CEO Josh Goldberg said.Boulder Crest Wyoming will also host family rest and reconnection stays and couples programming. The campus is expected to be fully operational by September 2027. Boulder Crest said the location will serve not only Wyoming but the broader Mountain West as well.Moreover, the foundation will also include Ellis’ llamas in its operations. “Watching baby llamas play when they’re in a group is 100% contagious,” Ellis said.The transformation of Ellis’ property is already visible. Existing buildings have been renovated, said Boulder Crest Vice President of Communications Jennifer Grady, and much of the operational groundwork is complete.Kris Searles, Boulder Crest Wyoming’s executive director, knows something about both the challenges of service and the character of the people who live in this part of the country. “My hope is that Boulder Crest Wyoming becomes a place our veterans, first responders, and families know belongs to them, but also a place this entire community feels connected to and proud of. We’re building something here that is rooted in Wyoming and designed to serve people for generations.”The regional mission is particularly important in a state where it is difficult to access specialised support. The latest U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data shows Wyoming had a veteran suicide rate of 45.7 deaths per 100,000 veterans in 2023, higher than the national rate of 35.2.Boulder Crest Wyoming is the foundation’s fourth campus, joining locations in Virginia, Arizona and Texas. The organisation says it reached more than 45,000 people through its programs in 2025 alone and has served more than 180,000 service members, veterans, first responders, military families, clinicians and helping professionals since 2014.