It began like a scene from a storybook: two people walking hand in hand beneath a velvet sky, the only light coming from a sea of stars overhead. A gentle breeze whispered through the trees as they wandered across David’s old ranch in Oregon. In the quiet of that moment, David pulled out his phone, played a song, and led Jamie into a slow, starlit dance.

For Jamie, it was a turning point. She knew in this moment this was the life she was meant to live.

What makes the story more captivating is how it all started.

Jamie grew up in the hustle of New York City, but her soul tugged elsewhere. As a child, summers in the Hamptons stirred a deep longing for wide open skies, fresh air, and the simple rhythm of life lived close to the land. When she met David nearly twenty years ago, and they began sketching out a shared future, she had just one request: wherever they settled, it had to be near water.

They found it in Council, Idaho, a place where the Weiser River winds through 3 glorious miles of pastureland. With the river came the realization that everything younger Jamie had wished for was right there, flowing beside her.

Together, Jamie and David raise USDA-certified, grass-fed, grass-finished beef and lamb on a low-input system that works with the land rather than against it. Their animals graze on native grasses, drink clean river water, and are cared for with an attention that comes from people who love what they do.

Their not-so-secret recipe? “Grass, river water, and love,” Jamie says with a smile.

They also grow herbicide- and pesticide-free raspberries—sun-kissed fruit turned into handmade jam that captures summer in every spoonful. Their products are sold online, but they light up most at the McCall and Donnelly farmers markets, where face-to-face conversations bring their food full circle.

Weiser River Ranch isn’t just a working farm. It’s part of a growing wave of Idaho agritourism, where producers open their gates and welcome visitors to stay, learn, and reconnect.

Idaho Preferred calls it an “Agventure,” and Weiser River Ranch offers one of the most soul-nourishing experiences out there. Stay in their beautifully restored vintage Airstream, where you can wake up with the sun, collect fresh eggs, feed baby lambs, swim in the river, or simply read in the shade of the cottonwoods. It’s not about curated luxury. It’s about slowing down. Honest food. And time that stretches, just a little bit longer.

Guests share the land with cows, sheep, horses, chickens, a pig named Pete, and a donkey named Hubert—each with their own charming quirks and personalities. It’s a farm stay that feels like a storybook, but with dirt under your boots and a full heart at the end of the day.

Perhaps the most moving part of Weiser River Ranch isn’t the breathtaking landscape or the artisan meats and jams—it’s the people.

Jamie and David live by a simple policy:

“No one will ever go hungry at our table.”

They’re not just raising food. They’re proving that family farms can feed the soul as much as the body.