The story began in 2003 when Shari and Cindy got acquainted on the ‘net. They both got involved in an affiliate program that paid them handsomly. Cindy mentioned that she and Bev were going to Utah for a visit. While there, they looked at several properties. They returned to Put-In-Bay, Ohio with dreams of quickly selling their home and moving west.

Well, you know how it goes…it too a full two years to finally sell their home, and the buyer had the audacity to request they be gone in thirty days. By now, they had lost 3 possible properties in southern Utah. They had to scramble. With help from a Utah realtor, they quickly located a house that fit their requirements; 3 bedrooms, a fenced-in yard for their dogs, and a roof. Never mind that it was in the middle of nowhere.

Bev sent her cousins (they lived in Hurricane) to look at it, and their report was, “If we were 20 years younger, we’d buy it out from under you.” Ok, sounds like game on. The moving company made arrangements. (Can you imagine moving from an island where the only way off is by ferry?) Van on its way, cars and truck with trailer loaded, all dogs packed in and Cindy and Bev were off on an exploration. This all happened in August of 2005.

Shari joined them in December of 2006, moving from Oregon. She really needed a change of scenery having lived in Oregon for most of her life.

At the time, the girls were rapidly becoming known as the “Golden Gals” and they didn’t think the nickname really fit them, so they came up with “Four Country Gals”.

Now it took a few years to truly figure out what they would do with this incredible property. First they had horses (bad idea: girls were too old, ground was too hard when they were thrown off.) Then they had sheep, thanks to eager neighbors who thought the girls could work miracles and heal dying baby goats. There were a few successes, but far more failures. And the payoff wasn’t particularly good either.

After that, the gals tried gardening. They got a grant to build a couple of hoop houses, and planted vegetables. Oh boy, off to the local Farmer’s Market to sell their crop. Bummer, there were 20 farmers there with the same crops. That was no fun and very little money to boot.

The gals hooked up with another farmer who had goats and need a milker or two for a week. Would we answer the call? You bet! It was an opportunity to learn someting new. They learned how to milk goats and in later lessons, birthing goats, buck care, etc. They got paid for their efforts with two little kids that they had personally fed during that time.

Goats! That was the correct animal for the gals. They weren’t too big to handle, they were personable, and there were several ways to earn income from them. So, when the babies were old enough, they took them back to the neighbor to be bred. Then, with their confidence running sky high, they purchased more goats from another neighbor.

By then, it was 2011. What on earth were they going to do with their goats?

The first thing that came to mind was make cheese. Let’s see, they had competitors all over Utah. It would cost in excess of $60K to build a facility to make the cheese. Ummm, NO!

Shari remembered a shopping list she had been given in Oregon. It was for Cajeta (say what??). The shopping list was for goat milk, raw sugar, Mexican Vanilla, salt and baking soda. Hmm sounded good, but how do you actually make this stuff. Thank God for the internet. Shari went searching and found how to make cajeta. So, she did, in Mom’s kitchen. Three batches later, she hit the balance perfectly. So said Mom, who had never ever tasted cajeta, but knew her food science.

Time to sit down and work out the details. Bev designed a kitchen that would fit into a 20’ container. Cindy and Bev began building the kitchen, while Shari began sketching plans for the sauce makeing process, and drawing up a budget. They had found a way to make money!

From 2013 until the present, the Four Country Gals have been producing Traditional Mexican Caramel Sauce, now in 4 flavors and 3 sizes. They make Original, Jacked Up!, Spiced Up! and Fired Up!.

After being invited to enter the Utah Cheese Festival in 2018, just 5 years later, in 2023 Four Country Gals “Fired Up!” Traditional Caramel Sauce won the coveted “Best in Show” award.

Along the way, Shari began making soap in response to the market soap maker’s demise. In 2022, she made nearly 3000 bars, 10 bars at a time. Just like the caramel sauce, the soap formula is her own, and she purchases from only the best suppliers. Shortly after, she incorporated Paw Wax and Lip Balm.