We really didn't know much about it, but knew because most of the animals were viewed as people drove their cars around the set route, we would be sheltered from the expected rain (that didn't come!) While there, we learned that the site was originally used as a Disney filming location for a variety of movies and the Grizzly Adams TV show.
Upon arriving, we purchased our tickets and a loaf of bread (so we could feed the animals as we drove). At first, I thought buying a loaf of bread would be sort of pointless, but am so glad we did. Because we had food, the animals were much more likely to come up to our car and stay, rather than approach and then seek out food from another car filled with bread.
We saw SO many animals: peacocks galore, yaks, bison, prairie dogs, zebra, fallow deer, bears, emus, wolves, fox, elk, llamas, Siberian tigers, and more as we meandered around the location. The predators were kept at a safe distance, but still quite visible.
Annika feeding a yak
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| Happy girl |
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| Our car door was a nice chin rest for this one |
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| "Got food???" |
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| Bread snack |
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| Showing off that it can touch its tongue to its nose |
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| Itchy baby |
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| Conor feeding a yak |
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Shortly after, a farm worker drove by and reminded us to keep
our kids inside the car ... such a stickler!! |
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| I really hope one of them is named "Dolly" |
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| Conor named this one "Spot" ... shocking! |
This bear was even doing a little yoga to show off its flexibility. The funny thing is it held the pose for a really long time!!!
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Yoga bear
(no, not Yogi Bear!) |
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| Smile! |
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| This was decided we needed to see its spotted tongue |
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| Nap tune |
Of course, the various deer babies captured our hearts and caused many an "ahhhh" moment for our family.
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| If the zebra was "Spot", should this one be named "Stripe"? |
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| Wee baby deer watching the scenery |
Conor's turn to feed
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| Eric giving a few pets and pats along the way |
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Oh deer!
(hahahah!!!) |
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| "Hello, and welcome to the farm I'm Warren. Got bread?" |
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| I spy with my little eye... |
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| Growing out of his spots and into his antlers |
Deer
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Eric having a hear-to-heart chat with a friendly bison
who popped its head in to say "howdy" |
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| We were highly intrigued by the shape of the fallow deer's antlers |
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Ever feel like you're being watched??
(By a bison??) |
We were informed to "keep moving through the bison area to avoid damage to your vehicle." Umm.... no problem until this guy got in our way! He happily stood in our way and then proceeded to snort at us as Eric carefully eeked the car around him.
After we finished the driving tour of the animals, we popped out of the car to stretch our legs and take a peek at the other animals: goats, fish, small reptiles, ponies, and camels. We also noticed how covered my van was .... with bison and yak slobber!! We visited the goat area, the aquarium, and then the reptile room. In the reptile room, we saw a wide variety of snakes and decent number of small lizards. I'm a gecko fan, so was probably most taken with them. That said, the iguana and some of the snakes were pretty darned cool!! (And, no, that isn't a cold-blooded joke!)
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| Best goat beard ever!! |
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| Annika and Conor in the goat house |
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Conor had to give each goat a pat before
agreeing to leave the goat enclosure |
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| Trains are fun |
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Of course, my engineer of a husband was off inspecting the old farm equipment and
figuring out how it worked while the kids were clamoring around on the train |
Did I mention the whole "we rode a camel" bit yet???? Life bucket list item marked off. All four of us wanted to participate in this optional activity and I'm so glad we did. How many people in our neck of the woods can say they rode a camel this summer ... and didn't even leave the state to do it?!?! I think the camel we rode was named Clarence, but I'm not 100% sure of that. Before we took our ride, Annika and Conor got to feed carrots two two other camels... one of whom had to have been channeling Stevie Wonder, because that camel had some serious head swaying going on!!
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Mama and Conor on Clarence
(or the camel henceforth called Clarence if that isn't really his name) |
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| So regal |
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| Annika and Daddy taking their turn |
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| Whee!! |
All-in-all, it was a really fun outing for all of us. We got to see and try new things as we admired the animals and what makes them unique. I think the only disappointment of the farm was its aquarium... it wasn't much to write home about -- basically a huge salmon tank. That said, the rest of the farm totally made up for it! :D
