Yesterday, Sage and I had quite the experience - we were able to have a meet and greet with a 9,000 pound elephant named Mickey. Sage and I bared the 100 degree heat to visit Grant's Farm with my mom and nephew, Noah. I haven't been to Grant's Farm in many years, so I thought it would be a fun, quick trip. And, it was.
Every guest of Grant's Farm has to first ride the tram through the wildlife preserve which was interesting. Sage, of course, was more interested in entertaining the other riders on the tram with his smile and bounce. But, Noah loved to see the various animals (deer, elk, donkeys, turkeys, wild mustangs, ostrich, etc.).
After we got off the tram, we fed the goats - well, attempted to feed the goats. Noah kept getting swarmed by the VERY aggressive and hungry goats. They must have about 50 goats in the pen and most of them were about the same size as Noah. So, when he tried to feed them with the bottle of milk, they would jump on him and practically knock the poor kid over. Even though Sage and I didn't have a bottle of milk, the goats didn't care, they still swarmed us and tried to eat our clothes! Sage touched the goats, but didn't really seem to care for them nibbling on his fingers.
We walked through the rest of the animal pens, feeding some chickens along the way to the elephant education show. That is where we met Mickey, the 9,000 pound elephant. Mickey flapped her ears, showed us some tricks, and wowed the audience when she reached as tall as she could (18 feet) to get a ball. After the show, most of the audience left, but a few of us paid the $5 per person to do the VIP meet and greet.
First, we toured the elephants' home (they have two elephants there). It was pretty cool to see the giant home these elephants live in. The most interesting thing about that part was when we were told to look up at all the elephant poop on the ceiling. Our tour guide said that's because the elephants don't like birds. So, when the birds fly into their home, the elephants use their trunks to fling poop at them. =) I thought this was pretty funny.
After the tour of the house, we met Mickey up close and personal. Of course, she was behind bars, but it was definitely the closest I've ever been to the front of an elephant. The tour guide showed us how to feed Mickey some carrots. Each of us took turns feeding the elephant, feeling its trunk, and taking pictures with it. Sage even had a turn feeding Mickey, and in the process got a lot of elephant snot on his little hands! Noah absolutely loved feeding the elephant and fed Mickey as often as the tour guide would let him. It was definitely worth the extra money for the VIP elephant tour! I highly recommend it the next time you're at Grant's farm.
After the elephant tour, we finished looking at the other animals, fed some camels, and toured the horse stables. Grant's Farm wasn't as big as I remembered it being when I was a kid. But, it was still a great time! The admission is free - you just have to pay per vehicle for parking. So, I recommend piling into a car and heading over there for awhile - maybe not on a 100 degree day, though!
No comments:
Post a Comment