All Safari All the Time

 

Ah, another peaceful week in Roseburg, Oregon. Well, sort of. The arrest of the man a few doors down from us still has me reeling. Yes, I'm happy he was arrested for the mistreatment of the large number of dogs he had in such a small area, the guns, and the armor he harbored, but even with that relief, there is the sadness of any abuse of more animals happening. An older man was sitting outside in that tiny space once called a pathetic excuse for a dog run, and I immediately felt angry. If that is the man who put those animals through the living hell they endured, I cannot believe he is already released from jail. But this is something I have no control over and need to release.

Anyway, this week has been fairly hot. The weather is now calming a bit, but still only by a few degrees. I have heard there is another hot weather warning in our near future, but until I feel it, I'm not going to worry. I'm inside the air conditioning all day long anyway. At least until I have to walk the dogs or go to the store. I have no room for complaining. Terry is also in an air-conditioned building when he is at work. I feel for the workers who are slaving away, laying down hot pavement along the streets of town, or the men and women having to work outside in the heat for any reason. 

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Terry was at work when my daughters Dawn and Marina arrived on Tuesday. I was sad that this was a day he had to work, yet spending time with two of my daughters for the day made me happy. We had it planned to go to Wildlife Safari and then out to lunch. 

Marina had come to see me, but also to take her grandkids and daughter-in-law, plus her exchange student, to Wildlife Safari to let them enjoy the experience. Dawn came by herself in her car to bring the wheelchair back here and to enjoy a visit. I climbed into her car once we had the wheelchair out of the car. Marina, Amelia, the exchange student, Katie, her daughter-in-law, and the three grandchildren were already on their way. We would all meet up at the park. 

I was hoping we would see lots of the animals in this heat. Sometimes we can, and other times they are all lying in the shade. It's difficult to know one way or another. Turns out, this wasn't such a bad day, heat and all. 

Since the three grandchildren were with Marina and their mother, we chose to do the walk through the village, and then drive through to see the rest of the managerie. We started at the usual owl and tamarin cages, then moved on. Next up was this beautiful tortoise. I had not seen this guy before, so it was an interesting sight. 

The reptile was on the road to somewhere, moving quickly around the pen. 

Since the children were with us, we took the route through the petting zoo area. The Barnyard, as it is called, is always a fun place to visit. 

Elena headed out with her mother, Katie, to see what this place was all about. Little sister Spencer was keeping pace with the taller people and seemed curious about the petting area as well. 

I spotted the chickens in their pen and coop. A large white silkie rooster stood in the doorway, making sure everyone was being good. 

Shagginess and all, he kept watch over a couple of chickens in the yard. 

Several goats became the attraction in this area. Amelia stood by the two girls to allow them a good view of the goats. Spencer, the toddler, was definitely interested in the mammal. 

Understanding the goat wouldn't hurt her, she took a step toward it and leaned in for the pet. 

Eventually, the girls felt right at home with the fur babies, although I think Spencer enjoyed the idea of seeing Grandma, great-grandma, and her mom outside the fence. 

After visiting the miniature horse and the donkey, we walked on the path to see the camels giving rides. 

Elena wanted to ride a camel, so Katie knew what that meant for her. Ah, the things we do as parents, huh?

One of the staff members grabbed a nice-looking camel and pulled him on around as though we were having a limo being brought around for our ride into town. Elena was excited, although the camel didn't look very thrilled. 

Katie and Elena climbed on board, and off they went. 

A couple of times around the enclosure, and then a pose for pictures. These two beautiful girls were having fun together, and I was happy to see that. Katie is such a good mom and always finds fun things to do with her three girls.

After seeing the camels, we moved on to the lemur island. Ring-tailed lemurs and red lemurs looked at us as if to say, "Don't you people have jobs?"

The beautiful red lemur came onto the scene after a couple of minutes. Larger in stature than the ring-tailed animals of the species, I guess he felt as though he was the older brother and the boss of the group. He soon started a small fight over some food in a few treat balls the staff had set up. 

This ring-tailed lemur examined the ball with curiosity to see where he could get into the apparatus to score the treats. 

After the red lemur came in to take over the treat ball, the smaller ring-tailed animals headed for the safety of their small area. They sat and watched the food takeover by the larger guy, and assumed they could move in and get scraps when he was done. 

Even though the red lemur found a victory in the food takeover, he couldn't figure out how to get his lunch from the ball, and soon gave up. Oh, dear friend, karma is a bitch. 

Keeping an eye out for the big lemurs, the smaller of the group set out to claim the ball as theirs once again. 

We all settled in to see the ducks and koi in the water surrounding the lemur island. Elena was enjoying the experience of seeing them all up close. 

Since the morning temperature was baking us into an awful sweat fest, we all appreciated the opportunity to sit for a few moments and relax. 

A small amount of food was purchased so the girls could feed the koi and the ducks. 

A while later, we decided to take off and see the rest of the creatures residing in the village. 

Walking by the maned wolf run, I could not find any of them. But next to that run was the capybara space. I had not seen this guy in the village before. Upon first glance, I had no idea what this animal was, but as I examined it further, it became obvious. Interesting animals, the capybaras are. 

We walked by the train station and down to the lion observation deck, with no luck. The sun was making us all hot, so we chose to go to the cars for the drive-through and to enjoy the air conditioning that cars provide. Our first stop was the oryx group. 

I smiled when I saw the adorable baby lying near its mother. The oryx are very close to extinction, from what I have read, leaving very few in the wild. To see this species in the park, where they are safe and sound and being cared for, and reproducing, this made me smile. Thank you, Wildlife Safari, for giving these beautiful creatures a safe harbor where they can once again come back in population. 

Across the grassy pasture, we saw this pretty guy enjoying the day. 

And this one too ...

Driving further, we ran into one of my favorites, the guanaco. Love these guys!

This one looked as though it had rolled in the dirt and mud. Silly guanaco. We were able to see two of them along the route. 

Our attention quickly diverted to the large elk buck heading across the field, toward the road. What gorgeous, regal animals. 

Dawn and I sat for a few moments, discussing how beautiful the elk is. As we chatted, the buck began to move toward us. Soon, he was very close and began to cross the road in front of us. Dawn panicked a bit, thinking he would attack the car. I suggested she sit still and enjoy the close view of this amazing boy. 

We watched as the elk crossed directly in front of us. 

Crossing about four feet in front of us, Dawn let go of some of her protection of the car and enjoyed how close he was. She showed excitement in seeing an American elk this close for the first time. 

The gorgeous elk crossed the road and traveled into the forested area for some shade to cool off. And speaking of cooling off, as we drove further, we spotted another American elk enjoying his idea of staying cool. 

This boy found himself a sprinkler and a creek to cool off. I don't know why, but an elk in the water, underneath a sprinkler, made me giggle. 

Kudos to Wildlife Safari for allowing these animals to cool off in sprinklers and streams. 

There were a few zebras within close range. I didn't see the baby this time, but it could be that momma was keeping her little one in the shade today. 

We had made it around to the other side of the pasture where the giraffes were sunbathing. This two-year-old had not moved from his spot in the grass. 

In fact, he stopped chewing the grass and posed for me. I saw a smile cross his face and had to get the picture. 

He seemed quite content lying in the sun all day, watching people drive on by. Beautiful babies!

Next up were the deer and birds who hang out in the feeding area. Dawn stopped and purchased three cups of food for us to feed the deer and birds hanging out along the way. One thing we forget each time, though, and that is that once you begin to feed one, you can't move on. The crowd swarms your car. 

But you also get the pleasure of seeing these beautiful faces up close. 

After feeding them a treat or two, they expect more. The fallow deer I was feeding wanted to crawl into the window and sit by us, where he could receive treats all day long. Dawn and I had to start throwing the treats toward the edge of the road so we could eek by without hitting any of them. 

Several blackbucks began to join in on the fun. We were able to feed this one and a few others before driving on. 

The blackbucks seemed to have a few more manners than the pushy fallow deer. I do love the fallow deer, but they can demand food instead of sitting quietly and waiting for it. 

Oh, well. They are all beautiful creatures, and it makes my heart sing to see them so happy, and let's be honest here, a bit spoiled. 

Speaking of spoiled, we ran into a large emu in this section who decided it wanted food, and now. Sticking its head into the window on Dawn's side, Dawn fed it the last of the treats out of our cups. Feeding time over, the bird wanted to have more. Dawn showed the empty cup to the large bird, but I guess this just pissed it off. Like a striking cobra, the emu shot its head into the window, snagged a chunk of Dawn's steering wheel cover, then pulled out again before we knew what hit us. 

The steering wheel cover was examined closely. There were small pieces actually ripped off the cover. Snotty bird who thinks he should have more treats, now. We took the damaged cover and rolled on past the emus, rheas, and ostriches. 

Moving into the Asian area, we saw this nilgai, or blue bull, eating. 

Driving deeper into the final stretch of the Asian section, we ran into this gorgeous kitty, better known as a tiger. He was stretched out in the shade, rolling over once in a while to show us he was alive. 

Our trip to the safari park was over. We all left with smiles and stories to tell. Dawn was going to replace her steering wheel cover anyway, so now she has an excuse to make it happen sooner than planned. 

All of us met up at the pizza parlor in Winston to grab some lunch. I listened as the girls spoke of their father, who passed away recently, and how the memorial service was planned out. The service will take place in September. But on to happier things, too. 

Grandchildren (great-grandchildren) were enjoying their slice of pizza and drinks. We were enjoying the time spent together. It was a fun day, filled with laughs and love. Pizza eaten, off we drove toward home. Dawn dropped me off, and we said our goodbyes. I had a chance to say goodbye to Marina, the children, and Katie and Amelia after lunch, before leaving the pizza parlor. 

Awesome day spent with family. But, back to making jewelry and enjoying time spent with my hubby and my fur babies. 

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Thank you all for sharing our adventures. We wish you all the best of everything life has to offer. Until the next post, take care!