I am thankful for long weekends and old friends. Over Memorial weekend I headed south to see my friend, Tina, who moved to Bentonville, Ark., after we graduated from high school. Over the years we have kept in touch taking turns driving back and forth to spend as much time together as our busy lives will allow.
Tina is now married with two little boys, so she is busy indeed. When the opportunity came up to visit over the holiday weekend I was excited about getting out of town and catching up with her.
During my stay we visited the Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari in Gentry, Ark. The 400-acre Safari offers an unusual spin on a traditional zoo.
A 4-mile road twisting and turning through the park offers an unforgettable way of observing the 85 species of domestic and exotic animals that make their home at the Safari.
As we drove through the park we had camels, zebras and emus walk right up to the car. Other free-range animals like antelope, zebus and bison would keep their distance as they lounged under a shade tree – animals that may be a flight-risk or hunt as predators are kept in enclosures but are viewable from your car.
Also featured at the Safari is a petting zoo. It was a great way for the kids and I to interact and hand-feed a variety of animals including goats, pigs and chickens. I take for granted that children raised in the country are around farm animals their whole lives whereas, zoos may provide the only opportunity for children raised in the city to have any interaction with farm animals. I thought it was a nice addition to the non-traditional zoo.
Tina’s boys really enjoyed the trip. It is one of their favorite things to do as a family. They seemed to know more about some of the animals than the rest of us did. Their eager minds soak in everything and their eyes light up with excitement.
My favorite part was all of the great photo opportunities. It’s not every day you can get up-close to a hippo and take a picture of it eating watermelon.
This trip was a great way to kick off the summer. I hope you had a fun and safe holiday weekend as well.
As you enjoy summer activities and barbecue feel free to send in your favorite summertime recipes to share with our readers. Recipes can be mailed to P.O. Box 1319, Lebanon, MO 65536; faxed to 417-532-4721 or emailed to [email protected].
Best wishes,
