You get on the tram at the entrance to the park and it drives you through the property, where you see the exotic animals that the Anheuser-Busch family have stocked the grounds with.
We saw White White elk...not just White Elk--but White White Elk, as to differentiate them from the other elk seen on the property. They look albino, but they are not.
The 80-acre property was originally a wedding gift to Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent from her wealthy family. A drop in the bucket from the original 2000 acres! This cabin was built in a day for them...and the flag that stands outside the gate has 31 stars on it.
The first stop after the tram ride was the Carousel. Grandma was waiting with tickets to some of the attractions when the kids got off.
The first stop was to feed the baby goats.
Even though Cameron fed them last year--it was no less exciting to get in the pen and feed them again! Jessica and Cameron were covered in dirt from all the goats climbing on them.
Kaylub was immediately surrounded and kept asking for Uncle Jeff to help him. But even Uncle Jeff couldn't save a kid that was holding a full bottle of milk!
After the milk ran out, the goats resorted to tugging on shoe laces and biting pants!
(I think Aunt Jan was secretly giving the kids extra bottles to feed the babies with...because the kids were in the pen a lot longer than two bottles took to empty!) It was enough time to catch a picture of Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Gale, and Great-grandma waiting for them.
Arijana and Ashley hamming it up.
The kids found the copper butterfly after they ogled a tarantula and bearded dragon.
One of Jessica's class assignments from her teacher before she left, was to make a list of 5 birds that she saw on her trip.
She hit the jack pot because there was a bird show going on the day we went to Grant's Farm, and the handlers introduced the audience to a bald eagle, a barn owl, and several parrots.
As always--Jessica is pretty good at striking a pose everywhere she goes!
Aunt Gale had told the kids about how the park offers camel rides. They were super excited to get to that part of our visit.
Braden was first to try the camel out.
Each of the kids rode the camel around the circle twice.
They were double-humped camels and you had to sit on the back hump--unless you were riding with someone else--then you rode on the front hump!
A camel is able to carry 75% of it's weight....and that's a lot since they weigh about 2000lbs.
Nathan got the longest ride... because his camel had to take care of some business as soon as he got on!
The handler said it was going to take a while since camels can drink up to 30 gallons of water at a time and store all the extra water in their humps!
Riding camels sure made everyone hot and thirsty. The weather was perfect for sightseeing and being outdoors!
Cameron took charge of Great-grandma and even got her a matching sno-cone. (What a sticky mess for everyone! Water and wet wipes to the rescue!)
There was lots to see in the carriage house. The handcarts that were beautifully painted were hundreds of years old and definitely had a bohemian flair to them from the old country!
The kids were pretty tired by the time we got to the Clydesdales, most of which are kept at a breeding facility in another town. But there were a few on the premises to see...but the easiest one to get a picture of was the one made out of fiberglass! It was a great day!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment