Day 5 dawned HOT and got HOTTER, hitting the mid-90's. What better day to go to Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR? The park is home to the famous pair of Sanurra the cheetah and Ellie the Anatolian Shephard, who grew up together at the park. The park is huge, and visitors drive their OWN vehicles around a 4.5-mile course through the park, with windows DOWN! You can even do a 2nd loop if you decide it was worth another go-around!
Or, at least, until this guy comes up to your window and decides he wants to stick his head in and see what's happening inside! The temperature hit the mid-90's by 1:30pm, but that didn't stop us from doing a 2nd loop, which turned out to be a great idea because...
... we got to see giraffe fights from about 50' away. Wildlife Safari has 3 male giraffes... two at 12 and 14, and a new one at 3 years old. The youngster has decided he's going to run the show, and we got a front-row seat to giraffe pecking order establishment... it was unbelievable just how violent these seemingly gentle giants can get!
And just prior to the giraffe fights, we were entertained by feeding time at the brown bears area. There are two females and three males (in separate enclosures), all weighing in the 600-800lb range. We had a good laugh watching two of the males have a good tussle in their pond over an old animal bone, while the third male sat in the pond with a "You two are idiots" look on his face... until they came close enough to him that he took a nip or two at them!
Of course, after 5 hours trapped in the truck with me and J and C, K was in dire need of some alcoholic painkiller, so we had to stop in at one of the many wineries in the region. Abacela Winery, perched beautifully on a hillside, was basking in the sun while we were there. K enjoyed a lovely sample of wine, purchased a bottle, and then we were on our way to Medford, OR.
Day 5 dawned HOT and got HOTTER, hitting the mid-90's. What better day to go to Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR? The park is home to the famous pair of Sanurra the cheetah and Ellie the Anatolian Shephard, who grew up together at the park. The park is huge, and visitors drive their OWN vehicles around a 4.5-mile course through the park, with windows DOWN! You can even do a 2nd loop if you decide it was worth another go-around!
Or, at least, until this guy comes up to your window and decides he wants to stick his head in and see what's happening inside! The temperature hit the mid-90's by 1:30pm, but that didn't stop us from doing a 2nd loop, which turned out to be a great idea because...
... we got to see giraffe fights from about 50' away. Wildlife Safari has 3 male giraffes... two at 12 and 14, and a new one at 3 years old. The youngster has decided he's going to run the show, and we got a front-row seat to giraffe pecking order establishment... it was unbelievable just how violent these seemingly gentle giants can get!
And just prior to the giraffe fights, we were entertained by feeding time at the brown bears area. There are two females and three males (in separate enclosures), all weighing in the 600-800lb range. We had a good laugh watching two of the males have a good tussle in their pond over an old animal bone, while the third male sat in the pond with a "You two are idiots" look on his face... until they came close enough to him that he took a nip or two at them!
Of course, after 5 hours trapped in the truck with me and J and C, K was in dire need of some alcoholic painkiller, so we had to stop in at one of the many wineries in the region. Abacela Winery, perched beautifully on a hillside, was basking in the sun while we were there. K enjoyed a lovely sample of wine, purchased a bottle, and then we were on our way to Medford, OR.
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