As promised, we kicked off our Spring Break Staycation this afternoon with the most amazing…elephant experience!
That’s right. ELEPHANT experience!
As many of you already know, my kiddos are major animal lovers. They all adore elephants, but it’s Chicklet’s very favorite animal—forever and always.
Well. A few weeks ago, when I was having a conference at school with Chicklet’s teachers, and we were marveling over her love of and interest in animals, they shared news of this amazing place about 75 minutes north of town.
It’s a preserve that conducts unique elephant experiences several times a week, and the participation price sure ain’t cheap, but when we decided to stay local for this week off, I knew this activity had to be at the top of our list!
The price of this experience covers an hour and a half of nothin’ but elephants, elephants, elephants. You’re in a group sitting—but a very manageable-sized group—out in a wonderful setting with unrestricted viewing access. The session covers many mini demonstrations, a ton o’ factoids, and plenty of hands-on, one-on-one time with these magnificent creatures.
To say Chicklet was pumped about this experience is a massive understatement, and the timing couldn’t have be better, since we just entered her birthday month. :)
The session began with some fun background information…
Followed by the grand entrance of three lovely ladies, making the long trek down the hill, holding trunk “hands.”
Once they arrived right in front of us, they showed off some adorable dexterity, that’s, quite frankly, better than I can often do on the balancing front. ;)
Here are their names and ages, and I gotta say—they all seemed incredibly active and agile and engaged. Kitty is known for her ear hair (tehe), Rosie is the chattiest, and Becky has the leanest figure. :)
The price of this experience covers an hour and a half of nothin’ but elephants, elephants, elephants. You’re in a group sitting—but a very manageable-sized group—out in a wonderful setting with unrestricted viewing access. The session covers many mini demonstrations, a ton o’ factoids, and plenty of hands-on, one-on-one time with these magnificent creatures.
To say Chicklet was pumped about this experience is a massive understatement, and the timing couldn’t have be better, since we just entered her birthday month. :)
The session began with some fun background information…
Followed by the grand entrance of three lovely ladies, making the long trek down the hill, holding trunk “hands.”
Once they arrived right in front of us, they showed off some adorable dexterity, that’s, quite frankly, better than I can often do on the balancing front. ;)
Here are their names and ages, and I gotta say—they all seemed incredibly active and agile and engaged. Kitty is known for her ear hair (tehe), Rosie is the chattiest, and Becky has the leanest figure. :)
After plenty of awesome balance moves and bendy tricks, Rosie had the great pleasure of a bath…
And reveled in showing off her many, many moves that helped the lovely staff members get to all the tricky spots. ;)
Everyone in the entire group enjoyed the great fun of some scrub-a-dub time. And the staff are complete pros with keeping everyone engaged throughout this process, and providing PLENTY of photo opportunities. They even indulged Chicklet at every turn, taking pics of the action on her kid camera as well as my iPhone. Precious.
Sweet Rosie was so chill during the 20-30 minutes it took for everyone in the group to groom her that she enjoyed a little nap, ha.
While we waited for our turn, an incredibly knowledgeable staff member gave the kiddos a chance to ask any and all questions they wanted, and, man, did they step up to the plate!
First, Chicklet wanted to know how elephants are able to move their trunks with no bones (I love that she knew this), and the answer gave us the amazing tidbit that elephants can have up to 100,000 muscles in their trunks alone. Crazy!
All my kiddos piped up with other questions about how the elephants are trained, cared for, and what their sounds of communication mean, and it was so great to see them so engaged. There was even a lovely preschool teacher from Montana in our group, and she was so tickled by my kiddos’ questions that she was writing them down—along with the answers—to share with her students back home. :)
During this time frame, we had a chance for an up-close visit with Becky—along with plenty of photos with the lovely, patient gal.
Next up, we continued our education with a demonstration all about…foot care! Another staff member shared really coolio information about all the tools needed to keep the elephants’ feet in tip-top shape…
Giant nail file, anyone??
And we got the chance to touch and push on the very squishy bottom of Becky’s foot!
After the foot care demonstration, we all took our sweet time (amidst lots more photos opportunities) making it back to the main viewing area…
And the next portion of the session involved a handful of really fun demonstrations to show off the various mental health exercises and activities the elephants enjoy.
Next up, we continued our education with a demonstration all about…foot care! Another staff member shared really coolio information about all the tools needed to keep the elephants’ feet in tip-top shape…
Giant nail file, anyone??
And we got the chance to touch and push on the very squishy bottom of Becky’s foot!
After the foot care demonstration, we all took our sweet time (amidst lots more photos opportunities) making it back to the main viewing area…
And the next portion of the session involved a handful of really fun demonstrations to show off the various mental health exercises and activities the elephants enjoy.
Like, trunk painting…
A game of catch with a handful of drumstick-like objects…
A game of catch with a handful of drumstick-like objects…
Hula-hooping!
And more free-hand (free-trunk?) painting…
By the end, we’d enjoyed so many little demonstrations and exhibitions, and for this photo-lovin’ Mama, we had oodles and gobs of picture time. And capped it off with a photo op with all three ladies. :)
For anyone local looking to enjoy a truly unique and up-close elephant experience, this is a must for anyone willing to indulge in the price. It’s truly an awe-inspiring thing to see these animals so close, without any zoo barriers, and to see them so well taken care of and challenged with physical and mental exercise.
I’m so glad we took the time and money to go for this activity. And the best part is that we have a future elephant experience to look forward to! The hubby’s sister gifted the kiddos with an elephant “adoption” this past Christmas. They get to watch videos of an elephant that lives in Oklahoma, and someday this summer (I hope!) we’ll have the major treat of visiting and interacting with that elephant.
We can never have enough animal encounters, and I’m so grateful for these lovely elephant ambassadors and for the caregivers who treat them so beautifully.
So…yay, to a rockin’ kick off of our Spring Break Staycation!
Happy Friday, peeps!
Over and out.
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