Yipes! Look at all the STRIPES!

If you are a fan of Mike Rowe and the show Dirty Jobs, he did an episode on the people that run a place called Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch located in Pilot Point. Here is a snippet of what it was like being a Nanny to some Joeys.

This educational facility focuses on creating engaging experiences for the entire family with endangered wildlife. From the Safari Tram Ride to the animal presentations, you not only get close enough to smell them, you can touch many of them too! For a child like Emma that started off being so tactilely defensive, this place was a good place for her because it fosters an every growing curiosity. And with her newly found and ever growing confidence, she is trying to become more engaged with new environments every day. I was so excited to see what she would think of all the animals that she enjoys seeing on flash cards and in books.

We arrived shortly after they opened, and made a quick stop at the pavilion where the animal presentations take place before we went straight to the Joey pen you see on the video above. We watched two very adorable youngsters hop around and nibble grass while they explored their enclosure. Then we looked at the pen where all the adults were.

Next, it was time for the Safari Tram Ride - certainly the highlight of our visit for Emma. This thirty-five minute ride takes you through pastures where camels, horses, pigs, zebras, emus, endangered deer, zedonks, and zorses come up to the Tram to enjoy feed in the buckets on the sides so you can see them up close. They tell you which animals you are free to touch and which ones to admire with your eyes instead. Emma was happy to touch any animal that she was allowed to admire with her hands that let her. She even made some friends with some of them.

In case you need some translation, Emma was saying "bye" and "see you later, zebra" to her new friend. She was very set on that one particular zebra. I'm sure she would have loved to take it home, but we let it stay with it's friends. (Mommy did end up getting her a little zebra of her very own though. She named it Stripes and loves giving it hugs.)

After the Safari Tram, we stayed for some of the animal presentations, had our picture taken with a sweet young Joey, and enjoyed some sno cones. At that point, it was time to head home for lunch and nap time. It was a wonderful morning and one that I'm sure she will remember. I know I will.