Yesterday, I took Holden (who is almost 11) to the annual Homeschool Day at Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch up in Pilot Point, TX! We’d never been there before, and it seemed like it would make a great little trip for a Friday when we were off school. We were originally supposed to go back in mid-October, but north Texas got so flooded out with the massive amount of heavy rain we had around that time that they had to reschedule the event for November 30th. There was a chance of rain, but thankfully, it held off until right when we pulled out to head home! Perfect timing.
It was about an hour and fifteen minutes away from us, but it made for a beautiful country drive. It was a full 16 miles off the highway, pretty much in the middle of nowhere! But it was gorgeous countryside, and we really enjoyed the scenery along the way.
When we arrived, we purchased a sack of food to feed the animals, and we got right on a safari tram that took us out into the various pastures on the ranch to visit the wild animals they had. We saw so many kinds of creatures, like the andromeda camel, zebra, zorse, zonkey, various kinds of deer, pot-bellied pigs (even an albino), and llamas. There were buckets hanging on the outside of the tram to drop your food into so the animals could come close to feed. Out of curiosity, I sunk my fingers into the fur on the camel, and it was so thick that the length of my fingers nearly disappeared into its fur! It felt like a fuzzy wool blanket. Really cool! I think the camel was my favorite.
After the tram ride, we walked around and visited various other animals like lemurs (so pretty!), sloths, bears, macaws, and more. In the petting zoo, there was a fuzzy llama that stalked us for food and lots of goats, along with a beautiful pair of ponies! They were so sweet.
The sloths were really adorable. There was a mom and dad and a new one-month old baby sloth in the cage, and the three of them were all curled up together in a big ball in a hammock! So precious! We got to see the animal keeper hand feed them while we were there, and the way the mom and dad unrolled themselves to reveal the baby curled up between them was so cute! They said the pair is about 15 years old, and yet they have continued to have a new baby every year they’ve been there, even though they only live to be about 20 years old, so they are quite mature to still be reproducing! It must be true love.
There was also a kangaroo habitat. There were so many of them, and we sat down for a presentation about the kangaroos, and the kids got to have a little question and answer session at the end.
They also had a domesticated camel that we were allowed to hand-feed, and he was surprising tame, only eating gently with his lips from the palm of your hand! I think he became my new best friend! Holden and I were trying to take a selfie in front of his stall, and he surprised us by putting his head out on my shoulder like he was photo-bombing us! We laughed out loud and had to try again.
It was a lovely way to spend the day, and then we headed back home. We knew we were going to pass right by Buc-ees, so of course we had to make a pitstop! We got so many goodies to take home, and then we went next door to do some quick shopping for a baby shower at the Tanger Outlets. As we prepared to leave, they gave us a flyer about a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony that was starting in 20 minutes, so we rested in the lounge and decided to wait for the start of the festivities. Holden had such a great time! They had a little comedy skit and magic show on stage followed by the official lighting of the big tree in the square, and then a live orchestra played Christmas songs! It was so lovely. They passed out hot chocolate and candy canes and gave away instant prizes. It was lots of fun. And we were under a tornado watch until midnight, so it was quite breezy as the storm began to roll in. Just a lovely evening!
We were out so late that we ran back over to Buc-ees to pick up some dinner. We hit a traffic backup on the way back, so we were glad we’d thought to get something to eat. We got home at about 8 PM, and we were exhausted!
We just love exploring new places in Texas. There’s just so much to see and do! I find out about new adventures all the time. It’s a big state!
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