Visit The Grand Canyon Deer Farm in Williams, Arizona!

 

I love animals of all shapes & sizes so when we have a chance to visit a new zoo, animal experience or new area to go hiking/exploring, I am all for it. I live in Arizona & as long as you have the paperwork for it the state has a large list of animals you are allowed to legally own which means there are several animal experiences & interactive ranches/farms that have unique animals for you to see. I have written reviews for a few locations here in Arizona in the past & today I will be sharing a spot called the Grand Canyon Deer Farm which is located in Williams, Arizona. If you are interested in what the other animal spots I've reviewed are, I will include them at the end of this post. This is a spot we paid to visit, it is not a sponsored post. The Deer Farm is easy to reach, it is just off of Interstate 40, so even if you aren't planning on staying in the area it is a fun spot to stop on a road trip through the area or during a day trip like we did. 

As the name suggests the Grand Canyon Deer farm is home to dozen of deer, however they also have a few other farm animals & a couple exotic animals as well that you get to see up close. The farm has a few species of deer including reindeer along with peacocks, a cockatoo, wallabies, a camel, a marmoset monkey, coatis, Zonkeys & more. You will be able to see & pet a few of the animals up close, the others are just for viewing. How much does it cost to get in? It is $16 per adult and $9 per child, the cost does not include food for the deer. Based off of our experiences at other animals experiences like this I would say the price is moderate in comparison. They also have encounter opportunities that can be purchased separate for example you would pay $30 per person to interact with the wallabies. I would recommend booking that part ahead of time to make sure you can get in. We had stopped by on a trip & had wanted to do the animal experiences but there wasn't enough staff on hand that day to do it so they were not letting anyone buy the extras. 

In total I would say we stayed for about an hour and a half, some of the spots we stayed at just a little bit longer than others. Wear close toed shoes as you will be walking through dirt & possibly mud depending on the weather and of course some animal poop. They didn't put any holes into our clothing, but just in case I wouldn't wear your favorite top while visiting. Some of the deer started nibbling onto our shirts if they weren't being fed fast enough. Most of the deer were very sweet while we were walking around feeding & petting them, a couple were slightly pushy but that is any animal when they want a snack. Depending on what time of the year you go, you might get lucky & get to see some baby animals while you are there. 

The farm is set up in a way that it is easy to do a self guided tour without assistance, the paths are easy to follow & all of the animals pens are set up along the trail so you can see them as you walk. One of our favorite animals to see was the mini Zebu cow! She was so sweet and soft. Another stop that was a favorite of mine was over at the Coati cage! I love how cute those little critters are, they are like a cross between a lemur and a raccoon & they are actually native to Arizona. I hope to one day be able to spot them out in the wild while hiking & exploring. 

It was a nice spot to stop, we enjoyed the bit of time we spent there viewing the animals & interacting with some of them. They also have a huge gift shop & indoor bathrooms available & they also have outdoor sinks so you can wash your hands after touching the animals. If you want to make your trip more of an adventure the deer farm is right up the road from the Grand Canyon Go-Karts (click the name to be taken to the review). It is also located just up the road from Bearizona which is a walkthrough & drive thru animal park. 

If you want to check out other animal experiences in Arizona here are some of our favorites! Click on the name of the attraction & you will be brought to the review I wrote for it.

★ Bearizona which is mentioned above is wonder it has bears, wolves, otters & more that you can see up close. 

★ Ghost Ranch Exotics out near Tucson offers up close encounters with a Kangaroo, Capybaras & more. 

★ The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a mini zoo, aquarium, hiking zone and more where you get see a number of amazing animals + you can pay to feed a sting ray. 

★ The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch near Tucson offers you a chance to feed & touch a number of animals including Donkeys, Rainbow Lorikeets, Deer, Goats, Ducks & More. 

★ The Phoenix Herpetological Society in Scottsdale gives you a chance to see gators, monitor lizards, otters, raccoons, snakes & more up-close. 

★ Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale is home to hundreds of fish, but they also offer the chance to have unique encounters with a Sloth & with Penguins!

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Exotic Animal Experience in Arizona!

 

When we visit fun new places that I think others will enjoy, I like sharing them here on my blog! This time around it isn't really a review of the location just some fun highlights of when we visited. Why isn't it quite a full review? When we had visited this location, it was under another name & address. Shortly after we had paid a visit to the farm, they moved to their new location taking the exotic animals with & have the farm animals at another location as part of the new mobile petting zoo services they offer. The exotic animal portion is now called Ghost Ranch Exotics which is located just outside of Tucson, Arizona. We personally loved getting to go on the exotic animals tour as we were able to see & pet Capybaras, Patagonian Maras, a red-rumped agouti, a kangaroo & more along with being able to feed porcupines and other animals. This is a spot we paid for on our own while on vacation to Tucson and it is not sponsored by the ranch. 

They have several different packages depending on your budget & what kind of animals you want to interact with. We opted to do the all in exotic animals package which allowed us to feed & pet the farm animals which included ducks, goats, pigs, emus, and chickens plus the exotic animal tour. During our visit they had a bunch of baby goats you were able to pick up & hold, they were so cute and sweet. I've been to a lot of zoo's & small owned locations like the Ghost Ranch Exotics, from what I saw while we were there, the animals are well taken care of. They looked healthy, they looked happy & seemed to really enjoy all the attention they were getting. Appearance wise they looked well groomed, after getting to pet them your hands didn't feel disgusting & were not overly dirty. They had a wash station where you could wash your hands & hand sanitizer if you wanted to use it. 

It also included a tour through the exotic animal areas, in each area we were handed some food & told which animals we were able to give the food to. There were only a few animals that weren't able to be pet during this tour which were the porcupines (you were still able to feed them carrots) & the birds. The package we purchased also had the kangaroo included so after the exotic tour we were taken to another area to see the kangaroo & a warthog. We got extremely lucky & there weren't any others who had purchased the kangaroo part at the same time so the four of us were able to be with the kangaroo & staff member by ourselves almost the entire time until another couple joined us toward the end. 

On your way out you can stop by the gift shop to purchase a souvenir from your trip. Not only do they have personally branded items such as clothing, notebooks, and more, but you can purchase peacock feathers, porcupine quills (they shed them naturally just like bird feathers) & some other goods. I bought a cute Capybara pin & a Halloween themed fridge magnet that has a kangaroo on it.

I have no idea what the new location looks like, but the old location was pretty well kept for how many animals they had. We had an amazing time seeing all the animals, getting to pet them & feed them. We were there for about two hours in total. Cost wise it is different now from what it was when we visited & their new website doesn't state if the costs are per person or per group. When we had paid it was per person but was a lot less than the currently listed prices so maybe it is for a small group? The price for the all animals experience at the new location is $375. They also have other options for certain animals if you'd like to only see certain animals. 

What is an animal you've always wanted to have an interaction with??? Is this a spot you think you'd want to visit??

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Touring the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary!

I have always loved seeing, learning about and being near wildlife, and it is something my children grew up loving too so when we had a chance to visit the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary we were all very excited. We all had different animals we were hoping to see on our trip, the kids wanted to see everything, my husband was most excited about the crocodiles and I wanted to see the lizards. We knew we were going to see quite a few reptiles, but holy moly we were amazed by just how many reptiles and animals they have at their sanctuary. 

Their website has their mailing address only, you are provided the actual address of the sanctuary when you sign up for the tour. When we had first arrived, we thought we were a little lost until we spotted the sign for the sanctuary. When we started the tour we found out why we thought we got lost in a residential neighborhood! It is because the house that is on the land where the sanctuary is was originally owned by the owners parents, and they later bought the property to use for the sanctuary. Don't worry about the space! the property is almost three acres with some a bit of desert around it to spare. Tours are $20 per adults and $15 for children, the money made from the tours goes back towards the cost of feeding and caring for all of the reptiles/animals.

The Phoenix Herpetological Society takes in and cares for abandoned pets, reptiles that are illegal in the state, yet still kept as pets and removed by the authorities and animals that have been wounded and need care. They have a zoo license and also work with the Az fish & game department when they have animals that need a place to stay or a new home. Along with taking in animals, they also have an adoption program where you can adopt a snake or turtle.

As soon as you come through the property gates you are meet by a huge enclosure full of large tortoises, I couldn't believe how many we saw. They had been feed shortly before we arrived so they were all moving around the enclosure, the noise of all the turtles shuffling was quite unique and the noises their shells made when they were climbing over each other was interesting as well. A little further in they have smaller tortoises we thought were babies, however they were just a different species and won't grow any larger than what they were. 

Both of our tour guides were extremely friendly, full of information, ready to answer questions, and really seemed to love their job and the animals.  Our group was a bit on the smaller size with just eighteen people in the tour group. There was a ton to see and a lot of information shared so I won't be able to cover everything in this post, but that will make you want to visit even more so you can see and hear everything for yourself! The first stop on the tour is right by the front gate learning about the different tortoises and getting to hold them (the kids loved that), they even have a few Galapagos turtles which were amazing to see, they are massive! There are also a few other enclosures around the property that house tortoises, in total we were told they have over 600 of them. 

After the tortoises we were taken to an area that had two raccoons, opossums, a otter, iguanas and more. You were able to be right next to the cages and see the animals quite clearly, in fact on the otter cage you were allowed to put your hand flat up against the cage and he would sniff your hand. I was so happy and excited to be that close to an otter! The next stop was to see some red eared slider turtles/other water turtles, bearded dragons and two water monitor lizards. Guests were allowed to hold the bearded dragons if they wished to do so. 

Moving on we were brought to the venomous reptile room, we were absolutely shocked how many snakes and other critters were houses in the building and how many terrifyingly deadly snakes they had. They had rattlesnakes (of course, can't be in AZ without those), but they also had cobras, black mambas, a gorgeous green mamba (never heard of these, only thought there were black mambas) and so many other species. The glass aquariums are right in front of you, which means the snakes were within a foot of your face so you can see every detail of the snakes. The sound of the angry rattlesnake who just had his cage cleaned was quite ominous. The employee who was in the room with us and our guides was also very friendly and happy to offer fun facts, information and answer questions. In this room the kids were able to hold a stunning gecko, I being me forgot to get the name of the specific species (I was busy taking photos of the snakes when it was first pulled out). The gecko was so soft, it was shocking just how soft he felt, almost like velvet. 

We were also very close to a number of alligators and crocodiles, so close in fact when you first come into the facility you have to sign a safety waiver and there are signs asking you not to put your fingers through the chain link fence & thus they aren't responsible if you decide to do something stupid. Why do they need these signs? Are they really that close? the answer is yes, they were within the same foot of space as you! While we were walking through their section some of the crocodiles had their tails resting directly next to the fence, to where you could just reach down and touch them (but myself and the herp society strongly recommend you don't). 

As mentioned before they take in a lot of animals that have been harmed, taken care of improperly or even just born with deformities, along the way you'll learn how they came into possession of some of them and what happened to them, some of their back stories are quite sad. One of the crocodiles is missing his tail, it is believed it was bitten off by another hungry crocodile, you can actually read his story here. They have one named "Grandma" that had a poor diet at the zoo she was at and thus has only a few teeth left. Many of the animals they are for have a lower rate of survival in the wild, and many would have been euthanized if they were not cared for by this facility. 

With so many animals on their property, you might be thinking "What if they have babies". It can and does happen frequently! In fact they have several breeding programs for the different animals and species, after they are incubated and hatch they are sent to a variety of different places to live out their lives. You can learn more about these programs on their website. 

The last stop before we left was the non-venomous snake building (though don't be fooled by the name, there were a few venomous things like scorpions as well.) There were a lot of adorable snakes, lizards and critters in this building. We were able to hold a blue-tonged skink (the whole time I was ooing at how cute his tiny little feet were) and we had a chance to hold a snake. The only one who didn't hold the snake was my daughter, we were the last of the group to be in line to hold the snake so I got to be the last one to hold it and I was able to put it back into it's cage. 

The entire experience was exciting, it felt like we went on an adventure and we couldn't stop talking about everything when we got home. If you are ever in the Scottsdale, AZ area I highly recommend booking a tour with them, how many chances do you get to be that close to so many dangerous and also adorable animals? If you are too far away to visit, but would like to help the sanctuary out they are always in need of donations to help keep everything running. The tortoises alone eat about 3,600 pounds of food a week! The sanctuary has a amazon wishlist, a donation page and also virtual pet adoptions where you can sponsor a animal and check in on them when you want. 

Want to see more photos? As requested by the Herp society they asked that no video be taken while on the property, but photos were allowed so I will be posting a slide show I put together of more photos I took while we were there and posting it to my Instagram reels. 

Which reptile or animal do you think you would be most excited to see?

Disclaimer- The Phoenix Herpetological Society provided a tour for the review at a discounted rate, no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

Bearizona in the Winter!

During the winter month's we love going on a family trip up north near the Flagstaff area to enjoy a day playing in the snow. This year we also decided to visit Bearizona again while we were up in the area because we've never been there during the winter. The park was absolutely gorgeous covered in snow, granted we were practically freezing when we were doing the walk through part but it turned out alright. If you are unfamiliar with Bearizona it is a drive and walkthrough animal sancturary located in Williams, Arizona they have a range of wildlife from small critters to big bears.

I wanted to share some of the photos I took from our trip, we didn't have four wheel drive on the van we took out so they let us know we'd have to wait about an hour and a half before we could do the drive through part that way they could let all the all terrain and four wheel drives in to make the roads more drivable for the vehicles that would have a harder time. So we did the walk through part first.

It was just after they opened so some of the animals were still a bit sleepy especially because it was only about 18 degrees out, but it was really cute seeing how the animals were sleeping or playing in the snow. The foxes were right up at the from of their enclosure getting some shut eye, the raccoons were tucked away in a log staying warm, the bobcats were out pacing their area and the otters were digging around in the snow for food. We went back to see the jaguar as well but he wasn't out at the time, we were freezing so we went to get some hot coco. We found out though that even though the park opens at 9am, the coffee stand and restaurants don't open until 10:30-11am  so we had to wait for them to open and then were bounced around between the coffee shop and one of the cafes both telling us they didn't have coco so go back to the other one. We did eventually get our coco! A bit pricey but worth it to help warm us up. Once we grabbed our coco they let those in the walk about area know the drive through part was open for all vehicles, so we loaded back up into the van.

There were a bunch of people at the park so the line through the drive in part was pretty long and a person or two got stuck so it was a slow moving line, but it was nice because it allowed you to enjoy the animals longer. Many of the animals are close to the road way so you can see them and take photos, the park is great at letting you know which areas you need to keep your doors locked and windows up (bears, wolves) and to stay off the grates when it is snowing. 

We decided to drive through a second time (you are allowed to drive through as many times as you'd like and visit the walk in part as much as you want with your pass), and we are so glad we did because the animals were much more active the second time. I think part of it was because they went through and feed some of them and they let the wolves out the second time we went through so we got to see more of the animals. We also had a good laugh as there was a bear that seemed like it was messing with people trying to get their cars stuck on one of the grated sections when you first enter the bear exhibit. He kept walking across the road in from of the cars, then would whip around and go back the other way, he looked like he was having a blast. There were also a few deer up close to the cars trying to lick the snow off of people's cars. All three of the kids and all of us adults had a blast. I've been to the park both during winter, and the summer and I think I prefer the winter time. Now we will just need to visit in the spring when it is in between the two weather extremes. 

I will put some other photos up on my Instagram pages (@Burningmoonprod + @Lunas_Enchanting_Adventures), and I will try to get a video or two up as well. 

* This is not a sponsored post, my family and I enjoy Bearizona so we decided to visit while we were enjoying a snow day in Williams/Flagstaff, But maybe Bearizona will reach out and we will get to work with them to visit again in the spring.