Safari Park Day Off
A bag of corn, a bucket of water and a salt block. Oh, and a herd of elk. The mules are chillin’ on their day off. We’re guests of the Lee G Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari.
The Lee G Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari features a collection of animals indigenous to the Nebraska Plains. From elk, bison and prairie dogs to owls and a tiger salamander, it’s home to a deep collection of Nebraska’s prairie life. The safari part of it is that you get to drive through it all in your car.
The park has close ties with the Omaha Zoo, one of the nation’s top zoos. In addition to the drive-through Great Plains safari, the park has a successful cheetah breeding program. A tiger breeding program is also being developed.
The park hosted mules Brick and Cracker on site behind the interns house. While they munched and sipped and rested, the park gave me a great tour of their drive-through exhibit.
A Tour of the Safari Park
I thought you’d enjoy a few pics from my tour of the park. Driving through the drive-through safari was a great preview of the animals and fauna that lie ahead of me as the mules and I travel West.
Bison-sized Thanks
It’s been surreal showing up in Nebraska 2 days ago, not knowing anyone, and having this beautiful experience appear.
For that, I want to extend thanks to:
- Christine DuPre’ (Omaha Zoo)
- Dan Cassidy (Omaha Zoo)
- Gary Pettit: Wildlife Safari Park Superintendent
- Rich: for the personal tour of the park. Rich declined a ride on my pack saddle so we used his personal vehicle to tour the park.
- Everyone else at the Wildlife Safari Park who made it such a great stay for us (and magically made corn and salt appear in front of my mules)
- Kim and Mike
From the Safari Park (outside Ashland, Nebraska) the mules and I head toward Valparaiso, Nebraska. From there we’ll follow the sun west.
Links:
[…] Mules Brick, Cracker and I are entering the land of the bison. Outside Hordville, Nebraska, we rode past our first herd. They were the farmed, not wild, kind. The bison above wasn’t too wild either. It’s a bronze cast at the Lee G Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari where the mules and took a day off. […]
Great Adventure. Love the Salt Lick picture! Be safe and Ride on!
I really liked this photo too. Now there’s a mule lickin’ a salt block with gusto!
Bernie, it was great meeting you. We are very proud of our park and glad you enjoyed your visit. Come back and see us again.
Wonderful stories and great photos. What camera do you use for these posts?
Todd,
In another comment, you offered to provide me with a joke (much appreciated and I may have to take you up on it).
You asked about my camera. Here’s my joke.
Up until about a month ago (La Plata, MO post) I used a Canon G16. It was about 5 years old. A real battle wagon of a camera that took great photos….until I lost it. Uggggggggg…
After that, and here’s the punchline to the joke, I used my iPod.
Yep, just a 5th gen iPod I use for an alarm so I don’t have to leave my phone on all night long.
In bright light, it works amazingly well in that best-camera-is-the-one-you-have-on-hand-when-the-aliens-land sorta way.
I have a replacement Canon G9X Mark II showing up. Ask me in a few weeks how I like it.
Happy Snapping.
Bernie