Our home base for the past couple of weeks has been Williams, Arizona. It was the last town on Historic Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40. This was a great place to stay while we visited the Grand Canyon plus we made a couple of other day trips that were memorable.
Scenes from downtown Williams.
A day trip to the town of Prescott, south of Williams.
We enjoyed Granite Creek Vineyards in Chino Valley.
We were amazed at the unusual rock formations of
Watson Lake and the Granite Dells. Located just north of Prescott, we made a drive to the lake just so we could get a better look at this other-worldly landscape.
Researching things to do while staying in Williams, we kept getting suggestions not to miss
Bearizona Wildlife Park. We spent the whole day there enjoying the animals, their Birds of Prey Show and even their unique restaurant Canyonlands. This eight year old wildlife park offers a variety of North American animals exhibited in their natural habitat in a drive-thru experience. There are also a few other smaller animal exhibits which are viewed as you stroll a winding path by their natural habitats. We found the park well kept, spacious and informative.
I think this is why it is called "Bear-izona"..bears everywhere!
The majority of the animals in Bearizona are rescues including this young owl from the Birds of Prey Show.
Watching this Four year old black jaguar
pace back and forth in his natural enclosure was quite astonishing. If you look closely, you can see his spots through its black coat.
Once you pay the entrance fee, you can take the 3 mile drive through the park as many times as you wish. Since there are strict rules for vehicles and its occupants, photographing some of the animals can be tricky. One rule is to keep your car moving, no stopping..but you can slow wayyyy down. Some of the animals were just too far away or I was just busy looking therefore I did not make photographs of every animal enclosure.
Buffaloes
We also took the Wildlife Bus Tour, narrated by the driver, to learn about the animals and their rescue stories. We found out this buffalo weights over 2000 pounds. I think he looks like the one on the nickle.
Raccoons
Porcupines
Tundra Wolves
And Bears..lots of bears..
These youthful, kinder bears were having a ball climbing the trees.
They even came close to get a better look at their audience.
(These kinder bears were all in their natural enclosure stationed along the walk-thru area.)
The bears of Bearizona appear happy, healthy and hefty.
More Later..from Page, Arizona.
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ReplyDeleteGreat photos! Do you have any idea why the lakes stay there, surrounded by leaky-looking rocks? 🙂
ReplyDeleteThanks for your nice comment Craig. To answer your question, I do not know why the lake water does not leak out. An Internet search I did on the Granite Dells described the place as exposed, weathered granite, a process they call spheroidal weathering. Taken from the website Granite Dells, Prescott: azgs.arizona.edu "Granitic rock exposed at the Dells is Proterozoic in age. The granitic melt was intruded into the ancient crust where it cooled and crystallized. It has since been exhumed and raised to the surface. The rounded appearance of individual boulder is the result of spheroidal weathering- a process whereby minerals, feldspars and micas, are chemically attacked along joints, effectively rounding a square peg. Radon concentrations are anomalously high in the Dells due to a high concentration of uranium." I don't know if this is why there are no leaks..
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