Bearizona and the Inaguration

I pre-apologize for this post.  There are 1.8 million pictures and all but about five of them are just animals at Bearizona.  I'll keep the text to a minimum so you can just scroll and ooh and ahh at the cuteness. 

On Wednesday, June 7th the kids and I drove to Mesa, Spencer saw the orthodontist, and then we drove up to Flagstaff.  We met up with my dad at Arizona Boys State and then checked into a dorm room. I took 0.0 pictures that day.  

The next day, on Thursday, we ate breakfast in the student union cafeteria and then drove to Bearizona in Williams. We did the drive thru part first.  

Deer

Donkeys

Wolves

American Bison

They are so ugly when they shed for summer.

Mountain goats

The one in the front was peeing and the one in the back was smelling.  Um, excuse me?  Some privacy please?

American mother

Bears

Spencer took this entire series of pictures.  It's awesome!  Just look. 

After we drove through one time we went to the walk thru part. 

These beavers had arrived the previous day.  Good timing!

Good looking lunch.

Elliott wanted the porcupines to be named Lance and Ash, after the porcupines on the movie Sing.  \

In reality, they are Spike and Lois. 

The otters woke up right after we walked up there and put on quite a show for us. 

Bobcats

A bear in a cave

From the other side

We watched this bear run across the yard (should I call it a yard?) 

And join his buddy in the cave.  People can go in the cave and look through a Plexiglas divider. 

My friends, the javelinas.

We went into the petting zoo and this turkey named Joe was freaking us out.  Apparently he's looking for a girlfriend so he puffs his feathers up and scrapes them against the ground which makes a terrible, terrible noise.  

He stalked us.  I think he thought one of us was a turkey.  Maybe Elliott.  

 

Spencer pet this chicken. 

A fox. 

A different kind of fox. 

They just opened a brand new gift shop and restaurant, so after we walked through the whole walking part we went in there. 

You have to walk through both the gift shop and the restaurant to get to the brand new jaguar.  His name is Bagheera.  They brought in a girlfriend for him but she is terrified of him so they haven't been able to mate them yet.  Seems very prostituty to me.

We ate lunch at the new restaurant.  It was really cool inside and fairly overpriced.  The food was good though.  

After lunch we drove through one more time. 

I'd like this mountain goat to live in my back yard.  He seems wise.

Wolves

I wish I could cuddle them, but they'd probably rip my face off and eat my arms and legs. 

The bears were incredibly active in the afternoon.  Active and hilarious. 

The albino Bison.   Well, maybe not albino, maybe just white. 

We got this tubby fella sitting down for a drink. 

If somebody could just go ahead and give me an award for this shot, I'd appreciate it. 

After Bearizona we got ice cream in Williams and then drove back to Flagstaff.  We ate dinner and then went to the inaguration at Boys State.  There is construction all over the campus of NAU so for the first time in 40 something years the program was not held in the DuBois center.  The big assemblies were held in the "field house" which was akin in size and noise to an airplane hangar and was an absolute disaster.  The sound quality in there was horrific.  NAU had better give them about a 97% discount for this blunder. 

Elliott was smitten with Sheila.  

Father Daniel and I wore the same outfit and it was horrifying.  

And my dad thought the stairs would be a good place for a family photo.  

And........we are done!  Up next, 850 pictures of a pine forest from the ski lift.