LIFE LIST: PLAY WITH BABY BEARS

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LIFE LIST: PLAY WITH BABY BEARS


When: May 2009

Where: Oswald's Bear Ranch in Newberry Michigan

Why I wanted to do this: I had grabbed a brochure years before I actually got around to going. I LOVE brochures!!! I always grab a bunch whenever I see a stand inside a lobby or whatever-you can find some unique things to do that would probably wouldn't have found otherwise.

Cost: So affordable!!!
$15/ car admittance fee
$5 to play with the bears
However, the trip as a whole was expensive as far as camping trips go because it was a long drive for us, so including gas, the camp site for two nights, food, and drink- the trip ended up costing us around $500- most of that was in gas, we were driving a Dodge Ram that cost nearly $80 to fill up the tank.

What I would do differently: Go when its warmer!

The Upper Peninsula in June!!! FREEZING

Will I do it again? Probably-mainly because I would like my daughter to be able to enjoy an experience like this.

Something I would recommend? Yes! Actually after seeing our pictures several of our friends have visited Oswald's Bear Ranch.

Lake Superior-our view from our campsite

Make a good gift/surprise? Yes-ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS!

Was it life changing? Yes-it sparked my interest in experiences with animals.

My trip:

We left at about 4h a.m. in the middle of the week, it may have even been earlier than that so when we arrived at the bear farm it was fairly early in the morning maybe around 10h, there were very few people there, we walked all around the ranch-it maybe took us 45 mins. There are a lot of bears and they're are fairly close to you in their fenced in areas. It was clean, well maintained and the bears seem to be well cared for. I saved the best for last -having our picture taken with the baby black bears-I thought we would walk in, they would set a bear on our lap and then pick him up and charge us 25 bucks for the photo. Could not have been farther from reality-my expectations were far outweighed! We walked into their enclosure and were given grapes to feed them, the 6 month old bears came over to us right away, the owner took about 10 pictures of us with our camera and someone else used our video camera to tape it for us, we probably spent close to 10 minutes with the bears. While we were petting them, one came over to me and put his big paws on my side and started sniffing me intently and at the same time the other bear sitting on the chair who was eating grapes out of the palm of my hand quickly ran out of grapes and began nibbling on my hand! So I can say I've been bitten by a bear! Visiting Oswald's Bear Ranch is something every Michigander should do! 

My grandma kept warning me about the weather, which I thought was ridiculous, it was the middle of may and very nice-where we lived....we stayed at a campground on Lake Superior, a campground with 300 sites and it was us and one other couple who was in a pop up trailer. It was freezing. I was fully clothed, coat, gloves, hat and about five blankets and I have never in my life been so cold.--It was a good trip but would have been better either with kids or if some friends had come along, camping is a 'more the merrier' type of activity.