Wildlife Safari - Roseburg, OR

Friday 8/28/09 I don't want to be a "snob" about this, but after you've been to Africa on Safari with Nancy Willis, it's a good idea to just leave these "drive-thru" things alone, but not me....one more time I wanted to see what it was like. Of course, good natured Will, who goes along with just about everything was "game" for the trip, as it was only about 20 miles away. Also the weather is very overcast & looks like it could rain and that means the animals would probably be out. Strange weather in this part of the country...yesterday was 96 & today is overcast w/rain expected. They say, there is NO typical weather day around here, you never know what to expect and I believe them.

Off we head for Wildlife Safari which is actually in the small town of Winston just outside of Roseburg. http://www.wildlifesafrari.net/ There are several cars ahead of us & we wait in line to pay with our fabulous senior discount. The rules are, you drive thru at 10 mph, stay in your car (duh), do not feed the animals, stay at least 3 car lengths from the animals (no problem there), windows can be kept open but keep hands in.....and watch out for the Rino's..they are mean. Ok we have the rules & start to drive just as it starts to lightly sprinkle. Actually, that's a good things, yesterday was 96 degrees & they would have been hiding in shade, at least today they were up and walking around. The park is divided into countries, Africa, Asia, etc. Of course most of the animals keep a good distance from the road but they have many feeding stations located around the park & always near the road to draw the animals.

The favorite animals that we saw were the giraffe's as we actually got to see them running, which was very exciting. The dangerous rino's were asleep and NEVER even picked their head up the whole time we were in their section. The best display were the bears....OMG.. some were playing in the water together, another one kept charging the fence, which the bison were on the other side & moved each time he charged. They were wandering all around & I made Will just pull over & park so I could watch them....they were so fun and terrific.

Their were many different herds of animals through out the park, bison, elk (finally I saw Roosevelt Elk) elephants, zebra and impala's doing their running & prancing around (remember Nancy...the M on their butt for McDonald's) and a terrific cat display, but of course the cats are in fenced area's so it is like seeing them in the zoo...from your car. After we stop at the Safari Village for lunch (we forgot to take one today or maybe we are just getting sick of it) & buy some postcards. By now the rain is really coming down & all we want to do is go home, which we do. The drive thru safari has really been fun but we both agree, we don't ever have to do that again. By 4 pm the sun is out and it's actually starting to get pretty warm....very weird weather here.

Saturday 8/29/09 Today is "house cleaning day" that means take all the rugs out, wash the floors, clean both bathrooms (I love having 2 bathrooms!) the whole works. We actually have a pretty good system worked out & with the two of us going at it....it doesn't take long before it shines & has that clean smell, but of course the best part - it is done.

After lunch, the sun is out & we head into Roseburg http://www.visitroseburg.com/ to visit their Farmers Market they have on Saturday & then tour the historic downtown area. Unfortunately, the market is just about to close when we arrive at 1 pm but I have long enuf to grab some really good tomatoes and fruit. We then head down to the historic district to see the Floed-Lane House circa 1866 which is open and staffed on the weekends for tours by the Roseburg Historical Society. When we arrive their is an elderly gentleman, who is the guide for today & us. He asked us to sit down in the front parlor while he gave us the background on Joseph Lane and his daughter & son-in-law, John & Emily Floed. Boy did we get a history lesson more than we could possibly remember or really care about but you could tell he was thoroughly enjoying his role....of historian. He then escorted us thru the house telling us about each piece of furniture, pictures on the walls, other members of the community and the entire life of Joseph Lane. Actually, it was a very enjoyable day but we spent 2 hours there, that would be just about 1 1/2 more than we needed.

After we left we drove by two other historical houses he recommended we see...Judge W. Willis a prominent attorney, judge & 3 term mayor of Roseburg in the late 1800's.....I couldn't miss the Willis house. The other was the Parrott House a beautiful Queen Anne style home of 1891 that sits empty. It seems some architect bought it to restore it, went bankrupt & now it is owned by a bank and just sits empty. The odds of someone else buying it seems pretty slim as it needs much work for restoration. However, the outside is beautiful.

With that we headed home, fix a nice dinner then get ready for the big Saturday night at the RV park where they will show a movie on the drive in screen. We are both looking forward to this & it will be the last showing of the season. The move they are playing tonight is Fools Rush In, a real chick flick. About 8:30 pm they start the movie & we turn our FM radio on to 92.3 where we get the sound from the movie. We then watch from INSIDE our RV, me on the couch & Will in his chair, eating popcorn and enjoyed this unique experience immensely. The movie isn't over until 10:30 pm but fortunately we don't have to far to go....to fall into bed. A very fun day in this fabulous adventure. Signing off with much love to family and friends.