The picture on the right is the end of her forced "cheese" face. Too funny.
Anyway, we went to Arrowhead Ranch on Friday expecting a large farm or ranch. While it is a working cattle ranch, it's on a random plot behind a development. You literally have to turn down a dirt side street in between two cookie-cutter houses to get to the parking lot. The ranch is not normally open to the public, but they were open for two hours that day for spring break. Their website boasts a petting zoo, horse rides, and a "roping game" and they charge a $5 flat-fee.
The entire fenced-in play area was maybe 400 square feet. There were two chickens, two rabbits, three goats, a donkey, two ponies, and two horses. We were given a small amount of feed (a halfway-full mouthwash-size paper cup) for the goats, who were each tied to a tree by a dog leash. I actualy kind of liked that they were tied up, because normally free-roaming goats trample Meike when food is involved. The donkey just slept the whole time in his own little pen. A horse or carraige (which was nowhere to be found) ride was included in the price and you could purchase additional rides for $2, which was a pretty fair price compared with other venues. Riding the horse in two short 50 yard circles was Meike's favorite part. I even splurged on a second ride for her.
The rabbits had horrible canker ear (likely scars from previous infections, since they weren't scratching) and Meike asked why they had "crumbs and seashells" in their ears. There was a bench surrounded by a portable fence where the kids would sit and a very grumpy 16yo would continuously pick up the rabbits and place them in their laps.
Meike attached herself to a 6yo girl and sat next to her on the bench for a really long time. Meike seems to like older girls better than kids her own age. Meike then followed the girl around repeating, "This is my new friend. Want to be my friend? I'm going to be your friend." about a hundred times.
The "roping game" consisted of a 1ft tall metal pole bent into the shape of a bull with a lasso around it. Meike took turns with a younger girl sitting on the bull and getting roped by the older girl. Meike found this immensely amusing and probably sat there for about twenty minutes total.
Arrowhead Ranch is otherwise only open for super cheap private birthday parties. They also offer a cool package for $35 that I think I'm going to get Meike for her birthday. You get 45 minutes of horse petting, brushing, feeding, and riding on a one-on-one basis. Plus they give the kid a cowboy hat and balloons and everything. I think Meike would really love the personal time with the horse.
Which leads me on to birthday planning...only a month to go!
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