Labor Day (Part 2) Bear World

Our second adventure of Labor Day Weekend was to go to Bear World -- the over-priced wild animal park outside of Rexburg that the locals call a Tourist Trap. But after a delightful fieldtrip there last May with Sadie's Kindergarten class, we decided that this was one Tourist Trap that was worth doing as a family, at least once.

My sister Rachael and her family were with us (of course) and Eric's brother Devin and his family (who recently moved to Rexburg) joined us as well.

The beginning of the Bear World adventure is a drive-thru zoo where you see mountain goats, deer, elk, and bison --all things that you can see in the real Yellowstone quite easily. Although they do have a huge old white elk that was pretty impressive.


 


It started to get interesting when you entered the tight-security lockdown part of the park (it reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park's entrance...not really...but sort of). First off you see a couple of grizzly bears. But they were kept separate from the other bears and aren't free to roam around because they are so aggressive. Still, pretty cool.

Then you drive around for quite a long time in the Bear Enclosure. There are over 50 bears in this part of the park...and 3 wolves! The bears walk right up to your car. It is so surreal. I know this may be a tourist trap and the purist will say "you can see that in Yellowstone" -- but I've been to Yellowstone a ton of times since we've moved here and I've yet to see any bears. So this is pretty awesome. 

The funniest/scariest thing that happened was when we were driving behind my sister's van. A bear was walking along beside her car...RIGHT beside her car. Then it went around behind them and then it started biting her bumper!!!! It was crazy! I wish we had gotten a picture of it. They said they could feel it from the inside but weren't sure what it was. Yes, it left some teeth marks, but they are pretty small. Still, how many people can point to their scratch on their bumper and say that a bear did that!!!

 

After the animal drive-thru park you get out of the cars for lots more fun stuff. Here was our crowd of kids to keep an eye on. Luckily it wasn't very crowded at all, so it wasn't too bad.

Next up is the Petting Zoo...there are deer, ducks, goats, chickens, and even this ginormous pig. The kids had a great time getting to touch the animals.

One of my favorite things to do is watch the baby bears play. They had grown a ton since I saw them in May, but they were still as playful and childlike as ever. So stinkin' cute!

There is a place to feed ducks from a bridge and a moose hanging out on the river banks. (Not pictured).

Smile and say CHEESY!!

But don't they make adorable bears?!?

The Galvez Family on the left (minus Tessia) and the Galvez girls on the right (plus Renae).

Last stop in the Bear World adventure is the one thing we didn't get to do on the Kindergarten Fieldtrip...the rides! Yes, they are dinky little carnival rides, but no one was complaining. There are 5 rides and I think my kids rode each of them half a dozen times. There was practically no one else there, so they just went again and again and again. Even the "big kids" who I thought would feel too old for the rides had a great time.

 

It was overcast and even a little drizzly at times, but no one seemed to mind at all.

So all in all....was it worth the money?? We all agreed it was.