If you’re a committed animal lover that’s a bit tired of typical and impersonal visits to the zoo, then why not try something a bit different?

Bearizona is a wonderful place in Williams, Arizona where you can get away from your normal life and enjoy yourself while surrounded by animals like goats, wolves and, you guessed it, bears. It’s quite unique in the fact that you can drive through the various exhibits, view the animals in a traditional zoo-like way and explore a separate area where you are able to pet animals like goats, lambs and even a big, fat turkey. But I probably wouldn’t recommend going near the turkey because he chased my three-year old brother and made him cry. Other than him, the animals are quite friendly!

When you drive through the exhibits, you’ll have a chance to see Rocky Mountain Goats, Alaskan Dall Sheep, Rocky Mountain Elk, Mule Deer, American Burros, Alaskan Tundra Wolves, Arctic Wolves, Junior Black Bears, White and Brown Bison, Bighorn Sheep and Black Bears. In my opinion though, the best part has to be the wolves. Now for anyone who knows me, I’m a huge wolf lover and being able to get so up-close is an unexplainable experience.

Bearizona also has two incredible gift shops that are filled with fun and unique goodies that are perfect for any animal lover. I, of course, tend to flock towards the wolf-themed items, but they have hundreds of other things like stuffed animals, shirts, blankets, pillows, jewelry, statues and essentially anything else you can think of. In the corner of the larger gift shop, many people including myself were able to meet an adorable skunk who performed tricks for the crowd.

One of the other amazing things about Bearizona is that they are very green and care about the animals and the environment. In fact, over half of the animals there are rehabilitated or rescues, so instead of taking animals from their natural environments, they take those who are unable to survive in the wild and give them a home that mimics their real habitats. The park also collects rainwater in retention ponds for irrigation and have, in total, recycled over 200 tons of metal and used it to form the foundation for the waterfalls or other man-made rock sculptures.

So if you’re looking for a fun place to go over a long-weekend, I would definitely suggest going to Bearizona. It will be an unforgettable experience.