When it comes to taking trips we do a lot of "flying by the seat of our pants" type stuff... mostly because planning is not either of our thing.
Though I have greatly improved in that area over the years, at this point I always at least have our accomodations taken care of in advance.
Which is tricky enough since we usually don't stick to just one destination on any given road trip.
This means that we start look for activities when we've landed, or at least when we're on our way.
Plenty of hours on the road for that, so it generally works out well.
We're big on reading reviews to make sure, as much as is possible, that we're not heading to a dud.
Occasionally what other people are super impressed by we end up feeling Meh about, especially when it's a very touristy or commercial attraction.
On our big trip across the country we lucked out while in Aztec, New Mexico due to some great locals who pointed us to a little known gem called Castle Rock.
That place was absolutely incredible, and would have been even if we weren't from the east coast where desert is foreign.
Because of that, the Grand Canyon (which despite its touristy nature is still amazing) was quite a bit less eye popping than it would have been.
Mostly due to the energy. At Castle Rock we were the only ones there, and there were no rules, no signs, we could explore to our hearts content while feeling like the only people on earth.
I imagine if there were a drive through wildlife park that centered around bears roaming freely that was not crowded;
and not hurried, it might have been as awesome as everyone in the reviews claimed it was.
Well, the first part anyway, where the animals did roam free.
There had been no mention in any reviews I read at the time about the center of the park and the beasties in captivity.
Once upon a time, when I was young and oblivious I enjoyed conventional zoos.
I'll never forget when that changed.
I was 19 and it had been quite a few years since I had set foot in a place like that.
Enter polar bear.
They had brought a massive dude out from the habitat and put him on display in a cage that wasn't even large enough for him to lay down in.
He stood, a good nine feet tall, the whole time swinging his massive head back and forth, his eyes completely unfocused.
It was awful, unbelievably sad and a heinous crime to my mind.
The poor bear had literally gone insane :(
This was the last time I set foot in a zoo that didn't have 100's of acres of land for their animals.
Until this- Bear Country.
But in my defense, I was completely unaware ahead of time. The advertising and reviews only focused on the drive thru portion.
While I admit there is a morbid fascination of seeing wild, dangerous animals up close and personal, I do not choose to be party to any kind of cruelty.
So if you're ever in Rapid City SD, I recommend passing this attraction on by.
I was on the fence about making this post, felt a little dirty just for having these pictures actually, but then I thought I may as well use them to warn unsuspecting folks.
We need to do better, Be better!