A visit to the Grand Canyon Deer Farm

WILLIAMS — In March I got a chance to visit the Grand Canyon Deer Farm. It was the first visit I have made to the Deer Farm petting zoo that I made since coming to Williams. For nearly 50-years, the family owned business—owned by Pat and Randy George—has welcomed visitors to Williams and the Grand Canyon.

The petting zoo is an amazing collection of animals from around the world. Before entering you can purchase some food to feed the animals.
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When you enter you are greeted by the friendly cockatoo Mozart. Next is the cute Marmosets native to South America, but some have been spotted as far north as Mexico.
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Next you can meet with Pokeahanus and Qullian the African porcupines. They have two Bison , Mary Ann and Ginger, who came to the zoo in 2008. Gracie the Camel also arrived at the petting zoo at 3 months old. She loves to greet visitors. You can see Llamas, Zebu miniature cattle, Zonky—the half-Zebra, half-Donkey—pigs, goats and a variety of other animals.
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Of course the feature is the deer. You can see Cupid and Vixen; the only two reindeer in Arizona. They have a Mule Deer named Gillian who is a rescue. While they do not normally rescue animals, the Arizona Game and Fish department asked them to take care of this Stormy Rocky Mountain Elk.
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When you bring food into the main area, you will be greeted by the deer to get feed. Surrounded is more like it. The deer are European Fallow deer and Japanese Sika Deer. They like to find out what is in your food bucket and your pocket. Don’t worry, though. Friendly staff members are available to keep them under control.

Staff member, Amy Kravitz, said, “They are really good at picking pockets. I have retrieved several dollar bills from their mouths.” She also recommends long pants and close-toed shoes.
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The gift shop, run by Mary, is stocked with a variety of gifts and souvenirs that you will find no where else in Williams. The Grand Canyon Deer Farm is open seven-days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer months. During the winter they are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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The Grand Canyon Deer Farm offers a new interaction program where you can go in with the Kodamundee, wallabees and other animals for a separate cost of $20. They also offer a Junior Zoo Keeper program which lasts about 3 hours for ages 8 to 15. General admission is $11.50 for adults, $10.00 for seniors, and $6.75 for kids 3 to 6. A family membership is $85.

If you are planning to visit Williams anytime during the year, this is one place you have to visit.

Bearizona remains open

ZBearizona160113-01WILLIAMS — For over five-years Bearizona has entertained thousands of kids and adults. We visited the very first year when they allowed residents in free for a period of time. It was impressive, but not spectacular.
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Over the years we have watched Bearizona grow. They have built an expansive gift shop with a fantastic diorama and separate room for close up introduction to animals and other activities. For Christmas, this year, they introduced the Wild Wonderland. This amazing light and music display I found as impressive as the Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. We got to see both.
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This year—despite the most snow Williams has seen in some time—Bearizona even managed to stay open to the public. The snow even makes the animal displays more impressive just like the snow did for the Wild Wonderland display.

During the summer the animals tend to sleep during the heat of the day. With the cold weather, they are more active throughout the day. Especially the wolves and the bears. The same for the animals in the walk-through area. The otters are out and the bear cubs are playing in the snow.
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If you plan to come to Williams, you should plan to visit Bearizona and the Grand Canyon Deer Farm petting zoo. For about the same price as the entrance to the Grand Canyon, you can get up close and personal with various animals of north America. If you are on a planned tour to Williams, you should urge the driver to visit these Williams attractions.

80% chance for up to 2″ of snow today

sno-16-01-12-043WILLIAMS — In the early morning hours only a sliver of blue sky remained as a backdrop to the Three Sisters. That was soon covered by an overcast sky.

According to the latest check, there is an 80% chance of snow today. It could drop as much as 2″ of new snow. Winds could rise to 17-mph this afternoon with gusts as high as 28-mph today and 30-mph tonight.

Saturday is predicted to be cold with wind chill down to zero. The sun and temperatures around the mid-40s are expected for Sunday through Martin Luther King day making the free entry day at the Grand Canyon a definite possibility.

The chance of rain and snow returns again on Tuesday.

While they may close temporarily depending on the weather, Bearizona and the Deer Farm east of Williams generally remain open for visitors to get up close and personal with the wild residents of Arizona.

Remember that, because of the expected low temperatures, ice is possible on the roadways and walkways.Winter-Bearizona16-01-13-010