Our family visited Fossil Rim Wildlife Center the other day for the first time. It was a really neat experience that I know we'll all remember for a long time! It's not everyday you get zebras and deer poking their faces in your car!
It took us almost 2 1/2 hours to get there, so we were ready for our picnic lunch upon arrival :D The sandwiches turned out great; the chips we bought specifically for this trip sadly stayed at home in the pantry. Oh well!
This is an outdoor wildlife area where you drive along one road (one-way) and observe animals roaming in their environment. You do not get out of your car, and the animals love coming up to the cars hoping for a little snack from visitors who've bought the food from the front desk.
We chose not to buy the feed bag, so we started on the path with windows down ready to observe. We didn't need any food to attract these guys over! They're so friendly and are probably expecting some food to drop out of ever car that passes, so they are happy to mosey over to check it out. The ostriches and emu's were pretty funny to look at, and I'm sad to say that I only took video of them and not any still photos. One guy in front of us was brave enough to feed the ostrich out of his hand; and it did eat from his hand; and you could hear him screeching all over the park from the pain! (they advised to feed only giraffes and to merely drop the food for the other animals rather than have them eat from your hand)
There was no shortage of deer and zebras. There were deer of all sizes and with different antlers. There were the little Bambi-like ones:
Then there were some slightly bigger ones with fancier antlers:
Now here you can see how friendly these guys were... this one comes to see if we have any food
then he decides to head on over to the folks behind us.... lol
He's telling these guys how we didn't have any food for him!!!
And scattered around were tons of beautiful zebras. I got pretty startled when four of them wandered over and acted like they wanted to sit in my lap! Here are a few great shots of them:
This one below is when I turned around and found them coming over unexpectedly. I did panic a little, although they were perfectly nice and tame. Masha'Allah, just gorgeous animals.
Also, we saw a pretty giraffe family. They had a new baby this year. Here are two shots of them:
Masha'Allah, seeing the beautiful natural views all around me put a big smile on my face. There were some nice rolling hills in that area, and the evergreen trees and rocky slopes reminded me of the terrain in parts of Jordan. Seeing animals lounging, walking, playing, and resting out in the sunshine in vast acres of land was so neat. Its' nothing like a visit to the zoo. My kids reached out and touched the zebras and deer on their muzzles. We brushed and petted a lot of goats, too. It was a fabulous learning experience and a nice way to spend the day, alhamdulillah. All praise is due to God alone who created the heavens and the earth and all that is within. Seeing the prefect stripes on the zebras and the artistic symmetry of deer antlers made me remember our Creator even more. It is absolutely amazing.
Here are a few verses from the Quran where Allah reminds us of His power:
Surah: 40, Ayah: 62
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ
Such is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things. There is no god except He. How then can you turn away from Him?
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Surah: 6, Ayah: 102
ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
That is Allah, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things. Therefore, worship Him. He is the Guardian of all things.
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Surah: 35, Ayah: 3
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاء وَالْأَرْضِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ
People, remember the blessings of Allah to you. Except for Allah, is there any other creator who provides for you out of heaven and earth? There is no god except He. Where then do you turn?
