Off the beaten path with Vision Quest Ranch

We spent the month of December hosting our family and friends for parties and the holidays. After entertaining so many people, I wanted our family to enjoy some time together with just the five of us. When we traveled for a birthday party this weekend, we looked for a simple and easy activity as well as one that would avoid the crowds at the larger family activities in the Monterey area. We enjoyed ourselves and learned some adventures can be found where you least expect them.

A small safari experience in California

Thanks to a suggestion from a friend, the LOML (Love of My Life) and I took our three boys to Vision Quest Ranch in Salinas, California. The ranch offers a home for animals that  participate in (or are retired from) the entertainment and media industry. Some animals live at the ranch because they could no longer be supported by their owners for various reasons. Others were rescued from less-than ideal situations where their health and well-being were compromised. Animals that are retired from a life of sound stages and photo shoots can lead a quiet, well-cared for life thanks to the Vision Quest Ranch.

The group tour

We all loved this short tour of the facilities. It only lasted about an hour, but we saw lions, tigers, a hyena, cheetahs, a monkey, baboons, and, elephants along with other animals. We saw a monkey that appeared in “The Terminal” with Tom Hanks, but alas, his footage ended up on the cutting room floor. A beautiful, elegant, napping tiger had distinctive markings over her eyes. Our guide pointed out these markings to us and advised us to keep a look out for her in calendars and in commercials. Apparently, this tiger is a well-known, famous model.

If you choose to take an hour-long, group tour, you must arrive at 1 pm. There is only one tour a day and it begins only at this time. There is plenty of room for a stroller on the tour. However, the rest of the group is standing, so you have to maneuver the stroller around other’s legs to view the animals.

There were three families with smaller children on our tour. These little ones got a bit antsy towards the end. Children ages four and up are best suited for this experience.

All of the animals are housed in chain-link cages. This is not a pretty zoo with lavish environments for the animals and seems more like a boarding facility, but the animals are given the best care available and the cages are immaculate. The dream of the ranch is to become a zoo someday, but first the funding needs to happen. Of course, the cost of feeding and taking care of the animals is extensive, leaving little money left over for expansion and facility improvements.

A larger experience

We took the hour-long tour with about forty other visitors. Due to our large numbers, the group was divided into two groups to keep the sizes a bit more manageable. If we chose to continue or expand our adventure, there are private or other tour options to choose from. We even could have spent the night in one of the available B&B rooms. These fabric-sided structures are modeled after tent-like buildings found on safari. Guests stay in their own private bungalow and breakfast is delivered in the morning by an elephant. Yes, an elephant! I think I will have to return just to say I had an elephant bring me breakfast in the morning.

Since these structures have fabric sides, guests can hear the animals as they roar and rustle around in their cages in the distance at night. Sleepers who would be easily disturbed by these noises might want to seek out another place to sleep in nearby Monterey or other surrounding areas.

The largest thrill of all

The elephant sanctuary impressed me the most. The five elephants living at the ranch have five acres to roam and explore. The five acre enclosure is fenced in with the beautiful Salinas mountains as their backdrop. One of the handlers told me of a neighbor of the ranch who has hundreds of acres for sale. The acquisition of this land would mean the ranch could accept more elephants in need of a home. Unfortunately, the owner is asking millions of dollars for these acres and Vision Quest simply can’t afford to expand.

After our tour, we got the once-in-a-lifetime chance of feeding an elephant and I will never forget it. For an extra fee, we got to present four carrots to the outstretched trunk of an African elephant. It felt like “rubber dipped in water” according to my middle son. Each of us got our carrots, stood behind a line in the dirt, and the elephant reached out to gently take the treat from our hands. Wow! I felt so excited I had a hard time concentrating on what was happening! The feeding ended much faster than I wished. I could have stayed with that amazing creature for another half hour, just watching it swing its trunk at me.

I thought we could look at elephants. I didn’t realize I could be feed them! Now I can cross “feed an elephant” off my Life List of Things To Do. It was amazing! Thank you, Vision Quest Ranch for an afternoon I will always remember. I will be back someday for a breakfast date with one of your amazing elephants. I look forward to that next adventure in your very own backyard.

When Eileen Calandro isn’t dreaming about feeding another pachyderm, she is the Chief Mom Connector of Mom Central. You can read about other adventures with her family on her personal blog: calandroclan.com. She is on twitter as @MomCentralChat and @calandro5.

Eileen Calandro