As we were relaxing and getting stuff done around the house this past weekend, Bug (3) asked if we could go and feed the animals some carrots. Our older son has the most amazing memory, and somehow, out-of-the-blue, he remembered and wanted to head to the Port Clinton Animal Safari. Keep in mind the last time we were at the Safari was back in November 2011. Since we really had nothing else planned for the day, we decided to use our annual pass for the first time this season and make his little day.

Before heading to the safari, my Aunt had been telling me for several years about feeding the fish in Castalia, Ohio. I had never been there, and frankly did not know it existed as it is not publicized from the freeway. So we grabbed a couple loaves of bread and proceeded on a new adventure.

The Castalia State Fish Hatchery is actually relatively new, and is famous for their cold water Blue Hole waters. When the State of Ohio purchased the 90 acres in 1997, they turned the property into the only cold water fish hatchery in the State. I had high hopes of actually getting to explore the grounds and actually see these famous Bloe Holes, but did not realize they were closed on weekends.

So after sitting at the gate a moment to figure out a plan, we realized the stream/channel running adjacent to the parking lot had lots of fish in it. So we got the boys out of the car, and slowly approached the waters edge with our bags of bread in hand. What follows is an incredible scene.

Swimming in the stream/channel were hundreds of rainbow trout. While fishing was strictly prohibited, I did not see any signs about not feeding the fish. My Aunt and her family had been feeding the fish for years, so hopefully some Wheat and Italian were within the trout’s diet this day.

I honestly tried flagging down the one Park Ranger that drove past, and he did not acknowledge us. I could have possibly drove through the gate that he entered to chase him down, but I did not feel like walking away with a ticket for illegally entering State grounds.

Seeing the trout swim in the stream/channel was actually a really cool experience for the boys. They loved throwing pieces of bread into the water and seeing the trout attack. The water was only about a foot or two deep, which was really ideal for seeing the hundreds of trout.

In an effort to reenact my honeymoon experience, I leaned down holding a piece of bread right at the waters edge to see how the trout would react. The experiment was completely different than the tarpon, in that the trout really did not bother much with the bread until it really was submerged into the water. I will give it to my wife though that she decided to stick her toes into the water to see what would happen and the trout did come up to her and “bite” her. Her reaction was it felt slimy. I decided not to man up and try the same endeavor. 🙂

The Castalia State Fish Hatchery was a perfect family activity and something we will add on our itinerary on future trips to the area.

Port Clinton Safari Update 2012

After buying several large bags of carrots, we headed to the safari. This year things at the Safari were a little different in that they are really cracking down on bringing in outside carrots. I understand they make a substantial amount of money off selling carrots to feed the hundreds of animals, and the concern of possibly bringing in outside contaminated food products to feed the animals. Unfortunately, it can really add a substantial amount of money to the cost considering how fast the animals can devour the food.

We typically buy 3-4 3-pound bags of carrots locally at 2 for $5, where as I think it costs about $5 for 1 pound of carrots at the Safari. This year, the Port Clinton Safari has started a new tag system so park rangers know whether you are driving through with or without carrots. If you opt not to purchase any carrots, they give you a tag to hang from your mirror. If you purchase carrots, you get a different color tag. We did not realize at first about how the tags identified us to rangers, and when they saw us handing out carrots, they came over and confiscated the one bag we had visible. That is when I realized the new tags must have set us off, and it will be worth it to buy a bag of their carrots next time. 🙂

A post about the Port Clinton Safari just would not be complete without a picture of a buffalo snout inches away from your face and halfway inside the vehicle.

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