Page 10 Berthoud Weekly Surveyor August 20, 2015

Off the Beaten Path: Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park

T

en minutes south of Pagosa Springs, on your way to

Chama, N.M., theres a small
wildlife park tucked into the rolling
hills of Archuleta County.
Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park
(RMWP) has been hidden away in
this pocket of
Colorado since
1986, and deSurveyor
spite their low
Columnist
entrance fees,
$7 for adults
(13 and older),
$5 for children
(3-12) and $6
for seniors, they
continue to survive.
You wont
nd elephants,
tigers or hippos
Heidi
here. This place
Kerr-Schlaefer
is dedicated
to the types of
animals youd
nd in the Rocky Mountains today or
historically. Their animals have come
to them in a variety of ways; including
zoos, private owners and rescue situations.
The best time to tour the park is
during feeding time, 2 p.m. in the
winter and 4 p.m. in the summer. The
tours are more entertaining than scientic. As she fed each animal, our guide

told us the story of how each

came to the park and emphasized over and over that while
most of their animals have
been raised around humans,
they are still wild animals.
Princess the grizzly came
to RMWP from Alaska after
being orphaned when hunters
killed her mother. She was
only 10 months old. Shes a
foot taller than an average grizzly, and
our guide said this can be attributed to
her being raised in captivity. Princess
enjoys grapes, but her favorite food is
the fresh sh caught for her by local
sherman. And, living up to her name,
Princess wont eat the sh unless it has
been gutted.
While she has been raised by humans in a captive environment, Princess still retains some of her natural
grizzly instincts. For instance, she dug
a 10 foot den in her large run and is
unpredictable, especially around men.
The last wild grizzly was seen in
Colorado in 1974.
RMWP is also home to three wolves,
Juno, Loki and Lychen. Two came from
terrible conditions in Texas where they
were illegally being kept as pets in a
basement. They move around their
large enclosure like dogs, but they are
all wolf at feeding time when Lychen,
the pack leader, eats rst and puts
the other wolves in their place if they

In a pickle
By Bob McDonnell
The Surveyor
A fun game with a funny name, is how Lovelander Lloyd Greiner describes the sport of pickleball. Although having been around
for 50 years, pickleball has to be the least known sporting activity
in America.
According to the United State of America Pickleball Associations
(USAPA) website, more than 400,000 people actively play pickleball
in all 50 states.
The USAPA describe pickleball as: A paddle sport created for all
ages and skill levels. The rules are simple and the game is easy for
beginners to learn, but can develop into a quick, fast-paced, competitive game for experienced players.
After watching the sport, it appears to me to be a combination of
tennis and badminton with a touch of ping pong thrown in.
Pickleball origin traces back to 1965 on Bainbridge Island near
Seattle. Three dads Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum created the game to entertain their children who were
bored with the usual summertime activities, according to the sports
history as recorded on the usapa.org websites What is pickleball?
section.
How it came to be called pickleball is unclear, some folklore attributes the pickle part of the name to one of the inventor pet dog.

Photos by Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer

Above: Juno the wolf at Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park.

Left: There are a lot of bunnies at the park.

disobey this pack rule.

The park is also home to a fullgrown male elk named Titan who was
rescued from an elk farm; a mountain
lion, a porcupine, a pair of coyotes, a

bobcat, a donkey, goats,

several emus (not sure
how they found their
way to the park, we
missed that story) and
lots of ducks and rabbits. Apparently the
park used to keep a few
rabbits, but they got out of their pens
and started reproducing and now these
multicolor rabbits are all over the park,
much to the delight of the many chil-

Others dispute this story as urban legend, so basically there is not a

denitive answer.
At a recent pickleball orientation at Loveland new Mehaffey
Park, I learned some of the difference between pickleball and its
cousin tennis.
The pickleball court is much smaller than a tennis court. It measure 22 feet by 44 feet for both singles and doubles play. In comparison, tennis courts are 27 feet by 78 feet. To put this in perspective,
at Mehaffey Park, four pickleball courts t in the space of one tennis court. In many communities lacking ofcial pickleball courts,
players mark of tennis courts or gym oors.
The smaller court also has a lower net. It is 34 inches; three inches shorter than a tennis net.
The paddle is smaller than a tennis racket but larger than a ping
pong paddle. Unlike a racket, the solid face of the paddle consists of
wood, aluminum, graphite or other composite materials.
The hard plastic ball has holes in it, reminding me of the wife
ball I played with growing up. The ball travels at a speed about onethird of that of a tennis ball.
Finesse not power, is the key to the game experienced pickleball player Larry McGee told those at the orientation.
With the scaled-down sizes and speed, pickleball appeals greatly
to the 50 years and older set.
Former Berthoud resident, 70-year-old Dan Skees is a seven year
vet of pickleball. His wife, Marilyn, plays too.
It keeps me moving and its good for me, said Skees, adding
that he and his wife spend time in the winter playing pickleball in
Arizona too.

dren who were on our tour.

A tour at Rocky Mountain Wildlife
Park during feeding time takes about
an hour and a half. This stop is wellsuited for families. Before or after your
tour you can take a trail ride with Lobo
Outtters, located on the same property. RMWP is open year round, seven
days a week, although hours vary.
Go to www.rmwildlifepark.org for
more information and directions.

Photo by Bob McDonnell

A group of newcomers at pickleball practice in Loveland.

Im thinking there may be more pickleball in my life soon to supplement my daily walking routine.