Rooster Cogburns Ostrich Farm

Never let it be said that it's boring here in the desert valley. There's always something to do or see! We took some time this afternoon and drove down 16 miles to exit 219 and visited Rooster Cogburns Ostrich Farm. Now these folks are originally from Oklahoma and they have Ostrich's, deer, burros and Lorikeets in an Aviary! It's a really fun time. You can pay extra and take Monster Truck Tour of the Ranch and learn some facts about the Ostrich business and the plant life of the Sonoran Desert....I got labelled a blonde right away...and a city one at that...they give you plastic cups full of alfalfa pellets to feed the animals and an Ostrich reached over the fence and grabbed my cup right off the bat! So he was nice enough to give me another one. They also gave you little cups of nectar to take into the aviary and feed the birds...they land all over you! It's kinda cool. We got some good pictures. DH got an Ostrich Leather Money Clip. It's supposed to be a real sturdy leather. On the Monster Truck ride, they talke you on quite a ride....and you jump some ramps. I didn't really care for that part!They back the truck up to a platform where there's some pens of Ostriches and rods with rope and eye screws on them, which you poke pieces of grapefruit and dangle over the railing and the Ostriches have a nice treat! It's fun to watch the pieces travel down there long necks! When we finished there, we drove up to a little store called "The Nut House" We had a taste of Prickly Pear Cactus Ice Cream, then settled for cones of other flavors. Browsed through the store. They have all kinds of canned and bagged treats, spices, nuts and candies native to this area. We got a couple of souveneers there...snacks of course and took a ride in the desert. Went up a highway on the backside of Picacho Peak and looked at a National Guard Helicopter training site and across the road from that is an Arizona State Prison. Back towards our home base...we stopped upon recommendation of some locals...at the La Zapata Rojo restaurante. Pretty good authentic Honest to Goodness Mexican food. It's a family restaurant that's been there for about 30 years. They all spoke both english and spanish, but mostly spanish, and there was a table full of women in there that owned it, and they were telling stories and having a ball. We couldn't understand much of it, but the laughter! Check out the pics of the Ranch. Right behind us here at Toltec, there's some houses and lots and one of the houses that was built in the 40s belonged to Bing Crosby. He used to winter here every year. We got a picture of that as well. It sure doesn't look like a star's dwelling, nor does any of the others around here. We'll be headed to bed fairly early and up and out to the Sonoran Desert Museum. The dogs go to daycare and we are off to poke around Tucson.