WANTING TO SUPPORT... the places we hold dear around Mendocino, Sonoma, and Napa Counties? The longing is there, as is the readiness to return as the businesses we've frequented for years begin to reopen. Now fans of hotels, wineries, and other destinations are waiting for those businesses to send out the call, the call that says visiting hours are back on following weeks of closure due to the devastating fires of October 2017. One well-loved destination that has kept its followers abreast of what's happening, almost day by day, is Safari West. The Santa Rosa animal park is known for its informative, photo-cool safari tours, its festive holiday happenings, and its special overnight tents that give people who adore giraffes, gazelles, and antelopes to the opportunity to bed down in the general vicinity of the glorious beasties that call the preserve home. It remains shuttered as October comes to a close, but the most recent posting on Facebook trumpets "We're making progress!" A couple of new opening dates have been revealed on social media, dates that reveal when fans may once again commune with the cranes, cheetahs, and all of the lovely (and safe) denizens of the park.
NOVEMBER 20... is slated as the date for the popular safari tours to return, while the Safari West Tent Camp will again welcome overnighters on March 1, 2018. "While our property is currently safe, the surrounding area is not and we have many road closures blocking our property from visitors as well as extreme air quality issues," states the most recent fire update on the Safari West web site. Have a desire to help those who help the animals, day in and day out, as you await Safari West's reopening? A pair of GoFundMe campaigns have been set up to aid those Safari West staff members who lost their homes in the fire.
