Fair Oaks Adventure Part 1

On Saturday, Feb 5, The Fair Oaks Dairy Adventure had a free admission day. (They have another on Feb 14 if you missed this one.) We planned to go out in the morning to see what was happening, but the heavy snow that started around 9:00 changed our plans. When it finally stopped snowing in mid afternoon and the streets had been cleared, we wondered if there was still time to go. A check on the Internet said that they were open till 6:00, so we headed out.

(It turned out that the 6:00 was for the gift shop and food shop. The visitors center closes at 5:00)

We did not know what to expect. The weather said that there should not be too many people there, but the free day suggested that it could be crowded. The parking lot was almost empty when we arrived a bit before 3:30, and when I asked the lady at the desk how people had been there, she said only about 200. Weather beat free.

If you have been there, you should recognize this scene. It is the entry way into the main exhibit area.

Up on the swing an animatronic cow tells the visitors how good the cows have it in the ten dairies that are north of the visitors' center. Adults find this very funny. How do kids react?

As you round the corner and look up, you see a couple of skeletons on bikes. What are they all about? Their message is that milk has what is needed to build strong bones.

There are a variety of silly things to amuse people, including this circle of cows that only makes sense after you have taken the tour on one of the actual dairies.

Below is another of the very funny but photogenic cows that provide commentary.

For some reason they had an animatronic man explaining how the dairies convert cow manure, something that they have a great deal of, into electricity. The manure is broken down by bacteria to produce methane, and the methane produces enough electricity to not only run the dairies, but also to export to the grid.

There was so much to see and we had so little time. Did I mention that they had an entertaining movie? I will tell you about it tomorrow.