Travel Adventure #6

 

On May 20th I had planned to visit friends in the Flathead Valley for a few days.  Just a couple days before the planned trip I saw an ad on Facebook about a Bison Tour at the Harlow Ranch Bison Co in Thompsons Falls.  I made a reservation for the 1.5 hour tour on the way to Bigfork.  It was well worth the side trip.  There were about 100 adult bison and about 30 "red dog" calves.  

I rode in the back of the truck with a lady from WA state and her son.  We had the best time feeding the bison, taking photos and sharing our amazement at these huge animals.

I learned that bison don't have any top teeth in the front but do have upper and lower molars in the back.  When we fed them the pellet snacks either we had to shove them into their mouths or wait for their rough tongues to curl around the treats and pull them out of our hands.  The first time was a bit frightening but after that it was great fun.

One bison named Barney would let us rub his head.  He seemed to be the only one treated as a family pet.  The rest had numbered tags in their ears.  Some would come up to the truck for treats but were not agreeable to having their heads rubbed.  There were a few in the corrals on the other side of the road that were at the all-you-can-eat buffet getting ready for market.

One of the friends I visited was eager to go on the tour so I went again on May 24th.   We were the only ones in the truck on that tour so had lots of mouths eager for the treats.  

I highly recommend these tours.  Melinda, our tour guide, answered all our questions and gave us the history of the ranch as she drove us through the bison grazing and resting.  You can find out more and make reservations on their website:  https://harlowranch.com/