Dreams matter.

This is one of the core lessons I really want my daughters to know and remember. Believing that dreams are more than fairy tales means there’s a reason to look forward to tomorrow. Believing that dreams come true supports motivation. And all of that makes you a little more joyful and a little more hopeful. For my girls, this has primarily meant experiences: going to Santa Monica, going to see concerts, going to Europe. And, sometimes, animals.

Alight’s always loved wolves. They are fiercely devoted to their families. They mate for life and will often mourn themselves to death. There’s an instance where a pack was found to be regurgitating food in order to keep an elderly member of the pack who lacked teeth alive. Their strength and loyalty has always drawn Alight, who is similarly very family oriented. When she was younger, she would literally raise her head, lift her arm with a dropped wrist (like a paw) and howl while completely asleep. Once, at the beach, she got a family of strangers to howl along. She loves driving at night and will stick her head out the window of the car starting up at the night sky.

Wolves are special to her.

So, when we learned about Seacrest Wolf Preserve and their private VIP experience, I knew this was a dream worth pursuing.

The Bare Bone Facts

1. Seacrest is in Chipley, FL which is about 45 min from Panama Beach. This was a 6 hr drive from us.

2. The VIP tours are Monday-Friday at either 10a or 1pm CST. It is totally private and last 2 hours. The preserve closes for your group. It is you and the tour guides. They book faaaaarrrr in advance.

3. The cost is $250 with a $500 minimum. It includes seeing 5 packs of wolves including timber greys, arctics, and Canadian. Each pack has been 2-4 wolves. Videos are $75. Gift shop prices range from $6-40.

4. Interaction is up close and personal. The wolves leapt on us, licked us, pushed us with their heads and, generally, were right beside us.

5. The wolves are never forced. If they walk away, you can’t follow them. If they don’t want to come to you, they will not be made to.

Our experience

We left home at 6:30, stopped for breakfast and then got on the interstate around 7a. It took us right at 6 hours to get to Seacrest- we arrived with 4 minutes to spare before our appointment!

We met about 13 wolves including Yeti, Lozen, Geronimo, Dreamer, Apache, Maverick, Canyon, Echo, Ashanti, Freedom, and Pawnee. Many were sleeping or resting but the Arctic pack was active: they greeted us by leaping up and howling.

It was a gorgeous Florida day, sunshiney and 85 degrees. Seacrest has a nice pavilion with swings (and industrial sized fans!), restrooms and drinks. They have a strict dress code policy and orientation begins with ensuring everyone is in dress code (jeans and a tshirt basically), a list of behaviors to expect from the wolves and cautionary tales to pay attention at all times. After that, we walked from one park to the other, spending about twenty minutes in each enclosure, and learning about each of the wolves and how they are cared for.

The wolves’ enclosures are between 1-4 acres, all include spring fed ponds and creaks and mimick wooded terrain with caves and hidden spots for dens.

I thought they might act like dogs but they really didn’t. Although they enjoyed belly rubs (would, in fact, ask for them), they did not sniff or constantly run around. They greeted you differently, nuzzling you, etc.

At the end, we were thoroughly happy with the experience and talked about how we could tell a difference been the breeds. The biggest one was about 180 pounds while the smallest was about 140-150. We talked a lot about the heat, and how it’s a good thing they have temperature regulators in their paws, so they can step into the cool water and it will cool them down.

After leaving, we drove the extra hour to a beachfront hotel in Panama. We enjoyed the balcony and the slept with the door open to hear the waves. The next morning, we drove home.

Dreams matter.

As a parent, nothing beats watching your child’s eyes light up as they walk around in their dream. The memories created in those experiences help sustain us when life gets hard or tries to tell us not to believe in happily ever afters. I am so thankful we were able to take this trip for ghat reason.