Thirteen: Sleeping with Wolves & Other Birthday Adventures

As part of our son's 13th birthday rites of passage, we took him to NY for a sleepover with wolves.  It was unforgettable!

The wolf conservation center’s mission is to save wolves from extinction while educating humans about their essential purpose and debunk the myths you may have heard about them. This is not a place to get your photo taken with a drugged wild animal. We don’t support those immoral roadside attractions. At the WCC the only thing between 30 acres of wolf territory and you is a chain link fence. What that means is, while you will likely not see all 51 wolves, you WILL hear them loud and clear as they are often nearby in the brush. Wolves are wild animals and naturally afraid of humans. However, there are 4 teacher wolves who have been conditioned to humans so they will visit you near the fence, close enough to smell their wild breath. They will nap near you, and sing near you for their medicine is to teach you. They are free to roam so when they wish to leave you, they will do so at will. Because the 4 teacher wolves have been conditioned to accept humans, it also makes them the most dangerous because they are unafraid. Therefore no hands on the fence EVER. If a teacher wolf were to bite a human, it would have to be killed. The WCC is trying to protect wolves because they are endangered, it would be devastating to lose a teacher wolf due to human carelessness. The last wild wolf in NY state was killed in 1890. That should give you a clear picture of our inhumanity. For more information about WCC and all their hard work to save these soulful creatures, please visit their website. If you are able, book a sleepover there. You won’t be disappointed. The guides are friendly animal scientists and conservationists. They are a wealth of information and empathy. And the howling will touch something deep inside you, and you will leave changed, and awestruck.

The next day we drove out Long Island to visit Elizabeth Morton Wildlife Refuge where birds fly out of the trees to eat out of your hands, and chipmunks crawl into you palm.  We went for a dip at Wildwood State Park, a beach I went to with my late father. We would gather all sorts of cool stones to take home and polish. It’s a rocky beach with gorgeous bluffs. I wanted to bring my son there on father’s day in memory of my dad.  On the way back we stopped by Wardenclyffe the lab of Nikoli Tesla.  We stopped to visit with friends and family in between adventures.

Tesla is his fave, and he wanted to take a selfie there.