Picacho, Arizona: Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch

This is a must-stop if you have kids, or if you're a big kid yourself. Our favorite part was feeding the nectar to the Lorikeets -- they are not shy at all and sit on your arms while munching. Really fun!

At Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch, the Wall of Goats is by far the best! Also, the ducks were way cool.

A few acres of land, half way between Phoenix and Tucson, but fun still for a quick stop. Five dollars gets you a cup of food to feed deer, ostriches, small mules thru a fence, and admission to a walk-in cage full of Australian birds called "lorikeets;" think parakeets with technicolor plumage. You can walk into their enclosure, about 20 feet by 50 feet. I just sat down on the ground and opened a little tub of nectar fluid, and in a minute I had ten of these guys sitting on my lap, my shoulder, all looking for a snack. Lots of fun feeding these little guys.

One must also respect the ostriches, which stand over six feet and 300 lbs, and are said to deliver a powerful kick. Empty eggs for sale the size of softballs. A fun quick stop.

This place is a hoot! The monster truck ride is not to be missed. My Mom and I took the kids and we were all falling off our seats laughing and having a ball. Hard to describe -- a combination of ranch tour, desert tour, monster truck course and...fishing? Yes, fishing for ostriches! Just trust me...

We went on a whim and it ended up being the kids highlight of this year's Arizona trip. We'll be back!

Now they've added lorikeets! I needed a new feather duster so we visited the Ostrich farm and fed the deer (the ostrich bite, so we don't feed them, but some people do) and got to see the brand new Lorikeet Rainforest attraction. It was really fun and I highly recommend it for that long Phoenix-Tucson boring part of I-10. You get a big cup of deer food and a small nectar cup for your $5 admission (refills $2).