A Weird Short Ecotour Offer

Photo: A young copperhead in our yard. Photo by Carl Clapsaddle.

For three years now I’ve been toying with offering an ecotourism venture at our farm during our copperhead season. This evening cinched the idea for me. Susie and I got home from our volunteer fire department meeting (yes, on Mother’s Day of all things!) and saw a copperhead near the front walk. A quick circuit around the house yielded another six for a total of seven copperheads without searching hard. A few minutes later our son, daughter-in-law, and grand daughters arrived and we found another half dozen copperheads.

That sealed it for me. The Universe had spoken; the planets aligned, the omens were good. Now, if you read down to the bottom you’ll see the minimum bid is $1,500 for three days at the farm viewing copperheads and doing other stuff (see below). Susie thinks that’s too much to start bidding, but I don’t really want to be bothered for three days for less. The whole thing will mean I’ll be taken away from my fish, and l will have to deal with people. Worse, I’ll have to go to town a bunch and deal with even more people. I demand adequate compensation. If we get no bids, then the Universe has corrected its mistake. Susie doubts anyone is insane enough to bid. She offered a bet; I refused.

So, here goes: below is a weird short ecotour vacation offering:

Copperhead Fest Weekend

Goliad Farms, Inc. is offering an eco-weekend for two during the peak of our copperhead season. The winning bidder has a choice of Friday noon to Sunday noon either June 16^th-18^th or June 23^rd-25^th, 2017. The selected weekend includes:

1. Friday dinner at the Farm with beverages of your choice while watching the copperheads in the backyard.
2. Saturday breakfast in Goliad at Mattie’s Bakery & Café (https://www.facebook.com/pg/Matties-Bakery-and-Cafe-1537311849914411/about/).
3. Saturday visits to:
   1. Goliad’s Historic Square (http://www.goliadtx.net/2165/History),
   2. famous Hanging Tree (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/30040),
   3. Presidio La Bahia (https://www.facebook.com/PresidioLaBahia/),
   4. Goliad State Park (http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goliad),
   5. General Zaragoza house (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/gkgfk), and
   6. Goliad Brewing Company for an afternoon of live music (http://goliadbrewing.com/).
4. Saturday lunch at Hanging Tree Restaurant.
5. Saturday dinner at Goliad Brewing Company.
6. Saturday evening another viewing of the copperheads in the backyard.
7. Sunday morning breakfast at the Farm.
8. Sunday visits to Goliad Farms’ onsite fish hatchery, including viewing of non-poisonous snakes that are resident in the greenhouses.
9. Sunday lunch at one of the area’s fine BBQ restaurants.

Winning bidder must provide own transportation to and from the Farm and the off-Farm activities. The nearest airports are Corpus Christi (90 miles), San Antonio (110 miles), Austin (120 miles) and Houston Hobby (155 miles).

The weekend includes rustic accommodations on the farm with nightly options of a private room in our farmhouse or a trailer on the farm with a bedroom, private bathroom, and kitchen. Both options are air-conditioned, necessary in South Texas in June.

For information about our copperheads, see these blogs:

1. http://goliadfarms.com/copperhead-in-tree/
2. http://goliadfarms.com/copperhead-hunting-a-cicada/
3. http://goliadfarms.com/copperhead-eating-a-cicada/
4. http://goliadfarms.com/copperhead-eating-lizard/
5. http://goliadfarms.com/creepy-copper-the-copperhead-snake/

Be advised, under Texas State Law (Chapter 75A, Civil Practice and Remedies Code) an agritourism entity is not liable for any injury to or death of an agritourism participant resulting from an agritourism activity.

Bidding Process:

The minimum bid for the Copperhead Fest Weekend is $1,500. Bidding will end 11:59 PM, May 31, 2017 CDT.

To bid, send an email to me at charles@goliadfarms.com stating you are bidding for the Copperhead Fest Weekend and giving your name, address, telephone number, and the amount you are bidding. As soon as I see the bid, I’ll post the amount of the bid on this blog and on my Charles Clapsaddle, Charles Clapsaddle at Goliad Farms, and Goliad Farms Facebook pages.

Questions can be posted on this blog, posted on any of three Facebook pages listed above, or via email to charles@goliadfarms.com.