Yes, the rumour is true, said Noah's Ark Adventureland owner Lana Norn.
The park will shut its doors to the public at the end of September after 20 years of providing family fun and educational farm tours to school-aged children.
"Life is a kind of balance and I tell people it's like a tipping scale and when we opened Noah's Ark 20 years ago we lost all balance," said Norn about the 200-plus animal farm.
Because it's a home-based business all efforts went to its upkeep and success, she added.
"It still feels like over the years our family has taken second place as I try to catch up and return phone calls and get everything done that I need to. It's like 'oh, no, sorry kids, no story tonight' or 'no kids, no movie tonight,'" said Norn. "It's just a matter of trying to spend more time with our family."
Last year the one thing that seemed to be the trigger for the change was that hay costs went up to $24,000 and usually the entire feed bill tops out at about $22,000.
"So it becomes very difficult to think of how you're going to recoup that," said Norn.
This year Noah's Ark increased their pricing a little bit and people are unhappy about that, she added.
"The catalyst was the hay," said Norn, but there's a lot of different things that contributed to the ultimate decision to close the doors. And not just a few tears have been shed over the impending end of the Noah's Ark era.
Norn said that after a horse went through the ice last November and it was touch and go for 25 hours, afterwards she got sick herself and went into sleigh ride season with vertigo.
The horse made a full recovery but Norn is still not feeling 100 per cent.
"And with a home-based business it's you or it's not," said Norn. "I went into sleigh ride season with my world spinning - literally - and I looked at my husband and said 'you know, I can't do this anymore' and he said 'OK, good, yeah, we're done.' And I said 'oh, that was quick.'"
But it's just so much work and Regan, Norn's husband, has a full-time job with a 12-hour shift and he would come home, have supper, do chores on the farm, get to bed by about 11 p.m. and start it all over again the next day at 3:30 a.m.
A couple of years ago the family, including Rebecca, 16 and Caleb, nine, went on their first and only vacation. They went camping.
"You look at that and we've had so many blessings by meeting so many wonderful people but the very things they get to do as a family, we really haven't because here we are," said Norn.
It's been amazing, she said, but it's difficult to try to be everything to everyone and it's left Norn feeling quite fragmented, she said.
She's afraid going forward with costs rising and entry fees to the park not completely reflecting that, it won't be a viable business, and she's not prepared to go backwards.
"And that makes me very, very sad because my goal and my dream was to provide this amazing opportunity for people and I feel really quite bad because that will be gone for all the kids," Norn said tearfully. "But I just can't see myself not putting my kids into university because of it. So yeah, it's been a very emotional decision."
People have suggested they would volunteer, others inquire about purchasing the business.
"So we'll start your volunteering on Christmas eve and see how long you last and if you can imagine owning a business and this is your first year of owning Noah's Ark, in November, December, January, February you will have one guaranteed day off and that will be Christmas Day," said Norn. "On that day you will spend half of it doing chores and the other half trying to catch up with people you don't see unless they come for a sleigh ride. So that's going to be your first day and let's do 19 more years of that."
Norn said she loves that Noah's Ark is this relaxed, wonderful vision of yesteryear and that's what was intended but to get it to that point was the result of years of dedicated hard work.
And the big question - what will happen to all the animals?
Because Noah's Ark will remain open seven days a week for July and August and weekends and by reservation until they close at the end of September, most of the animals will stay at the farm until that time. Lots of the miniatures have already been spoken for and Luke, a draft horse, has already moved on to Jasper Park Lodge, which Norn said is a great retirement job for him pulling a sleigh for 20 minutes on flat ground and doing trail rides.
Another was sold to a man who competes in heavy horse pulls and the horse has been winning, so that's good, Norn added.
In Norn's perfect world the senior members of the animal farm will live out their days at Noah's Ark. Favourites like Cloud, the 31-year-old Arabian quarter horse cross, who is doing very well, will remain on the farm as well as four or five of the heavy horses and Chester, the 12-year-old arthritic pig, will stay on. Others will be put into auctions, some could go back to their original owners while others could go to the Aldergrove Zoo.
"Ultimately, my happy world would probably have five or six horses, my dogs, my cats, my ferrets, the chinchilla and a couple of turtles and goldfish," said Norn.
"It's going to take a bit because it's very emotional. It's not like selling a furniture piece or truck or car. They are all little creatures with their own personalities and some you have more of a connection with and some are just little eating machines."
The final chapter for Norn is something she's been wanting to do for quite some time and that's to write a book about Noah's Ark.
"It would be good closure," she said.
Once the doors have closed to the public, the farm will continue to be home for Norn and her family.
"I would just like to catch up with a very neglected personal life," said Norn.
"We have friends that just don't call us anymore and I would like to reconnect and I would like to wear nail polish once and actually do my hair - things that most people take for granted I would like to have a chance to do. That might be a bit selfish, but I would also like to be a better mom and have a little more patience with my kids, which just doesn't always happen and it would be nice to travel once in a while - I don't even have a passport right now. I just want to do the stuff that everyone does."
To visit Noah's Ark before it closes call 250-563-2576 or drop in between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. seven days a week during July and August. For more information visit www.noahsark.ca.
