Wildebeest or Bust: A Road Trip to Remember

Jennifer Jones
Nov 20
4 min read

Before I paint an animal, I want to see it in person - not a picture or a video - in real life. Everywhere we go, we take a trip to the zoo. We have visited zoos all over the country. Matt accepts this as a permanent lifestyle choice. For those who don't know Matt, he is a crazy for itineraries and timetables. He plans for zoos and builds in time for animal watching. He also knows an absurd number of photos will be taken.

Yes, I add a special bit of fun for him when I throw his schedule off. For artistic reasons, of course.

I have hundreds, okay, maybe thousands of photos of random animals. Never knowing what angle or what lighting I may want to paint, I may take 50 photos of the same animal with the camera slightly moved. Thank heavens for digital cameras and endless supplies of SD cards and an external hard drive for the computer. (How to organize said photographic chaos is another story. My efforts have been dismal.)

The Road Trip Muse

Inspiration can come from anywhere - a news article, a conversation, a commercial or as in this case, a documentary. After watching a documentary about wildebeest, I decided a wildebeest had to be painted. The striations of different colors down the neck along with the long tufts of hair were begging to be painted.

While it would have been super cool to see the migration, there was no way I could go to Africa in 2021. (Remember, this was still the time of COVID.) So, I turned to my trusty friend Google to see where the closest wildebeests were to Oklahoma City. I learned the Indianapolis Zoo had wildebeests.

After convincing Matt this was the BEST... IDEA... EVER, a date was set, the road trip planned, and we were off.

BIG Roadside Attractions

Like all great road trips there were many stops and quirky detours along the way.

One of the best? Do you know of a place called Casey, Illinois? A tiny town with big ambitions. You should check it out if you get the chance. Big Things Small Town | Casey, Illinois | 12 World's Largest. It's in the Guinness World Record Book - 8 times! It’s home to the 12 World’s Largest Things, including a giant mailbox, pencil, rocking chair—you name it. AND, yes, I have the required photos.

And, yes, I declared Indiana as America's hard cider capital of the world. Why? Because the hard ciders were plentiful. AND, I had the best peach hard cider EVER. Thanks, Beanblossom Hard Cider!

Indy Zoo Bound

When we finally made it to Indianapolis it was chilly and drizzly, Matt and I planned the fastest route to the wildebeest exhibit. That way, if the day was rained out, purpose of the trip would be achieved. Then we could relax and see the rest of the zoo (or not) at our leisure.

Entering the zoo, I speed walked to the exhibit only to find NO wildebeest. I walked around the entire enclosure once, twice and still no wildebeest sighting. This just would not do. So, I flagged down a zookeeper and was told the wildebeests were not in the yard that day. However, luck was on my side once I explained that we had driven over 800 miles across five states specifically to see the wildebeest (and that it was my birthday), the zookeeper happened to be the keeper of the wildebeest. I assured her I was not lying about the wildebeests. They were THE stars of the trip.

As she led us to the back area of the zoo, she confirmed her belief in my statement because she had NEVER heard anyone say the wildebeests were the main attraction. She allowed me to take all the pictures I wanted. Then she gave us passes to come back the next day and promised the wildebeest would be out in the yard. She gave me her email address, and I told her I would send her a picture of the finished painting.

Wildebeest fans unite!

The Studio Star

We made the trip back to the zoo the next day. The weather was much nicer. We had limited time because of the above-mentioned itinerary. However, I was able to take many more photos of the wildebeests. See the photos to the right. They were lively and hungry. BUT, not much for posing.

I could not wait to start painting the wildebeest when we arrived home. I tried to force my chosen color palette on her, but it was a non-starter. This was HER painting, and it had to be HER choices. She wanted vibrant colors with pink, purple and green. Once I surrendered to her color choices, it went together so nicely and so quickly.

Her name? Wilde Sue Beest.

The Irony

After finishing Wilde Sue, I learned that the Oklahoma City Zoo would have wildebeests after completing the Expedition Africa exhibit. Really? Of course they were.

But honestly, I would not trade that road trip for anything. The giant rocking chair, the behind-the-scenes zoo access, the peach hard cider, and hundreds of wildebeest photos were all part of the story.

Have you ever chased a bizarre dream across five states and multiple gas stations? Or posed in front of a giant mailbox for artistic reasons?

Tell me in the comments. I would love to hear your own wild or wildebeest stories.