Aaahoo! Normal Wolves in Brookville.

For my mom's birthday, which also happened to fall on Mother's Day this year, I wanted to do something really cool and super unique. If you know her at all, you know that she's an animal lover with a particular affection for chimpanzees, orangutans, dogs, and wolves. So, when I first saw an Instagram picture taken at Wolf Creek Habitat in Brookville, Indiana a few months ago, I knew that a trip there would be the perfect gift for her...and I'll admit it - I desperately wanted to go, too.

I knew she'd never heard of the place (or she'd have been raving about it already), so we planned to keep the trip a secret. With the promise she wouldn't be doing anything strenuous and instructions to wear long pants, no dangling jewelry, and no fur on her clothes, my mom hopped in the car and anxiously made guesses about the day's upcoming events the whole way there.

After exiting the highway, the drive took us down some worrisome extremely windy roads into the bowels of Brookville. After several miles of no signs of civilization, we finally arrived at our destination and my mom let out an excited shriek. I quickly explained to her that we wouldn't be looking at the wolves, we would be playing and interacting with them inside their enclosures.

The habitat, which features a fire pit, a teepee (that you can rent and stay in over night), and a long trailer that serves as the hub and gift shop, had a heavy Native American influence. Dreamcatchers and old Native American poems decorated the walls while tribal music played softly on speakers, both inside and out. We paid the required donation for the interaction ($30 each) and anxiously waited for our turn in the enclosure. Waiting wasn't too bad, though. The staff was bottle-feeding several 12-day-old wolf pups in the trailer, so we melted over them (and the fact that they shared a birthday with my niece) until our turn.

After disinfecting our shoes, we made our way into the first enclosure along with our guide and six other people. It housed two wolves, a 4-year-old brother and sister pair named Kodiak and Iya. Instantly, I was amazed at how intimidating they were in close proximity. From afar, they look mostly like dogs, but when you're face-to-face with them, you quickly realize how big and wild they are. I was also blown away by how friendly they were. When we first entered, they hopped on their platform and greeted us, licking our faces and pawing us until we would pet them.

A few minutes after we arrived, it started to rain and although it didn't make for the most comfortable visitor experience, the wolves sure seemed to enjoy it. We stepped under the awning and watched as they ran around in the cool rain and the guide answered our questions about the wolves and the habitat itself. Another big difference between wolves and dogs (besides the awesome eyes on Iya up there)? When they want to be left alone, they really want to be left alone, so we spent the bulk of our time in the first enclosure begging them to come to us.

When the rain died down to a drizzle, we made our way to the second enclosure, which housed four of Kodiak's three-year-old kids - Denali (the only boy), Aquene, Niimi, and Nova. This is where things got a little crazy. In addition to the mud and continuing rain, Denali really seemed to like my cell phone. While crouching down to get a good picture, he charged right at me and nearly knocked me on my butt. I stood up to catch my balance and he jumped on me again, scratching me across the face and covering me in mud. He continued to jump on me (even using the platform as a launchpad), so my mom and Wheat moved in to deflect him and got some jumping and head-butting of their own. It was really eye-opening to see how strong he could be while playing and a little scary to imagine the damage he could do if he felt threatened.

The second enclosure was really incredible with all four wolves roughhousing with each other (and us). At one point, one of the sisters yelped in pain when her siblings were a little too rough and hid under a platform for the rest of our visit. Other guests to the habitat watched from a raised walkway (which you can do for free) and took pictures as we continued to play with Denali.

Covered in mud, soaked to the bone, and smelling like wolves, we left the enclosure (but not without Denali trying to escape first) and headed to lunch at Korners Kountry Kitchen in downtown Brookville, where we relived the incredible experience by looking at all the framed wolf pictures on the wall.

If you're an animal lover or looking for a unique experience, I highly recommend Wolf Creek Habitat. The owners and volunteers are incredibly informative, gracious, and genuinely happy to share these amazing animals with visitors. Plus, where else can you capture moments like this?