(upbeat music) Whether it's interacting with animals or firing off the apple cannons, (cannon clanking) at Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo, you can practically do it all.

This beautiful property boasts everything from sweet treats and food, to calming strolls through their flower fields and orchards.

- I was driving by, we actually were headed to a cabin to do some camping and some outdoor nature stuff with the family, and about 16, 17 years ago drove by, had my kids in the car and went, "What is that place?

"That looks pretty cool."

Piqued my curiosity, stopped.

They had goats, they had some produce and things like that.

And checked it out and then every few years would stop back, when we got along this way, watched it grow, and it's exploded.

- [Stefanie] Rob Recknagel went from visitor to employee here at the farm.

He started off bringing his own kids, now he helps create memories for the next generation as the farm continues to grow and expand.

- Literally started as a produce stand in front of the original farmhouse, which is still on site.

Basically started selling cherries, peaches, apples, kind of the main staples of the farm, asparagus.

And then they went, "Yeah, people seem to be buying this," and sold a lot of it, built a market, and then 20 years ago, got things going and said, "Let's do some agritourism, "let's get some goats in here, "start the petting zoo."

And then with some creativity and ingenuity by the Lewis family.

(machine whirring) A little secret, they're really good with air compression, they make apple cannons.

So you started with, you know, the agritourism piece, but then the bee popper, apple cannons, jumping pillows, giant slides, had the ability to build and be creative and use their land in a different way than farming.

- [Stefanie] The farm is such a fun mix of different types of experiences.

The friendly goats greet you the second you arrive, and there are multiple animal encounters that you can take part in, giving you the chance to learn more about them.

And if you're lucky, you get to pet them too, like we did with this kangaroo.

And I'm not sure if we have seen anything ever cuter than this kangaroo with a case of the zoomies.

Well, Rob says the farm has zookeepers on staff and work year round taking good care of them and their unique habitats.

Now, one of my favorite highlights was watching the prairie dogs chase each other around the hill.

Now heading further along the path, the noise level begins to change from loud tings and taps of paintballs splattering on targets and trees to the booms and explosions from the apple cannons.

- I love the apple cannons.

(cannon popping) It's a really smart, you know, business model where you're going like, "Hey, these apples "were on the ground, "now they're gonna be shot out of a cannon."

So it's not wasteful in that respect.

It's a pretty smart business model.

You're loading them and firing them out at an incredible rapid rate of speed and hitting targets.

I mean, you're shooting windshields and windows out of cars and battering these vehicles and they're really powerful.

So you have the compressed air generator pushing apples, you know, thousands of feet per second.

And it's really fun.

People like to ruin stuff, smash stuff, break stuff, it's fun.

- [Stefanie] I promise you a visit here will not ruin your day unless you don't plan accordingly.

(visitor screaming) (water sloshes) - The number one thing that I would say to people who are coming is be prepared for a four to five hour day.

It's not a quick stop in.

The biggest mistake that anyone could make is going, "We're just gonna stop by, "it's a farm, it's a petting zoo.

"What could they possibly have?"

And when you walk in and you see 45 plus attractions, at least 40 species of animals, and then things, the additions like splash pads and then unique things like the apple cannons, our giant corny barn, you're gonna have something literally for all ages.

(visitor groaning) - Check this out.

I am with McKayla, one of the zookeepers here at Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo.

McKayla, what do we have going on here?

This is a capy encounter.

So we've got a little plate of food here.

- Uh huh.

Hey, capy.

(bright upbeat music) And what's his name?

- This is Scooby Doo.

- Okay.

And he's one of two?

- Yes, Velma is having a hideout right now.

- Okay, that's all right.

Then you're the winner over here today.

So explain what an animal encounter is like here.

- So basically you just get to come in, hang out with the animals, learn how to safely pet and feed and interact with them.

We let you know animal facts, answer your questions.

- [Stefanie] Now tell us some facts about our capybara here.

- [McKayla] So Scooby-Doo is the world's largest rodent.

They are semi-aquatic animals, so they do have webbed feet.

- [Stefanie] Okay, all right.

(upbeat music continues) And they have a nice pond of swim in and he's about to get all the food and Velma's not gonna get anything.

- Yeah, she's missing out.

- All right, well this is just one of the many encounters that you can have here at the farm along with many of their attractions.

So like we mentioned earlier, this place is fun for people of all ages.

Come and check it out.

(upbeat music continues)