At that time we learned of the opportunity to visit the refuge and even spend the night. This past week, the weather, our schedule and an opening at our choice of lodging all came together to make our visit possible. The refuge is located only about 2 hours from our house so could easily be a day trip, but we wanted to spend time with the animals without rushing home. Plus the lions roar during the night (for some reason that is called "caroling") and we wanted to hear them communicate.
In the picture above you can see our Tahoe parked in front of the Tree House. It is the most private of the 8 accommodations available and the one we thought we would enjoy the most, for the privacy and the nearness of the animals. 
A deck goes completely around the little cabin, which is about 15 feet above the ground at the highest point.
To take the above picture, I was standing with my back to one of the perimeter fences that housed two tigers and a lioness, so you can see how close we were. And in the picture below, I was standing on the deck while Denis visited with a tiger and a lion while drinking his coffee. 
All of the enclosures have two levels of fences for the safety of the visitors. Only the caretakers are allowed inside the perimeter fence and none of them go inside any of the cages. Cleaning and feeding are done from the outside. They are very safety conscious.
The private deck was so relaxing. Sure we're retired and do a good bit of relaxing at home, but here we had no chores that needed completion or animals that needed attention.
Below is a picture of the interior of the cabin, and you can pretty well see all of it. We estimated it to be 12 by 16 feet. The bathroom is behind that picture of the leopard. Two single beds are in the loft that is reached by a pull down ladder. To the right, and almost out of the picture is a futon that folds down into a bed. The only drawback to staying here was that the beds were all very uncomfortable and we didn't rest much. But hey, we came to hear the lions roar at night and so being awake a lot was not so bad. 
Below is a view from the deck out to the Ozarks. They look rather hazy, almost like the Smokies, but of course not as high.
Most of the cats look rather content like the cougar in the photo below. The ones who have the best life have the bigger habitats with room to roam. It takes money to build habitats and this group depends on donations and money received for tours and lodging. It is a private sanctuary and doesn't receive any government funding. Walmart and Tyson donate about 300,000 pounds of beef, chicken, and pork annually. That certainly helps out tremendously.
There are a few animals at the refuege other than the big cats, like this rhesus monkey. He was very active and didn't seem pleased to be in captivity.
The lion will always look the most regal to me. They were less active than the tigers.
Their roar is the loudest and most signfiicant of the cats, measuring as loud as 114 decibels ( a jack hammer measures around 100 decibels). It can be heard up to 5 miles away as opposed to tigers that can only be heard at a distance of 2 miles. 
One of the most spectacular cats is the white tiger and there are three of them at the refuge.
The little animal below is a coati mundi.
This bobcat was having a great time playing with this ball on a rope. He really did seem just like a big playful kitty. I guess that's why so many people acquire these big cats as cubs, then panic as they grow up and become aggressive.
Another very spectacular cat is the black leopard. This one was absolutely stunning.
There are about 6 bears at the refuge. These are in the central compound and four more are in a much bigger habitat.
And only one coyote.
These are a small cat, called a serval. The person who had these two cats was going to try to breed them with domestic cats to create a new exotic breed to sell. It didn't work out so he abandoned these two cats. Many of the cats at the refuge came from very neglectful, unhealthy circumstances and some did not even survive long enough to be rescued. Many have incurred health problems which cannot be corrected.
They even have a few donkeys. These were enjoying the cooler weather and having a dirt bath.
Relaxation personified.
Loretta is one of their white tigers and she just turned 20. She has exceeded her life span.
These two tigers were near our tree house and seem very well adjusted. I swear I heard one of them purring!
This lioness has the most luxurious coat and such a beautiful color.
This guys name is Tigger. I don't know what happened to his tail. All the animals have a plaque on their cage that tells their name and something about them, but no explanation on why his tail got shortened. He was having fun rolling that big barrel around his yard.
This is Tigger again, taunting a couple of the lions that live near by. The cooler weather was making him feel very frisky.
But when the day got hotter, Tigger decided to go for a swim in his water trough.
The sanctuary is located on 459 acres, 7 miles south of the tourist town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It's a very scenic location that sits on a ridge overlooking mountains and valleys. The animal habitats occupy only about 20 acres. The picture below shows a typical tiger habitat. They don't have enough money yet to have an open habitat like this for all the animals. Many are in what is called the common area in smaller enclosures, without much room to roam. All of them are better off here than they were at the places they were rescued from.
Here is something else we didn't get an explanation for: the giant chair. It's dedicated to Coco, one of the bears that lives at the refuge. Remember when Lily Tomlin used to do a routine about Edith Ann and sat herself in a big chair like this to make it seem she was a little girl? 
This is me, playing Edith Ann.
I urge you to check out their website for more complete information: http://www.turpentinecreek.org/.
And for even more pictures (without the wires) check their blog: http://www.turpentinecreek.typepad.com/.
