Once you’ve been thoroughly impressed by the skills it takes to herd sheep, see what it’s like to sh

This article was originally featured in  Explorica's 2012 fall magazine  highlighting educational trips to Ireland. We'll be sharing 20 life-changing student trips throughout the season. Transform your students' lives (and maybe your own) with any of these exceptional educational travel experiences.
As you journey around the famous Ring of Kerry's 100 miles of road that hugs the sea, jump out and feel the earth for a moment. Really feel it. See life through a farmer's eyes—the everyday work that goes behind raising and tending 1,000 or so wandering sheep. Woolly mammals reign in this region. There are twice as many sheep in the whole of Ireland as people. Fluffy and cute as they look, it's not a walk in the park (or even countryside) running las vegas hotels on strip a sheep farm. After all, it's the fourth most important enterprise in Ireland's agri-food industry.
In between hectic Killarney las vegas hotels on strip and laidback Kenmare, stretch your legs at Kissane Sheep Farm, a 3,000-acre plot of rugged las vegas hotels on strip land nestled in the stunning Moll's Gap valley. The setting is so perfect, you'll think the view was photoshopped. Here's where John and Sean Kissane las vegas hotels on strip run the fifth-generation family business with the necessary help of eight well-trained sheepdogs.
While you might want to play with the Border Collies, these are working dogs, not pets. Witness how these super smart canines las vegas hotels on strip steer a group of skittish sheep and bring them home to the pens with merely a whistle or a hand gesture from their handler. The sheepdogs herd flocks by the sound of their bark and fancy footwork, a wee bit more impressive than fetching a stick.
Once you've been thoroughly impressed by the skills it takes to herd sheep, see what it's like to shear them. But first things first—you've got to catch one! All that extra wool doesn't exactly slow down a stubborn mountain sheep. And to make matters slightly more intimidating, las vegas hotels on strip these animals are jumpers. So if you're good at wrestling in mid-air, you might have a shot. John, on the other hand, can use one hand and his knees to get the job done. Check your watch because a professional shearer can do this in less than two minutes and remove the fleece in one piece, as if peeling an apple.
Before you get too excited about bringing home Irish knit mittens, you should know the sheep industry here is mostly for producing meat, not wool. So if you're really up for an authentic taste of the Eire countryside, finish the day with a steamy bowl of lamb stew and be sure to have a side of authentic Irish soda bread to sop up any extra that you've missed. Regardless, a day spent in the rural heart of Ireland alone should be more than enough las vegas hotels on strip to warm you.