home

Fall Day at the Zoo

The Webmaster had to work on Saturday – which is a rarity for him.  And the weather was also fairly nice – also a rarity on a Saturday in the fall.

So, I decided to take the kids to the zoo.  By myself.  Yes, my sanity was questionable.  But it gave us something to do that got us outside, was entertaining, provided exercise, and didn’t require me to spend any money beyond the parking fee.  I packed everyone’s lunch, filled my water bottle, buckled the kids in… and off we went!

We took it easy, and did some things that we hadn’t gotten to do before.  Amazing, yet true – there are still things we haven’t yet done at the zoo!

We finally went to the play area at the zoo.  This is a nice playground that is on the beaten path, but there are no animals in the area.  So, you are only going in to play – which really means there are only families with kids in there.  There are some artificially constructed caves…

… a huge climbing web, made out of rope…

… and some large turtle shells to climb into.

Rerun was in the stroller for the first time at the zoo, and didn’t mind it too much.  He was watching the big kids closely, as always.

The play area also had a small creek and waterfall in it, which was fun to look at.  I had to convince Tad that we didn’t throw coins into it.

We actually know the zoo well enough that I was comfortable walking around without a map.  And each of the older two knows exactly what they like to see, or what they haven’t seen recently.

Tad wanted to see the bears again, and we finally got to see the river otters in action!  That was very exciting for both kids.

The jaguar was sitting right near the glass, showing off his HUGE paws and gorgeous spots.

Naturally, we visited our friends the penguins (where Tad hugged the fox statue pictured above), and the komodo dragons.

Tad loves seeing the komodo dragons – and keeps calling them “komo dragons.”  I would correct him and add the extra syllable, and have him repeat “ko-mo-do” … and then he would promptly say, “Mama, you like the komo dragons?”

Oh, well.  We’re working on it.

We also walked up the African savanna trail, and Ane finally got to see the hippos in action.

And the kids got to sit on the big hippo.

However, by this time we had eaten our lunch, and Rerun had crashed.  All the fresh air and fun, combined with the stroller ride, had put him out.

And because the zoo is now on its “off season” schedule, it now closes at 4 pm daily.  So, it was time to pack up and head for home after some fun hours at the zoo, enjoying a dry October Saturday.

Who knows when we’ll get another nice weekend like this, where we can just pack up and head off to the zoo.

2 Responses to “Fall Day at the Zoo”

  1. Aunt Lynda
    October 4th, 2010 11:01
    1

    Looks like a great day. I’d never seen a turtle missing two front teeth before.

  2. Aunt Mary
    October 4th, 2010 18:51
    2

    Makes me want to go to the zoo. Remember, Northwest Trek is on the way to Morton.