Yet ANOTHER Zoo trip!!!!

What can I say.....we really like the Zoo! Today we got to go to the zoo with Grandma Hotrum! Grandma Janice came to our house around 9 and rode up in the van with us. We finally get there and make our way up to pay...there was no line! After a brief potty break we head on in and make our way through The Great Northwest. Our first stop was the Black Bear Ridge, we look over the edge and see a bear down below sleeping.

Walking a little farther, we see another black bear sleeping in his cave

and right across the way a Bobcat. This was the first time we have seen the Bobcat and he was COOL!

He looked like an overgrown house cat, I told Grandma Janice that if I saw one in the wild I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference! Following the winding trail down we make our way to Eagle Canyon. The kids jumped in the the fake nest and posed a little for us,

then we made our way into the Eagle viewing area. We walk in and there is an Eagle sitting right there on a post next to the viewing area.

It was so neat to be that close to an amazing bird!

I got a cute picture of Grandma Janice and Ally.

Then the kids showed me their wingspan next to that of the Eagle's.

Continuing on we make our way down the path past a small waterfall with faux fish in it and down around to more faux fish swimming upstream. Dylan found these marginally interesting. Next along the path was a hollowed out "log." The kids loved climbing through the log and around on the surrounding rocks.

After letting the kids run free for a short bit, we make our way down to the GIANT fish tank! The kids love looking at all the HUGE fish in the fish tank. There are salmon, trout, and some sturgeon. Making our way along we come upon turtles next!

Another favorite of the kids, although they pretty much love EVERYTHING at the zoo! Following the turtles are the otter and the beaver. The beaver was actually swimming around part of the time and Grandma and the kids enjoyed watching him!

Next along the path of coolness were snakes, lizards,

a ringtail, and an owl! As we are exiting we see a bird/duck pond with some pretty cool and funny birds!

On our way to Trillium Creek Family Farm we pass by the Black Bears again and sneak another peak at the sleeping bear.

We exit The great Northwest and enter the farm. The kids HAD TO get on the tractor and waited very patiently for a turn while other kids were on it.

Then after getting to sit on the tractor for a little bit we make our way into the barn. After riding a "pony" together

and climbing on the hay

they noticed some other kids taking the hay and feeding the goats. So as you all know....."Monkey see.....Dylan and Ally do!"

So they spent the next 10 minutes or so running back and forth with handfuls of hay feeding the goats and getting a huge kick out of it! After pulling them away from the goats and washing their hands up good we proceeded on to the Polar Bears! Walking down the dark path walkway to the under ground viewing area we hear lots of loud yells of excitement, so we step up the pace to see what all the excitement is about! We get down there and see one of the Polar Bears walking around up above and then after a little bit.....

S-P-L-A-S-H!!!!!!!

The Polar Bear jumps right in and starts swimming around and playing with a ball in the water. We sat and watched for about 10 or 15 minutes while he would swim around, then push the ball out the the middle, climb out and then jump back in and grab the ball. Dylan's face was radiant

he thought it was so totally cool! Ally was getting pretty grouchy and losing some energy so it was time to head towards the big field for some lunch. Along the way though Dylan saw a cool height chart of all the bears on their hind legs so he decided to compare his height to theirs.

He is almost as tall as a Sun Bear! So since the height of groucy-ness had reached mass proportions we made our way over to the picnic tables by the big grassy field.

After a quick yummy lunch of sandwiches, water, grapes, and pretzels we packed up and headed to see if we could catch a glimpse of the baby elephant Samudra...or Sam as he is called for short.

After standing around looking over the back yard for about 10 minutes Sam finally scooted away from the wall enough so the kids could catch a glimpse of him!

He is so so so so so cute!!!!! I want a baby elephant! Ok moving on..... we make it back down the hill and take a potty break then stop to play on the small animal statues and have some crackers.

Then decide it is time to tackle Africa! We decide to skip the aviary and go straight over to the Rhinoceros.

He was up and walking around, the kids got to see so many animals up and about today it was so great for them! Along the path next were the Hippopotamus's, both of them were in the water swimming around, they would go under then all of a sudden you would see their back and heads pop out of the water.

After watching them for awhile they came out of the water.

We watched them climb up and our of the water, eat some leaves off of the ground, and scratch their heads on the rock wall. More excitement was bubbling out of the kids! The next stop along the dry riverbed path was the zebra's. We couldn't see them real well from the first viewing point so we made our way down to the next viewing point and sat and watched the zebras for a little bit.

So more uphill hiking to get up to the area to observe the giraffes. Along the way we saw some monkeys, birds, a lizard, and a couple turtles.

Finally we got to the giraffe! He was off to one side eating out of his special bin.

Hanging out around him were some gazelles. The kids watched him for awhile before running back and climbing into the comfort of their stroller! We strolled them onward to check out the bats then head up to see if the penguins were having any fun! The kids thought the bats were pretty cool, they were busy flying around and eating lots of fruit.

I always forget how much walking there is! Again up another hill....its a conspiracy I tell you! We make it into the fishy smelling penguin exhibit, but unfortualtly they penguins were not very active! So after the disapponting show from the penguins we decided to head over to Steller Cove to finish up by seeing if the Sea Lions are in a playful mood or not. They were most definatly in a playful mood they were swimming in circles neverending.

Dylan was going nuts running up and down the stairs having a blast! Finally its time to go and I was done. I had sat on the bottom bench watching the Sea Lions and when I got up realized the seat was soaked thus soaking my pants! Yes, I was done! But....on the way we went right past the Tigers! So we stopped to admire their beauty and grace.

I don't think we had seen the Tigers this year at all. So yet another animal that was up and moving although this time the kids were more subdued, as they were really finally worn out! Again up the long winding path, we stamp our hands then go to check out the gift shop. Grandma got Dylan, Ally, and Grace a baby elephant and Jude a cute little rattle toy. Then one last stop at the potty and we head to the car to load up and head on home. Both kids completly CRASHED OUT on the way home, the ride home was defineatly quiter then the ride up! What fun! I love the zoo!!!