an ordinary mom: Another Trip to the Zoo

We had so much fun a couple weeks back...

that we decided to go again.

It was hot and sunny, which always gets to me despite the many water bottles and Tylenol, and it was crowded- I really do think that this time everybody AND their neighbor decided to go to the zoo on the very same day. The parking lotS were full, the nearby on-street parking was full, we ended up parking a very log walk away, uphill, both ways, ok, maybe not both ways, but have you ever tried to push (more like pull back on) a heavy stroller while going down a fairly steep hill on a path through an urban park? We got our exercise, I'm calling it phys ed for the day, maybe enough for several days.

A leopard gecko, I think she said it was. The zoo has this summer program with all of these teen volunteers with education stations scattered all around the premises. They told the kids about how these little lizards can 'release' their tail if they need to escape from danger, but they weren't willing to show us how that little trick worked... oh well, maybe there's a video out there somewhere I can let the kids see... Hey, here's an interesting video- Robert Full: Learning from the gecko's tail... okay, that's fascinating, not a tail falling off, and a brief mention of 'evolving', oh, and some hommage paid to 'our new president', as if he has anything to do with the advancement of science... I do believe there are a great many secrets locked in nature, and I believe in the Creator who put them there, all in all, a fascinating 10 minutes.

Miss G, enjoying the giraffes, her current favorite animal.

In the end, just after enjoying the final "Sparky the Sea Lion Show" for the day, I was none-too-sad to leave. We always have fun there, but the sun, heat, & crowds were doing a number on my head and there were several rounds of the quiet game played in the van for the next hour...