I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 27 years, disabled daughter, college-aged son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!The actual day of our zoo trip was a balmy 92 degrees F. We slathered on enough sunscreen to keep Banana Boat in business. DD is one of those porcelain complected, hazel-eyed blondes who would not look at all out of place in Iceland and I have enough redhead in me that I will burn pretty easily without the stuff.
Our first stop was the polar bears. I was feeling pretty sorry for them, considering this sort of heat is not in their native habitat, but then again, they did have a nice, cold pond to swim in.
They have three males at the Point Definace Zoo and no females. They seem to get along pretty well, but they did keep to different areas of the enclosure. The biggest one was 9 feet tall when it reared up. You don't really realize the size of these animals when they are just laying on a rock.
Or how big they are until they lick the window in front of you because that's where the meat they were being fed bounced off!
The muskox was hanging out in the shade trying to get away from the heat. With that fur coat, I think she had the right idea.
I was definitely jealous of the seals and their cool waters.
And the penguins! Heavily shaded and they had plenty of water to swim in.
The elephant was giving herself a bath in lots of nice, cold water.
The anoa decided that being inside was the best way to escape from the heat.
As did these two:
The leopard seemed quite happy though to bask in the sunshine.
And the budgies also seemed to love the heat. The kids got seed sticks to feed them for $1 each. The birds land right on the stick or on you and eat the seeds.
The landscaping was also lovely. I'd love to have this flower in my garden.
And I actually do have these ones, just not blooming right now.
I haven't uploaded the aquarium photos yet, but here's my son being eaten by a shark that also, apparently swallowed a hardwood wall.
It was a great zoo all in all, though I think the Greater Vancouver Zoo in B.C., Canada remains my favorite.
Zoo Trip Photos
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