It's an Elephant!

Saturday was very rainy.  Unlike last weekend, it was too rainy to be outside at all.  Yet we still managed to be productive, returning and replacing the boys' ceiling fan and completing other small projects around the house.  However, come Sunday morning we all needed to get outside.  So as Chris put it: I "jumped" on him in bed and announced "Let's go the zoo!".  It was still cloudy and drizzling a bit but I figured that would keep the crowds down.
And it did!

We had never been to the NC Zoo. All we knew was that it was about an 75min. drive west of here; just outside of Asheboro. As we approached, we realized it was definitely outside of Asheboro as we wound our way through rural North Carolina, which was a pleasant surprise.  After we arrived I discovered that its the world's largest natural habitat zoo siting on 500 acres, so being rural was required.

The entrance to the zoo reminded me Animal Kingdom with long walk over a bridge spanning a waterway.  As it turned out the zoo was celebrating is 40 Year Anniversary this month and so we got some free stuff and discounted admission.  We have become one of those "big families" where it is really cheaper for us to buy a family membership than one day admission, so we went ahead and did that without ever being in the zoo.  (Sort of like most things since we've been here - LOL).

I was expecting a small zoo like the Brevard Zoo in Florida.  A place that we could go through in about 2 hours; I was wrong.  The zoo is split into two halves and they say to expect to spend 2-2.5 hours in each half.

Titus wanted to see the zebra first so off we went in that direction.  The zebras were toward the back of the enclosure and we continued on.  The next thing we saw was quickly and enthusiastically identified by Amber. She was running and waving her arms in the air yelling "It's an Elephant!".  Needless to say she was quite pleased at her discovery.  I'm very glad there was no way for her to get over to them or I think she would have tried.

As we continued to explore the zoo, the next big draw was the Gorillas.  The babies were playing right next to the glass and it was quite a hoot to watch.  The keepers were there as well, telling us all about the dynamics of the troop and the new member that was coming soon.  We learned that gorillas don't mind snakes and they've seen the large female on a rock with a black racer curled up next too her.  The younger ones will throw the racers around in circles making them dizzy but we found it interesting they never mess with the copperheads.

We stopped for lunch at the halfway point.  The food was pricey but tasty.

When we continued on, we stopped at the honey bee exhibit.  While the kids climbed in a "hive", I bought some raw honey from a local bee keeper.  Then the boys ran off to the second domed area of the day - to look unsuccessfully for a road runner.  However, I found the animal that made me laugh the most, a Chuckwalla Lizard.  They are the puffer fish of the desert.  Apparently, when threatened they go into a crevice and blow themselves up so that they can't be dragged out by a predator.

Next Jared wanted to see the buffalo.  This is a huge enclosure with four viewing areas. We didn't see the Buffalo till the forth.  Unfortunately, they were all sleeping in the shade against the fence.  Jared was hoping to see them on the move; maybe next time.  But we did see the geyser go up.

Now we were approaching the other entrance to the zoo, and this was clearly the original section.  They are working on a number of areas to update and expand them, such as the polar bear exhibit.  It will be neat to see all the changes when they are done.  One thing they had updated already was the playground which the kids enjoyed while Chris and I sat for a bit.

There are nearly 5 miles of trails to walk, so its no surprise we spent 2.5 hours on each half and still didn't manage to see everything.  We decided since I had a blister and it was getting late we would take the shuttle back to the the entrance where we started and leave the rest for our next trip. Our next trip is already being planned by all the kids with great anticipation. Amber in particular keeps asking if we can go again.