A Day at the Zoo

One of the fun things of being a grandparent is taking the kids to the zoo. In this case it was all 8 of them. Had we not brought the mothers (and our daughters) along I'm not just sure how it would have turned out. As it was we had a great time.

When you are a child you never tire of going to the zoo. It is a place of adventure, of seeing old friends, of seeing new and exotic friends, and of having new experiences. On this day as we walked in the zoo, a zoo volunteer was walking around with a king snake, which of course the kids had to explore.

Zoos have learned they need to create fun experiences for children. It is the experiences that bring families back. The Boise Zoo has play areas spread throughout the zoo, and the kids absolutely love them. The play areas have representations of animals, and the areas expand the children's opportunity for imagination, resulting in a lot more fun.

The days of the petting zoo are not gone, but are approached differently at many zoos. Boise lets you feed the goats. The kids love lining up to get food for the goats and then feeding them. I think there is more of a feeding frenzy lining up than there is of the goats competing for the food. It's interesting to see the grandchildren feeding the goats, but ignoring the ones they have at home. I guess zoo goats are better than home goats.

Everyone in our little group had a great time at the zoo, on the play devices, feeding the goats, looking at the Tiger, running ahead of mom who couldn't catch up, and playing with their siblings and cousins. The final photos show various aspects of all of the fun we had. It was a great day!

The Golden Eagle nest is just the right size for a gaggle of Eaglets.

Did I mention its more fun sometimes to
watch the feeding frenzy at the goat food
dispenser for the grandchildren and mother?

Chas is all about knowing just how cool
that hat is, especially when standing
next to a penguin (sort of penguin).