Mini Vacation – Part Three

Zoo Day

We went to the zoo today and there was lots to see. If I thought my feet were going to hurt from being at the Field Museum, I figured the zoo would be much worse. There is endless walking involved. To make it so we could stand it, Karen’s sister Sue and I rented little carts to run around in. This made all the difference in the world and I figure it will be worth it to do so from now on. Rachel sneaked a ride now and then.

We attended the show that featured birds. Many of them were raptors that were trained to fly low over the heads of the audience. The trainers enlisted the aid of some kids to help demonstrate the things that the birds do. At one point they called for an audience volunteer, asking who wanted to grow up to be an animal trainer. Rachel’s hand shot up like a rocket and they had her come down to the front. One trainer held up the end of a long pole and Rachel held up the other end. A bird ran down the length of the poll and ate some food out of Rachel’s hand then ran back to the trainer. It then flew down the length of the poll and landed on Rachel’s arm.

Later, Rachel said she really didn’t want to be an animal trainer when she grew up, but she thought if she said she did she would be selected to participate in the show. That’s our girl!

On our wanderings Grandma and Grandpa had an opportunity to pose with Rachel at a butterfly topiary.

There were all kinds of animals to see and I think we saw most of them. Here’s a sampling…

Three things deserve special mention. One of the things Rachel liked best was the petting zoo. It had common domestic animals. You could put money into a machine and get a handful of food pellets that you then fed to the goats. Some of them were quite fat as you might expect.

Another fun thing was you could get a camel ride. Rachel really wanted to do it and Karen was game as well. Here they are near the ride’s completion.

And last but not least the zoo has a new baby orangutan. This poor little mite has had a tough life. Both his natural mother and then his father rejected him. He was given to a surrogate mother who loved him dearly, but she was old and died. Then he was given to another pair of orangutans who abused him. And finally he came to the Milwaukee zoo where he found a loving new family.