Animals galore
On Sunday, David and I made our way down to the North Carolina Zoo near Asheboro, NC. The original plan had been to go down on Saturday, but David was up late with his D&D group on Friday night and thus wasn't much up for an early Saturday departure.
The zoo is quite an expansive place. At about 1,500 acres and 5 miles of walking paths, it's the largest walk-through natural habitat zoo (according to wiki). The eastern half of the zoo is the Africa section, including a large savanna where you can watch the elephants and rhinos and Thomson gazelles ("tommies") roam, while other areas have other animals like lions, zebras, and a wide range of primates in large, natural habitats. There's also a great tropical aviary with gorgeous plants and many colorful birds buzzing around.
The western half is the North America section, with the grizzly bears, bison, alligators, etc. My favorite area there is the arctic pavilion. The outside area features a couple of polar bears (napping soundly on the rocks), while the inside area includes an area with arctic birds like puffins. It's amazing to see the puffins dive into the water as they don't seem to swim but rather fly through the water just as they fly through the air. I'm also rather fond of the Sonoran Desert pavilion, particularly on Sunday when it actually felt cooler in the desert area than it did outside in the heat and humidity. The animals there were enjoying the day, as the roadrunners, lizards, and ocelots were all scampering about in their enclosures.
It was a fun day, and nice to get out of town to do something enjoyable outdoors. We capped things off with dinner at the P.F. Changs restaurant in Greensboro, which unfortunately was only so-so. The three hour drive each way felt a bit long for just a day trip, but it was worth it to get a some reprieve from the cabin fever I've been feeling around Blacksburg.
For those interested in pictures, I've posted a mini-gallery.
The zoo is quite an expansive place. At about 1,500 acres and 5 miles of walking paths, it's the largest walk-through natural habitat zoo (according to wiki). The eastern half of the zoo is the Africa section, including a large savanna where you can watch the elephants and rhinos and Thomson gazelles ("tommies") roam, while other areas have other animals like lions, zebras, and a wide range of primates in large, natural habitats. There's also a great tropical aviary with gorgeous plants and many colorful birds buzzing around.
The western half is the North America section, with the grizzly bears, bison, alligators, etc. My favorite area there is the arctic pavilion. The outside area features a couple of polar bears (napping soundly on the rocks), while the inside area includes an area with arctic birds like puffins. It's amazing to see the puffins dive into the water as they don't seem to swim but rather fly through the water just as they fly through the air. I'm also rather fond of the Sonoran Desert pavilion, particularly on Sunday when it actually felt cooler in the desert area than it did outside in the heat and humidity. The animals there were enjoying the day, as the roadrunners, lizards, and ocelots were all scampering about in their enclosures.
It was a fun day, and nice to get out of town to do something enjoyable outdoors. We capped things off with dinner at the P.F. Changs restaurant in Greensboro, which unfortunately was only so-so. The three hour drive each way felt a bit long for just a day trip, but it was worth it to get a some reprieve from the cabin fever I've been feeling around Blacksburg.
For those interested in pictures, I've posted a mini-gallery.