Minnesota Zoo

Yesterday we went to the Minnesota Zoo. 

We went with Mark's family and Scott's family (Sarah's sister, Jenny) 

Here's the kids...

Really enjoyed watching the monkeys. This one is pregnant and short on patience. When any monkey walked by here she'd start swatting and chase them away!

She looked hot and miserable. Poor thing.

 

 

Here's Maggie standing up like she does....oh, no, wait, that's a prairie dog.

 The camels were an added summer attraction. Mark was bummed because the last time he came, they had giraffes you could feed. The camels replaced the giraffes this summer. He wanted his kids to feed the giraffes.

 Sarah was calling out her order to the Carribou. They weren't amused.

More monkeys climbing on a caterpillar...

The tigers were able to come right up to the glass. They were crazy close! So beautiful. 

I'm not sure what kind of monkeys these are but in the same enclosure were these pigs in the back showering in the waterfall.

 This bird was playing hide and seek. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture when he looked up at me.

Some type of kangaroo monkey.

 

The beloved sloth. What we all hope Heaven is like, slow, carefree, abundance of food and shade. And your waistline doesn't matter.

 

Big, fat, stuffed, boa. 

 

Porcupine

 

Puma AKA Mountain Lion, Cougar, Panther, Painter, Catamount

The majestic Bald Eagle

And even at the end of the day, the kids have energy. 

 

Lake Maria

Last weekend we went camping. Just an hour away to "run through the steps" before we go too far up here. Well, when I called to get the info, she said all her spots were "hike in". I thought that would be ok; we have a wagon we can load up and pull. Oh my, we were in for a surprise!

We got on the wrong trail, the horse trail. It was horrible ~ bumpy ~ tree roots sticking up all over the place ~ our wagon overturned 3 times before we found the right trail. We got everything packed back on and found the wide, smooth trail.

Did you see the trail in the above pictures? Yeah, we didn't really either. But when we found the path we were supposed to take, we were grateful. It was a mile hike in from the parking lot. Read it again, ONE MILE with the dogs, aired up mattress (since I didn't buy a pump), and wagon.

It was really beautiful out here, unlike any campsite I've ever seen. The sites are secluded, 1/8 to 1/4 mile between each site. These pictures were taken as we walked the trail to our campsite.

 

The food was delicious, since we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with our make shift wagon we figured we brought better food than anyone else there. Not sure if it was worth it.

Chokeberry Honey Pies

Burgers and beans

Potato Pouches

 

 I did figure out something that never truly made sense. "The stars at night, are big and bright..." I believe the reason Texans can proudly claim this is because Minnesota has so many trees, when you look up to the sky you can't see the stars.

This is some kind of fungus that grew on this tree. It was on the interpretive trail and someone had cut it open to expose the inside of the growth.

Turtles were everywhere!

Our campsite was plenty big with gorgeous views!

This is a food box. They are evidently standard up here. You lock up all of your food, toothpaste, etc. ~ anything that has smell ~ every night to keep the animals away. 

The Super Poopers finally got used to the wilderness sounds and relaxed enough to nap.

~ On the ground ~

~ On me ~

After two nights of owls, wild turkeys, turtles, white tail does, coyotes, loudly singing frogs and crickets, we packed up the wagon and headed back to the truck.

It was much easier to get out than coming in.

We did stop to rest on a log.

But it was so much fun, we're ready to go again! 

(With a few modifications, of course!)

A walk in the park

We took a walk through the park down the street. Spring is trying to get here, it's still pretty cold so there aren't a lot of colors yet. They have cut down a huge chunk of trees that were standing tall last Fall. Lots of burned piles.

The Mississippi is up and running fast with all the melting. Very serene.

We came around a corner in the path when Scott saw something move. We thought it was a house cat at first because it was white and on the ground. But then it climbed a tree. See it?

Look closer...

It's an albino squirrel. Pretty neat, huh!?!