A Saturday Adventure

We thought it'd be good for us to all get out of the house and go somewhere fun as a family. I've just had this feeling this summer that we haven't been able to do a whole lot, and it makes me feel guilty. So we decided to head to the Little Ponderosa Zoo, which is a refuge for rescued animals. And we decided to go in the middle of the heat wave.

Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I don't really think it all the way through.

On the way there, Avery needed a nursing, so we stopped off at this place called the Museum of the Appalachia. We had never been there before, but when we turned in, there were all these baby goats, and the kids were so excited. They thought this was our destination.

Isn't this so pretty? Well, besides the electric fence, I mean. This is one of the things I just love about living here is there are all these beautiful places and neat adventures so nearby. And just when the kids were ooohing and ahhhing over baby goat cuteness, this happened:

There were peacocks and peahens running all around, but this one decided to try and impress one of the females. The kids thought it was GREAT! (We did, too, actually.) And it was really beautiful. It stayed like this for quite awhile, while we watched very nearby. I don't know much about peacocks, if they are aggressive or friendly, but they didn't seem to mind.

There were lots of them, and their calls sound very much like a cat yowling.

Then we went inside the museum (to use their restrooms) and they had two cats inside. We really could have called it a day at this point. The museum had all kinds of fun and cute little things that interested the kids. Well, like this:

But then it was time to head onto our destination.

We got there, and even though it was still morning, it was VERY HOT. And it was outside the whole time. Not that I really expected a place called a zoo to be any different, I guess I just didn't think it through.

You could feed the animals as you walked through, but it was almost like they never got fed unless the visitors did it. As soon as they saw you coming, it was just pitiful. We weren't really impressed - it was a sad place. While it's nice that they rescue these animals, I thought the cages were much too small and sad looking for these poor animals. They had two tigers in a small cage about the size of my kitchen. I don't know - perhaps it's my sensitivity toward animals coming out, but it just didn't seem to be very well done. We saw many African animals that I had never heard of, so I can't remember their names, as well as lots of goats, camels, zebras, zonkeys (seriously. A zebra/donkey combo - striped legs and solid body), ostriches, emus, antelope and deer. They also had a python, porcupine, and several kangaroos.

And, in keeping with my-kids-are-opposite tradition, Ansley doesn't really mind the heat so much. Christian, much like his Mama, starts to wither and wilt. And by wilt I mean complain. Also, Ansley loved to feed the animals and thought it was great - straight from her hand. Christian would grab a little handful and then sort of toss it up and in the general direction of their mouths. Oh well.

We did learn that camels are REALLY, REALLY large animals.

Ironically, at the end of the day, we asked the kids what their favorite part was. All the wild animals that we paid to see? Getting to feed the animals maybe? Well, no. The peacocks, baby goats and cats were the best part of the day. We will definitely be going back to the Museum of the Appalachia! But not to the Little Ponderosa Zoo. We did have a great family day together though, and in the end, that's what it was all about.

Comments

[Ashley Lee]

Looks like a really fun family day! That peacock was beautiful-I love peacocks! I would definately be making plans to return to that museum, too. Glad you all were able to spend some time as a family of five getting out and about. :)

[Wendy]

LOVE the pic of the baby goats all peeking out! Never been to the Little Ponderosa Zoo. My co-teachers and I actually talked about taking a field trip, but now I'm glad we didn't, after reading that it wasn't that great. Great pics!

[MiMi]

Ansley looks like a little pioneer girl!!!

[Renee]

I like the bonnet smile. :) So glad you had a fun Saturday together.

[Erika]

Awww. . .I've been catching up on your most recent posts and was surprised to see that you didn't like Little Ponderosa Zoo. It's actually one of our favorite destinations. Unlike the regular zoo, the animals there can actually be seen, and when you see them, they actually move. The petting is just icing on the cake. I do agree that indoorish part has some small cages and some of the animals pace around sadly. But the outdoor part is nice. And then there's the picnic spots, and the old cabin that makes you wonder if you actually stepped back in time.

Twice now, the kangaroo has kissed my forehead. And the tigers chased (stalked) Erich when they were still young cats. This last time when we went for Erich's birthday, they were older and more mature (read: much less fun). But as we were leaving, we spoke to the owner. I told him how much we enjoyed the animals, and how neat it's been to watch the tigers grow. I mentioned that it was Erich's birthday and that he had a childhood dream of caring for big cats. The next thing we knew, the owner was leading Erich into the tiger cage. Not THE tiger cage, but the cage right outside the tiger cage. He was in breath-smelling distance from them. And at one point, the tiger laid right against the cage and Erich was able to pet him. It was quite the birthday for him.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to make sure other readers of your blog knew that there was a dissenting opinion. We think Ponderosa Zoo is great. But we'll definitely have to check out that other museum you accidently visited. :-)

[Megan]

Hey Erika! Thanks for commenting - I don't mind differing opinions! Just because we weren't impressed doesn't mean other families wouldn't enjoy it, so I would encourage anyone considering it to check it out for themselves. Each family is different! :)