In April Ryan had a free Saturday off from work because it was an inventory day so we decided it would be fun to make our monthly temple trip into a weekend trip. We had been told by nearly everyone we know in Nebraska that the Omaha Zoo is really, really cool. Knowing that Nolan's birthday was coming up and that both of our children are just fascinated with animals, we thought it would be great fun to go spend an afternoon at the zoo.
Our adventure began on Friday night (the 20th) after Ryan got off work. We loaded up the van with a suitcase and all sorts of snacks and headed out on the 4-5 hour drive. When we got to Omaha we went to find our hotel and as we were driving up I noticed a sign that said "Welcome to Iowa". Since it was nearly midnight and I was tired and we hadn't crossed the Missouri River I just figured I was imagining things. Well, in the morning, after I went to the temple and did endowments, I noticed the sign again. Ryan and I then had to get out a map and look. Sure enough, there is a small little area on the Nebraska side of the river called Carter Lake and it belongs to Iowa. Even stranger is the fact that the only way to get to Carter Lake, Iowa is by going through Nebraska. There is no bridge from Cater Lake, Iowa to the rest of Iowa.
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| Carter Lake, Iowa |
Once we got that all figured out, we were able to enjoy some breakfast and then head over to the pool. Shelby played with me in the water but Nolan didn't do more than stick his feet in the water and splash everyone else. Ryan and I also took turns sitting in the hot tub for a few minutes. That felt really good on sore muscles.
After drying off we headed out for lunch and then over to the zoo. The zoo is so popular that unless you are there ridiculously early there is no possible way you can park in the zoo parking lot. It doesn't help that the lot is rather small. Fortunately, the zoo is right next to Rosenblatt Stadium which is where the College World Series used to be held, so there is plenty of extra parking. After hiking across a hot parking lot, finally we got to the zoo. The Omaha Zoo is pretty big so we knew there was no way we would get to see the whole thing all in one day but we made sure to hit the spots we thought the kids would really enjoy.
Lied Jungle
The first place we went was the Lied Jungle to see the monkeys. This place is so totally cool and the pictures I took just don't do it justice. It is completely enclosed but it is like you are actually in the jungle and it is humid.
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Nolan and Shelby looking for monkeys as we entered the
jungle |
There is a nice, easy to follow walk way and several signs all over to tell you all about what kinds of animals you could be seeing.
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| Monkey with her babies |
We got to see several different kinds of monkeys and one had babies that we saw. They were climbing all over the mom and chasing each other around. The kids thought it was great. I know how that mommy monkey felt.
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| Large Banyan Tree in the jungle |
In addition to trees and humidity, they also had waterfalls and a wood and rope bridge. The bridge was close enough to one waterfall that it was a little slick and you could even reach out and put your hand in the waterfall. If you had a stroller or just didn't want to walk across the bridge, you had the option of going through a tunneled walkway behind the waterfall.
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| Cool wood and rope bridge |
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Ryan was nice and let me cross the bridge while he took the
kids through the tunnel. |
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| Soft Shell Turtles. These things were just so cool looking. |
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| Another waterfall |
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Big fish swimming around. They had all sorts of different
fish swimming around. |
Kingdoms Of The Night And Desert Dome
So after we finished in the jungle we headed over to the Desert Dome. The upstairs is the desert and downstairs is the Kingdoms of the Night. We did that first and it was pretty cool but if you are really not a fan of dark, dank places or are highly claustrophobic I would not recommend it. I'm a little claustrophobic and at first it was a little close but they have dim lights periodically spaced such that most of the time you can see around you fairly well and then of course your eyes adjust. Besides, it really is pretty cool. The thing that is just really cool to me is how they make it so musty and dank just like how the jungle felt like so hot and humid. The Kingdoms of the Night are also divided up by areas of the world so you just progress around the globe.
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Aardvarks sleeping. These kids next to us couldn't figure
out what they were so I helped fill them in.
See I did learn something from AIMS. |
The area with the bats is kind of creepy but they have these nets or something (it was hard to tell in the dark) that keep them from just flying all over. I really appreciated that because I've had a bat or two come flying around my head and I'm not a fan of the experience.
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| Looking up into the bat enclosure |
My favorite area of the Kingdom of the Nights was the Louisiana Bayou area. I can't remember what movie I saw that took place in the area but I felt like I was in that bayou so it was cool. You also walk across bridges through the entire room which was neat.
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| Trees in the water |
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| Gator snoozing right by the bridge |
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Albino Gator. Of course when I was trying to take the
picture I could not get my flash to cooperate at all! |
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| Some kind of tiny gator |
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This is a muskrat. I was trying to get a picture of the beaver
but he kept swimming away whenever I got the camera
ready and the muskrat was just sitting there. |
Once we were finished looking at all the nighttime animals we headed back up to the sunlight and went around the Desert Dome. We also discovered that Shelby had taken advantage of the darkness to fall asleep. I really should have taken a picture of this thing from the outside but I didn't think about till now so maybe the next time we go I'll have to do that. Like the other two areas we visited, this one was also created to really be like a desert so it was hot and arid. I didn't take a lot of pictures in the desert because most of the animals were hiding out since it was the afternoon.
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They had a huge pile of red dirt just like you might find
in a desert or maybe Hawaii. |
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Some of the caves for
the animals to hide in |
Suzanne & Walter Scott Aquarium
After all the heat and dust we decided to head over to the aquarium. The Aquarium was only just recently added and had only just opened earlier in the month so the line in was a little long and it was a little crowded inside but it was worth it, especially since one of Nolan's favorite spots was in the aquarium. The first thing you come to in the aquarium is a hand washing station followed by a petting zoo. They actually have an area where you can touch different small sea creatures like starfish. Nolan wasn't really into that idea, but he has always been very cautious about things so we weren't surprised. Had Shelby been awake she totally would have done it but she was still sleeping.
One of the first animals we saw were the penguins. I had thought Nolan would think they were cool but he was all that interested in the penguins. I just figured since they were so active he would want to watch them but he didn't.
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| The Penguins |
One of the really cool areas of the aquarium was where you walked through the water via a tunnel and you had all these sharks and stuff swimming all around.
The Rest of the Zoo We Got to See
This zoo is just so big that there was no way we could do or see everything so we had to pick and choose a bit. There is actually a sky lift thing that goes over the park and a train that goes around the park. We didn't do either of those things this time. We also skipped the sea lions, pachyderms, butterfly enclosure, the aviary, Madagascar exhibit and the regular petting zoo. We just didn't have time. We did at least walk by the train and with Nolan loving trains, we of course had to stop and watch it.
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| Train coming around the tracks |
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| Train parked at the depot |
The Zebras are my particular favorite so Ryan made sure we got to go see those. It was cool since they had a baby zebra.
Once we got over to Florence we found we actually had about 40 minutes to spare before Ryan needed to be up at the temple for his turn so we decided to stop at a park and let the kids run around a bit. I don't know how I didn't get any pictures of Nolan running around like crazy but I did manage to get one of Shelby on the swings.
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| Shelby swinging |
We then headed up to the temple so Ryan could do some initiatories and the kids and I hung out in the waiting room. They do really good considering they are inside and have to be somewhat quiet and can't run around. Every one who came in while I was waiting with the kids took time to say hi to the kids and make them smile. I love that about the temple.
When Ryan was done, we were able to grab some dinner before we got on the road for the long drive home. The best part was that the kids were worn out from a busy day outside and slept the entire way. We also got home around midnight, which is about 3 hours early than we normally get home from a regular temple trip so that was nice. It was a good weekend.
