Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

The Edmonton Valley Zoo

Merry-go-Round: The highlight of Alex's trip to the zoo was a ride up & down, round-'n-round on the merry-go-round!

Got Fur? Alex is more concerned about appearances, than petting this very friendly goat, in the Children's Petting Zoo.

If one looks at the World through children's eyes, then all we saw at the Zoo yesterday were ... other kids. (That's not entirely true, but we did notice that Alex spent more time looking at the kids around her, than at the assortment of beasts from the 'Wild Kingdom'). We'd try to point out an animal, high in a tree (napping, no doubt, and so well camouflaged that you had to strain to see it) and all Alex could ogle at was the little girl standing beside her. Alex is a people person and the Zoo was a wonderful outing, although she would have been just as happy going to the mall. Mom and Dad were more impressed with the assemblage of animals at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, home to more than 100 exotic and endangered species, than Alex was.

Our first stop was the petting area, where Alex wasn't too sure about meeting goats, sheep and rabbits close up. We did coax her near a very friendly goat, though she was loath to reach out and actually touch it. The goat seemed very content to be near us and lounged happily. Alex twitched her nose appropriately at a rabbit, but only had eyes for the other, older kids that came to pet it. We thought for sure that Alex would like the baby lamb, but she was too worried about appearances, looking about to see if anyone noticed her wearing dapper sunglasses and a trendy hat.

The otters were swimming and playing in their small enclosure, doing back flips at the water's edge. So graceful are they in water and so comical on dry land, lumbering about. Alex spied a child's plastic toy in one part of the pen, which she thought would be fun to play with, while Mom and Dad spotted a tennis shoe. At first, we thought these were cast into the open enclosure by rowdy visitors, but we quickly realized that they were "toys", placed there for the raucous inhabitants. (There aren't too many otter-toys at PetSmart, so the zoo keepers must utilize the overflow from the 'lost and never found' box).

Taking in the Sights: Watching "Lucy" (one of two elephants) delicately scoop up alfalfa with her elongated probiscis.

The highlight of the day (for both Mom and Alex, I think) was the Merry-go-Round. Alex had a hoot, laughing and smiling while she went up and down, around and around. MUCH more fun than watching animals sleep, regardless of how big, colorful or strange they look!

Apparently, Alex knows all about the different kinds of animals, because she wasn't enthusiastic about any animal in particular. Many were sleeping and perhaps that's the reason. "What's the big deal Dad, these animals are just like Tuxedo ... they sleep all the time," she might have been thinking.

One Big Pussycat! "Kitty, kitty," said Alex, summing up her impressions of the Siberian tiger, "Meow".

Never before, has Alex seen so many different creatures: Dromidary camels, Guanaco llamas, Sezuan takin, emu, Goeldi's monkeys, snow leopards, a wolf, zebras, otter, big horn sheep ... the list went on and on. Her interest peaked, when we came to two Siberian tigers. She peered through the chain link fence and knowingly looked at these two large and ferocious carnivores. She spoke for the first time, as she had been quiet most of the morning.

"Meow," she said, thinking the two cats looked pretty much like large Tuxedos.

The Zoo was more fun for Mom and Dad, than it was for Alex (with the exception of the merry-go-round, perhaps). She did run up and down the grassy, open hills, ate graham crackers, stared at all the kids and by the time we left, was pretty knackered. Rachel has a final looming next week, but having recently completed a mid-term and a term-paper, she felt that she could take a breath and enjoy the long weekend. What better way to kick things off than a trip to the Zoo? It was a gloriously sunny afternoon. The sky contained a number of puffy white clouds, the kind your imagination can turn into frogs, planes and other mysterious shapes. It was the perfect day for a family outing.