Once we got to the zoo, he woke up and we were off. Right when we walked in, we met with someone who worked there, and she showed us all the places G would like. We did not make it 5 feet before we hit the model train. Oh my this was the biggest and best model train I have EVER seen! This thing was huge, and so so neat. It went on for a 10 minute walk!!! Gavin was in heaven. He was squealing "CHOO-CHOO" at the top of his lungs. Then he saw the trucks...and cars...and planes. Seriously, he did not stop smiling the whole time. I knew eventually we would have to go see some of the animals...but we spent about an hour at the trains!
Then we were off to see the animals. We saw the camels, giraffes (we got to FEED!), pigs, goats, wild dogs, elephants, and lots of other animals.
I am really not a fan of petting zoos, in fact, I despise them. But, Gavin learned early on that his daddy does not despise them, and he was able to pet the goats with his daddy at our zoo. So, today I decided that we could. The lady who worked there saw me be a little hesitant, and she went on to explain to me why this petting area with the goats is very safe. First of all they do not let you feed the goats so there is no yucky saliva all over. Second, the BEST part, there were 4 zookeepers inside the area to sweep up the poop. That's where my fears are (ECOLI!) so once I saw that there was no goat poo all over, we headed in. (If a goat went potty, they swept it up RIGHT away) Gavin is so gentle and sweet with the goats. He walked up and pet each one. When he got to the baby he squealed "BAAAYYY" and then gave it a hug. It was so sweet. The baby was only a few months old, and it had to be taken from its momma because it liked to nurse so much. I thought that was so sad, but then the zookeeper told me that in the wild they will nurse for a few years, but in captivity it becomes a problem...the other young goats see it, and then everyone starts nursing from the mom! Poor thing! They said she lost a TON of weight, and needed to gain it back.
Next was the Leopards. We walked up to the exhibit, and Gavin ran to the glass window. Immediately a zookeeper yelled to me to grab him and pick him up. I thought she was nuts, there was a HUGE very thick glass in front of us. As soon as I looked in I realized why. The leopard was in the corner, crouched down and wiggling her butt, just like cats do when they are about to pounce. OH MY LORD, this leopard thought small little Gavin was lunch!!! Just as I realized that's what was going on, I picked Gavin up, and when I looked up the leopard was right in front of us!!! The zookeeper was right...she tried to get Gavin! (there was no way to get him really...they just want to discourage the leopard from pouncing towards the glass) Still scary!
On the way out we stopped by the train again. This time it was for 20 minutes. I had to peel Gavin away....his eyes were closing as he was watching the trains...
We had a GREAT time at the Desert Zoo!
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