4th of July at the Cameron Park Zoo

I got the crazy spontaneous idea for us to drive down to Waco on the 4th of July to go the Cameron Park Zoo for the day. It was hot, but still a lot of fun. We thought it might be similar to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO. While there was no feeding of giraffes, it was still a pretty zoo, with lots of shade and animals to see.

Dresden was all about the Komodo Dragon that day for some reason. He gets on animal kicks. I think the last time we went to a zoo it was to see the "Whinocewus". Luckily, the Komodo Dragon was one of the first exhibits we saw. 

My favorite part was actually an indoor exhibit called The Brazos At Night, and they had all the nocturnal creatures illuminated by blacklight for people to see. The raccoons were super-cute. Though, now that I'm thinking about it, does that mean the animals in there just live their lives in perpetual darkness for the sake of the exhibit? Or do they turn the lights on after the zoo is closed, which would mean the animals have their days and nights mixed up? Even though they are nocturnal, it's still natural for them to experience daylight like they would in the wild, right? What does it all mean? Now I'm worried about their psyches. Speaking of which, we saw the two most neurotic jaguars I've ever seen in a zoo, which bothered me too. They would not stop pacing back and forth in their cage; they weren't relaxed at all. Ugh, I have such a conflicted opinion of zoos!

This elephant was giving itself a dust bath; it was cool to watch. It was also showering itself with water. Usually the elephants just stand around, so it was fun to see it doing something you usually just read about them doing.

Dresden and the rattlesnake!

They had the three most poisonous fish on the planet in one tank...The stone fish:

The Porcupine Pufferfish

And the lionfish:

Dresden was in heaven! He likes the "scawy cweatures" the best. He also loved being this close to an alligator...They had this little tunnel for kids to go into to get right by the glass, and this huge alligator was laying right by it.

This tube was in the otter exhibit, but there were only two otters, and they were busy waiting in the grass for their lunch instead of swimming around under the tube, so we didn't get any great pictures of that. Still, you can imagine the idea of it is a cool one, right?

Dresden in the teepee. He didn't want to leave. It was nice and shady in there, can't say I blame him.

Aren't we cute? Lol.

Still, over all it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we made the drive, because Alex got to fulfill a birthday month wish of going to the original Dr. Pepper factory and getting a handmade Dr. Pepper from the soda fountain in the museum. I had a Dr. Pepper float, which was so deliciously refreshing it was silly! Dresden was a crazy child at this point but who could blame him! It was a good way to end the day before heading home.

I love old fashioned trucks!

Enjoying my float

This was Alex's first soda in EIGHTEEN years! That is some discipline right there!!! Of course now he is addicted to Dr. Pepper and has fallen off the wagon completely! Okay, not really, but he has decided to make Dr. Pepper his yearly birthday tradition. He's a Pepper!

My sweet boys

We didn't see any fireworks that night; too many mosquitos this year, and Dresden was crashed by the time they would have started. I just keep telling myself that there will always be another year in the future to enjoy fireworks, possibly even from somewhere much cooler like the Pacific Northwest! Ha! Still, I think we spent the 4th of July the best way possible, as a family, celebrating the freedom we have to do fun things whenever we want to without worry. We are so thankful to live in a country that allows us that freedom!

Love,

Cassie