Stewart and I have been teaching Ryder to love animals as much as we do almost since the day he was born. And it definitely hasn't taken much encouraging; the kid absolutely loves all furry friends! This has been a bit of a problem when he goes running up to strange dogs at the park, though. We're going to have to watch that...
Anyway, we were super excited last weekend to take him to the zoo for the first time. It was a beautiful, sunny, fall afternoon — perfect for a visit to Cougar Mountain Zoo. It's a smaller zoo nestled on the north-facing slope of Cougar Mountain in Issaquah just a few miles from our house.
Although we had fun, the visit didn't quite turn out the way we had hoped...
Ryder did take a look at some of the animals, but he was mainly interested in eating snacks, climbing on railings, picking up rocks, and playing in the gravel on the paths. Silly rabbit...
The thing I liked about this zoo in particular is that it wasn't crowded at all, and since it's a bit smaller it wasn't overwhelming. The exhibits also weren't very large, which meant we were really able to see the animals up close and personal.
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| Ryder and Stew really liked watching the cougars, or "big kitties," walk around the enclosure. |
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| And the white tiger was absolutely gorgeous, although the sign: "Watch Out — Tigers Spray!" made me a little nervous! |
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| I thought Ryder would love all the big, colorful birds, but at this point he was much more interested in a rock he spotted along the pathway... |
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| He did enjoy feeding the deer, though. |
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| Stew said this is the closest he's ever been to a Bengal Tiger — cool! |
Even though our trip to the zoo didn't turn out exactly as we had hoped, it was still a super fun afternoon and we'll definitely be returning to the Cougar Mountain Zoo... next time when Ryder is a little older (we might check out the Reindeer Festival this Christmas).
Do you like the zoo?
What a near place! You're right, so many zoos have much larger displays, so you can't see the animals versus closely. I haven't been to a zoo in so long, but my favorite are always the elephants! :)
ReplyDeleteI love going to any & all zoo's! I love to see all the animals :) Maybe when little man gets a smidge older he will love the animals too :)
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking about the zoo and how much fun Ellie would have going! The last time we went was on her first birthday and that is way too much time!!!! I've always wanted to check out CMZ and now that I've seen some of it, we are going to have to go for sure!
ReplyDeleteHe looked like he was having fun :). Our son had a huge meltdown the first time we went to the zoo. So much parenting to learn :).
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