Spring Breakin' 2015 Pt. 1: A Day At The Phoenix Zoo

It's Spring Break! More precisely, it's still Spring Break. Our charter school gives its kids a two-week spring break, which is great if you take a trip for part of that time (like a trip to Disneyland, for example), but not so much if you have nowhere to go. That second week can definitely start dragging if you don't plan well. The girls and I have gotten a bit restless at times during this vacation; however, the weather has been terrific and we have found a few good activities to pass the time.

Our biggest activity of Spring Break 2015 was our day trip to Phoenix last week. I decided to take the girls to visit the Phoenix Zoo. We had visited this zoo one other time, briefly, a few years ago. However, that trip only lasted a few hours and we only made it through half the zoo; we learned then that the Phoenix Zoo is an all-day destination. For this trip, we would make no other plans (other than a quick stop for dinner on the way home); it would be all zoo, all day. I just had to hope that would be "enough." Plus, as members of Tucson's Reid Park Zoo, were were able to get our price of admission reduced by 50%. That was a big incentive in coming as well!

As it turned out, the Phoenix Zoo more than filled up our day. In fact, we still didn't make it through the entire zoo (although I'd guess we saw about 80% of it, which was much more than on our previous visit). Overall, it's a pretty decent zoo. For its size, it has slightly fewer animals than you might expect. In addition, some of them like to hide and aren't always easy to be seen by visitors. However, I chalk this up to the zoo having spacious, clean enclosures for their animals where they can feel comfortable. Besides the animal enclosures, the whole zoo is clean, nice-smelling, and well-organized. There are a lot of small "play areas" scattered throughout the grounds for younger children, including multiple playgrounds and an impressive splash pad. It's a well-thought-out place!

While at the zoo, I wanted to make sure the kids experienced activities that weren't available at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. And even though it cost a little extra money, I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity for the kids to visit Stingray Bay...

...and have a chance to pet the stingrays and watch them have their lunch!

It was a really neat experience. The "bay" was a shaded, shallow pool that had a few dozen stingrays swimming around in circles. The rays were of various shapes and sizes, and visitors were free to "pet" them, so long as they didn't grab their tails or their sides ("wings")

Touching the stingrays was both cool and a little creepy at the same time. They feel about the way you'd expect...chilly, rubbery, and a bit slippery. The girls were fascinated, and we spent quite a bit of time there.

At the time of our visit, it was possible to buy some shrimp and feed the rays. Not wanting to pay yet another extra fee, we opted instead to watch others feed them. It was a little surprising how bold the stingrays became when presented with a snack; they would often start splashing loudly in the water, and start climbing over one another to better reach the food!

When offered food, many of the stingrays would even tilt their heads clear out of the water, with their beady eyes rolling around wildly on the sides of their head, and their gills and little slits-for-mouths opening and shutting frantically. It was more than a little unnerving. Let's just say I don't want to be caught alone in the water with one of those things chasing me down.

But viewed in this safe environment, the stingrays were quite fun. It got me thinking of SeaWorld in San Diego...I hope we will be able to take the girls there sooner or later!

Another new experience for our family was a trip inside a monkey habitat!

 

The Monkey Village is an enclosed walkway, which is home to more than 20 spider monkeys. There are trees, ropes, tree houses, and various activities throughout the habitat for the monkeys to play with. Visitors can move slowly along the walkway and observe the monkeys up close and personal.

We didn't see a ton of monkeys...perhaps a half-dozen or so. But the few we did see came quite close by. They appeared to be very used to humans, and weren't alarmed by us.

Many of them crawled right overhead, using ropes strung over the pedestrian walkways for that purpose. It was really cool!

There were a few other great apes at the Phoenix Zoo that I enjoyed showing the girls (there are a few gibbons at the Tucson zoo, but nothing larger). They were amazed at the large orangutan habitat, and the cleverness and playfulness of the young orangutans we saw.

Another exhibit I really enjoyed was the Desert Lives trail. Although still part of the zoo, the trail was unpaved, and the landscaping was very authentic. It felt like the zoo had merely "roped off" part of the desert for its purposes. In fact, the bighorn sheep habitat was built right up the side of a rocky hill!

There was also a large ibex habitat nearby, complete with awesome statue.

This part of the walk was a lot dustier and "wilder" than the rest of the zoo, but I enjoyed the mood it set. It makes visitors feel more as if they have traveled directly into the wild to view the animals. It reminded me a lot of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, which has many similar walkways.

I can't list off all the other perks the zoo had to offer, but it is a very busy, happening place! Among other things, the Phoenix Zoo has a large wooden playhouse for youngsters who need to get their wiggles out...

 

 ...a spacious, refreshing splash pad, complete with a wet indoor "cave" and slide...

 

...a "Farm" section, featuring many common barnyard animals, as well as a farmer's many tools...

...not to mention a petting zoo, which lets you get up close and personal with several goats.

There's also a metal sculpture garden...

...a giant interactive "spider-web" for the kids...

...and lots of cool animals to see, including:

Bald eagles;

jaguars;

 

Rhinoceroses and warthogs (or "Rocksteady" and "Bebop," as my Ninja Turtle-loving kids called them);

and komodo dragons (a personal favorite of mine)!

As you can see, Celeste had her Flat Stanley doll with her for much of the trip. He is part of a school project, where the student must take Stanley with him or her on their next trip, or send Stanley to some far-off relatives to bring back souvenirs. We managed to do both things over Spring Break; we brought Flat Stanly to the zoo, then sent him to visit Uncle Ray and Aunt Adrienne in Connecticut! Here's hoping he comes back with some neat artifacts.

We managed to stay right up until the zoo was about to close (taking short trips out of the zoo to get our lunches out of the car). It was perfect weather; warm yet overcast, with an occasional drizzle to take the edge off the heat! Afterwards, we headed for home, stopping in Casa Grande for dinner.

We had a great time! Due to the cost and the distance away from us, I am honestly not sure when we will be back to the Phoenix Zoo. But we are definitely grateful for the fun road trip we were able to take. It was a great outing to fill up our Spring Break. In our next blog post, I'll show you what else we were up to.