There & Back Again: Brooks to Key Largo to Kachemak Bay
- Thread starter Pleistohorse
- Start date
Oh no!! It does say that on the website, though
Hope the Field Museum made up for it.
Pittsburgh Zoo Parking Lot at about 1400 hours.
Alright…sped off this morning…forgot to checkout of my hotel AND more importantly forgot to document my morning departure from South Bend Indiana. It was light drizzly snow and overcast with near freezing temps.
Winter had struck the afternoon before while I was visiting the Pittsburg Zoo. A heavy snow began to fall and the effect was…nice. The zoo was rather empty…perhaps 50 other visitors.
Over the years I’ve gotten really good (in zoos at least…harder in aquariums or museums) of using the flow of the crowd and identifying checkpoints of popular animals and playgrounds that tend to distract children and allow parents to rest to enhance my own experience.
For my visit: Most of the animals were out. Or indoor viewing for some was available.
A young women with her two children stopped me near the Tiger enclosure and marveled at how much nicer it was to visit the zoo in the cool weather and how the animals were more active and how she had been worried there would be no animals…but she disliked the crowds of the summer. I told her yes…it is a well known secret among zoo enthusiasts that cool days, midweek and early often are the most rewarding.
Pittsburgh, the city, reminded me of a very large mill town in Connecticut’s Naugatuck Valley. Like my Bristol or our neighbor Waterbury spread out over miles. It was a nice feeling.
I was hoping to somehow put off winter until Montana, if not the Yukon…but it was coming either way. It was kind of interesting driving up from the sweaty low country of South Carolina up into the cooler Piedmont and watch in short distance autumn appear on the trees and not long after autumn passing nearly to winter.
Both zoos in Virginia were nice. Mill Mountain in Roanoke reminded me of the city park zoos of my childhood in New England. A few species and basic enclosure that afforded a pleasant diversion and a nice walk in the park. Milk Mountain may have, itself, started that way, but if so it survived, while the zoos of my childhood faded away (or in the case of Massachusetts also adapted). Mill Mountain’s entry fee of $10 was steep for what we saw…but it was just me. Two other visitors were in the zoo and there were more folks sweeping enclosures than viewing the animals.
A short distance away was Virginia Safari Park. Again I benefited from visiting on a weekday towards the end of the season…some species intolerant to chilly weather were not on view…but the Blackbuck were growing fluffy coats and the deer were in full antler and the Tigers and Cheetahs active and charismatic. It was a nice visit…and it knocked my pet peeve of having a good ratio of predators to prey right out of the park. Mill Mountain not so much, especially as their Tufted Deer was not on view. But for zoo nerds, Mill Mountain’s Eurasian Lynx and Pallas Cat were nice to see. And the Snow Leopard enclosure while small, had a viewing deck that put you at eye level with the cat when it was resting on its high point. The city of Roanoke spread out far below added to the illusion of the secretive mountain cat haunting the heights above the valley town. A ghost on the mountain…beyond the windows and the lights…it’s breath, the frosty air itself.
After the zoos I hit the Shenandoah National Park and saw about five deer. My entry to the park was free (I am a veteran…so occasionally…like three zoos so far…we get in for reduced or sometimes even no cost…a nice benefit to the service)…but the park ranger even as she checked my Alaska issued park pass…warned me of the possibility of inclement weather arriving soon on the mountain and that park might be closing and if I wasn’t camping I might get stuck behind their gates. I had three hours to get the midpoint (which put me just short of the big meadows where I expected to see many more deer and birds) and exit the park if, and before, they closed.
High on the mountain a familiar black shape lifted from a branch and soared out over a hollow and back again over me and then into the trees. Raven, my wife’s totem, and Alaska’s unofficial state bird…but it’s true one. The Raven is to the Ptarmigan what Denali was to McKinley. Raven, an old friend, come to check my progress.
His message to me seemed to be “hurry home.”
I consulted a Ranger at the next stop and he was 50% certain I could make Front Royal before the gates closed, but I chose instead to exit the park and return to the valley. I set a course for Somerset Pennsylvania in order to put myself in striking distance of Pittsburgh.
My drive took me through the dark along some lonely back roads and tiny gritty towns in the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. Through a place were valleys and rivers held more allegiance to the people than the borders of their states. I passed state lines that ran along the fences of next door neighbors.
The air had frost in it and the snows came the next day. Raven is a tricky messenger who expects his calls to be more obvious than the effort he puts into them. “If you see me,” he seems to say, “than you know this is the way that winter comes. And you, my friend, are a long way from home…”
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Departure: Oak Park, Illinois. 1001 hours. Light / Weather: Mostly cloudy. 30F. Nearest Ocean: Chesapeake Bay off the Atlantic Ocean - 710 miles south-east. Lake Michigan is 10 miles due east and with portages at the St Clair and Niagara rivers one can reach the open ocean. Elevation: 620 feet.
Today the Brookfield Zoo and then up towards Minneapolis. Perhaps as far as Eau Claire this evening. Here is hoping the Bell Museum and the Minnesota Zoo can be done in one day.
The Field Museum was awesome. Maybe 200 or so other visitors. Some display changes. But I think I documented nearly everything…got overwhelmed in the bird hall though. Posting soon.
Today the Brookfield Zoo and then up towards Minneapolis. Perhaps as far as Eau Claire this evening. Here is hoping the Bell Museum and the Minnesota Zoo can be done in one day.
The Field Museum was awesome. Maybe 200 or so other visitors. Some display changes. But I think I documented nearly everything…got overwhelmed in the bird hall though. Posting soon.
Have they updated their signage? The last time I was there (it must have been 20010 or so) they still had some of the animals shown to live in the "USSR".
You should stop at MToxins on your way up through Wisconsin.
I doubt it, the Field Museum is proud of their old signage.
Spent a long day at the Brookfield Zoo. It was pretty nice. It reminded me a bit of the zoo center at the Bronx Zoo. Zoos in Amsterdam and Rotterdam also came to mind.
Again not a whole lot of guests and most of the Exhibit Houses open. So many of the animals who were sheltering from the cold could still be seen. As a matter of fact I am not sure how much I’d enjoy this zoo mid-summer.
But today was pretty perfect.
Again not a whole lot of guests and most of the Exhibit Houses open. So many of the animals who were sheltering from the cold could still be seen. As a matter of fact I am not sure how much I’d enjoy this zoo mid-summer.
But today was pretty perfect.
Departure: Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 0947 hours. Light / Weather: Overcast. 22F. Nearest Ocean: The Atlantic ~ 1096 miles to an established port due east/ south-east. 800 miles from Hudson Bay off the Atlantic Ocean dues north / north-east. 231 miles to the St. Lawrence Seaway connecting Lake Michigan to the Atlantic Ocean. Portages required at the St Claire River and Niagara River. Due east. The Mississippi River is 50 miles due west. Shallow draft boats required until transfer to ocean vessels at New Orleans. Elevation 787 feet.
All of my driving through Wisconsin had been during the dark hours. The next 60 miles or so will be in daylight. The last miles I will be in Wisconsin on my first trip to Wisconsin. I look forward to seeing the state.
Destination: The Bell Museum of Natural History in St. Paul, Minnesota.
All of my driving through Wisconsin had been during the dark hours. The next 60 miles or so will be in daylight. The last miles I will be in Wisconsin on my first trip to Wisconsin. I look forward to seeing the state.
Destination: The Bell Museum of Natural History in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Departure: Van Meter, Iowa. 0945 hours. Light / Weather. Overcast, cold. 25F. Nearest Ocean - The Gulf of Mexico off the Atlantic. Elevation: 873 feet.
The Bell Museum…smallish…nice mammoth reconstruction…saw a whitetail buck run across the parking lot.
The Minnesota Zoo - mildly annoying but over magnificent.
Cabela’s store north of Albert Lea? If it were a zoo it would be a very good Zoo.
Today? My hotel and a much need night of rest. Henry Doorly Zoo tomorrow.
The Bell Museum…smallish…nice mammoth reconstruction…saw a whitetail buck run across the parking lot.
The Minnesota Zoo - mildly annoying but over magnificent.
Cabela’s store north of Albert Lea? If it were a zoo it would be a very good Zoo.
Today? My hotel and a much need night of rest. Henry Doorly Zoo tomorrow.
Just finished visiting the Wildlife Safari Park, operated by the Henry Doorly Zoo (?) in Ashland, Nebraska. I really enjoyed it.
Late lunch or early supper at the local Cracker Barrel, then back to Omaha…maybe check out the displays at the Bass Pro Sho in Council Bluffs. Big day at the H.D. Zoo tomorrow.
Incidentally the H. D. Zoo is the only zoo on this trip I’ve visited once before (2005)…indeed the Field Museum is only the other facility of any kind this trip I’ve visited in the past (again in 2005).
Late lunch or early supper at the local Cracker Barrel, then back to Omaha…maybe check out the displays at the Bass Pro Sho in Council Bluffs. Big day at the H.D. Zoo tomorrow.
Incidentally the H. D. Zoo is the only zoo on this trip I’ve visited once before (2005)…indeed the Field Museum is only the other facility of any kind this trip I’ve visited in the past (again in 2005).
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Day 2 in Omaha.
Four minute drive to the Henry Doorly Zoo.
Although the tavern across the way popped until 0200…I was satisfied with a visit to the local Bass Pro Shop and a spaghetti dinner.
Tonight genuine Omaha steaks with an old military buddy and bright and early to Denver in the morning. What does any of that have to do with ZooChat? I guess nothing…I just felt like sharing.
I should start seeing a lot more wildlife. I’ve seen a lot less than I expected along the highways. I have gotten some interesting birds walking through the zoos and I did see a huge group of whitetail deer in a Minnesota corn field, those three Armadillos in South Carolina and the two Feral Hogs in Georgia.
As always, when I’m in known cougar territory, I hope
I get lucky.
I’m wondering where I’ll be when I spot my first Moose. I’m hoping for Bison on the road up in northern BC. Bears are probably unlikely…but I saw my first wild Wolf along the Alcan in BC back in 2005. I hope lighting strikes twice. The last wild Wolf I saw in Alaska was way back in 2009 I think.
Im getting both anxious and excited to move on.
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If you’re interested in seeing more non-captive wildlife soon, you should consider checking out Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Denver! It’s only a 20 minute ride from the zoo, and is essentially a 16,000 acre protected/preserved area with wild bison, deer, coyotes, prairie dogs, raptors, and other native animals.
Thank You! I am very much looking forward to visiting the refuge. I’ll probably try to be there at sunrise on Tuesday and then visiting the Natural History Museum and Zoo at opening. If the remaining daylight is sufficient I’ll visit the refuge again before heading for Cheyanne.
Departure: Omaha, Nebraska. 0932 hours. Light / Weather: Bright and Brisk beneath Skies of Cornflower Blue. 35F. Very pleasant. Nearest Ocean: Gulf of Mexico off the Atlantic ~ 896 miles due south. Elevation: 1089 feet.I’m going to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo again as I head out of town. The visit yesterday was wonderful. Very light crowds with some mild congestion in the houses. Otherwise the Asian Highlands were just me and four other guests…great exhibit by the way.
A friend living in Iowa met me at the zoo about midway though my visit and they were incredibly tolerant of my “documenting and cataloging” the zoo. They have an annual pass to the zoo and enjoy visiting throughout the year…so….they were cool.
My phone died as we entered Kingdom of the Night. Several dozen species remained to be cataloged. So…I’m back. Will hit the road towards Denver in a couple of hours.
Folks, I’m having a blast.
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Departure: North Platte, Nebraska. 0930. Light / Weather: Another blue sky day with projected highs in the mid-50’s. Currently 30F. Distance to nearest ocean ~ 896 miles southeast to the Gulf of Mexico off the Atlantic. Elevation 2802 feet.
My revisit to the Henry Doorly Zoo prior to departing Omaha ended up lasting most of the day. It was worth it. For a ZooChatter (unless your visit is a specifically targeted recon operation) the Henry Doorly Zoo is a two day event. I think it is (depending on what Denver or Calgary can bring) going to be the most spectacular zoo of the trip. Although North Carolina, Minnesota, and Miami are all nipping at its heels. Punching way above their weight, Gulf Breeze and Homossassa Springs continue to run a solid race.
Henry Doorly though…my word…when the gates opened little children in line cheered.
Although Minnesota Zoo might have been the zoo where I saw the most absolute joy as the young kids interacted with the wolves.
More to come on that.
Returning to the Henry Doorly Zoo added two more indoor exhibits, additional Lions, Bongos, and Tufted Deer. White Rhinoceros and Sloth Bears were confirmed as present. Saw the Giraffes outside in an exhibit large enough for them to run. The Pere David’s Deer and Greater One Horned Rhinoceros were being exhibited together.
Today I’ll reach Denver…at the very least we will make it to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR. Maybe the Natural History Museum. Tomorrow the Denver Zoo. Thanksgiving Day I’ll be in Rapid City. Hopefully the parks are open. Otherwise…
Off we go. Two weeks I’ll be back at work and between now and then…half the distance I intended to travel is still in front of me.
My revisit to the Henry Doorly Zoo prior to departing Omaha ended up lasting most of the day. It was worth it. For a ZooChatter (unless your visit is a specifically targeted recon operation) the Henry Doorly Zoo is a two day event. I think it is (depending on what Denver or Calgary can bring) going to be the most spectacular zoo of the trip. Although North Carolina, Minnesota, and Miami are all nipping at its heels. Punching way above their weight, Gulf Breeze and Homossassa Springs continue to run a solid race.
Henry Doorly though…my word…when the gates opened little children in line cheered.
Although Minnesota Zoo might have been the zoo where I saw the most absolute joy as the young kids interacted with the wolves.
More to come on that.
Returning to the Henry Doorly Zoo added two more indoor exhibits, additional Lions, Bongos, and Tufted Deer. White Rhinoceros and Sloth Bears were confirmed as present. Saw the Giraffes outside in an exhibit large enough for them to run. The Pere David’s Deer and Greater One Horned Rhinoceros were being exhibited together.
Today I’ll reach Denver…at the very least we will make it to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR. Maybe the Natural History Museum. Tomorrow the Denver Zoo. Thanksgiving Day I’ll be in Rapid City. Hopefully the parks are open. Otherwise…
Off we go. Two weeks I’ll be back at work and between now and then…half the distance I intended to travel is still in front of me.
The Rocky Mountain NWR has a black-footed ferret enclosure with indoor viewing apparently. If you don't see a wild BFF, maybe that will be a good substitute.
Yes, I believe they had 2 black footed ferrets when I visited in August. There is also a small nature center with some minor educational exhibits and a taxidermy bison.
