HIPPO, HIPPO, HOORAY... the Dallas Zoo

Only, the Hippos aren't there yet, They're coming soon... But maybe next time?

Woo, the Dallas Zoo! Opened in 1888, it's the oldest and largest Zoo in Texas and even has a Monorail!
Originally the Zoo wasn't even part of our trip to Dallas.. but since we had a few hours to waste before Zero Gravity opened and ended up riding the DART right past the zoo anyways, we stopped in for a quick lap around the place. As if I was going to complain about visiting a zoo... ha! Its actually a decent sized Zoo and had an entire area blocked off during our visit... So new Hippos aside, there would still be much to see for a future trip, yup.

Woo! a new Zoo credit, the Dallas Zoo!

Zoo Map.. and stuff.
The entire area in the top left was blocked off for a private event while Deka and I visited.
(but they were selling tickets at a reduced rate because of it)

LAME!
No Monorail for meeee :(
(They had a couple of power outages with the system with 2 or 3 incidents involving trains stuck on the open beam for hours at a time and needing the local fire department to help in evacuations... Hmmm, sounds familiar)
((Oh yeah, I was the driver during that!))
Oh right.. There are also animals here!

Just inside the gate is a display of Macaw's and stuff...

And some Aldabra Tortoise.

But more importantly... LEMUR ISLAND!
Aww, a Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

Annddd the ever-so-bouncy, Ring-Tailed Lemur
<3 :D :D :D <3

Inside the Herpetarium.

Where we found this...
Finally, an actual albino alligator!

 And a Rhinoceros Iguana

The Lappet-faced Vulture came over to us to say hello.

Aww... a Cougar, er Mountain Lion, or is it a Puma, wait no.. its a Panther?
Meh, all the same...

Quack... quack?!
Maannn, look at this duck!

A mass of Reticulated Giraffe...

And some awesome African Penguin's.. doing their thing.

This... Sassy Cheetah.

Ugh, and some Lorikeets... :/

 Giant Anteater

 :O a Nile Crocodile

This... Kangaroo

A Grant's Zebra, uh, the smallest of Zebra?
Annddd....

 Mira mira mira, elefante, elefante!
(never gets old)

Oh man, Also, I met this GOAT at the petting zoo!

I also noted on the map something listed as "Safari Express Train" but it turned out to be this...
That as required by ALL Zoo's it seems...

Drove around these...
'Giants of the Jurassic'
Yaayyy more fake Dino's and stuff.
(Yeah, we skipped it)

And there is also an Endangered Species Carousel with this rather concerned Gorilla.

Also... While it was closed.. I still took a few photos of the Monorail :)
(that's actually pretty difficult to photograph)

The beam.. and such

And...I believe this is the station for it.

Woo, uh, the Dallas Zoo!
and stuff.

Its a pretty nice place and for sure worth checking out if in the city of Dallas.
(plus... Hippos are coming soon!!!)
((also, I had no idea there was an Aquarium Downtown until I was looking up info on the Zoo to make this post... Oops, next time!))

Lemurs, Gators, & Bears...Oh, Audubon Zoo!

That time we were all in New Orleans, Louisiana... and I made Chelsea, Chris, and Mariah go to the zoo with me so I could see all the animals :D

After a few fun filled days exploring around New Orleans, it was the morning of our final day and I was itching to visit City Park and ride the only operating coaster in New Orleans. The Zoo was also something I wanted to do, but since both things were "my" things, I didn't wanna push the idea on the rest of the group... So I picked City Park over the Zoo because, well, roller coasters... Since our stop at City Park wasn't that long... We still had some extra time before heading back toward Florida, and our lovely ocean front hotel in Panama City Beach. So we ended up visiting the Zoo after all. :D yaayyy!

Woo, the Audubon Zoo!

HIPPO FOUNTAIN!

Just inside the gate is the 'Cool Zoo' a small water park area within the Zoo itself

With a splash fort and a couple of slides... and a giant gator head, replacing the typical tipping bucket.

There is also a small lazy river attraction. Cool Zoo is an extra fee on top of the main entrance fare so we skipped it (plus, we had planned an actual beach day for the following day).

 Gottesman Family Endangered Species Carousel

Sno-Ball!
Our second time encountering them. I got Nectar with Cream, recommended by some local lady in line next to me.

The Zoo is also home to a 44 foot tall ropes course called the Kamba Kourse.
It's also an up-charge, so we skipped it.
Oh right, and there are animals here too!

We started off walking into the Asian Domain area of the Zoo and were greeted by this lovely Amur Leopard, aww

!!!
And this Sun Bear who was the freakin' CUTEST!
He was just sitting up and waving his paws around <3 <3 <3

Whistling Ducks, quack quack?

Caribbean Flamingo, almost hidden behind the restrooms just past the entrance.

One of the boardwalks in the South American Pampas area of the zoo.

This... Macaw
(cawl, caw!)

Mariah's nightmare....
AKA, a boardwalk over a swamp filled with Gator <3

Uh.
This... thing.

Leucistic Gator!
(and just as at Gatorland (and Fun Spot), hes not Albino since he has blue eyes)

Little baby American Alligators

A Nutria... Not Nutella.

This.. Tortoise

A Louisiana Black Bear!!!
I pretty much stood watching him do his thing while the rest of my group got a snack or something. haha
:3 :3 :3 

Black Crowned Night Heron
yup

Shh, Mr. Lazy Raccoon is ready for a nap.

Giraffes's's's doing their thing.

An..uh.. Eland.

<3 Komodo Dragon <3
Clearly, the coolest in the lizard family.

Red River Hog
(oink oink)

A Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur <3
(lemur lemur lee-mur!)

Photo of a Peacock for Deka...

Sir Hiss?

There were also a whole lot of these Giant Live Oak everywhere <3
(and Spanish Moss too)
Annddd....

I MET THIS GOAT!
(at the Watoto Walk petting zoo)
...And because it seems to be a requirement for Zoos and Theme Parks to have them now...
I'll end my post with this...

Audubon's Dinosaur Adventure!

Because modeled Dinosaurs are essential.
(rawr)

So the Audubon Zoo ended up being pretty big. Since I didn't think we would really make it here, I didn't look into it. I had no idea it would have had as many animals as it did or be so nice. They even have a road-tram called the Swamp Train that is a hop on / hop off shuttle to get you around the Zoo. Had we known how much walking we would end up doing, I'm sure we would have gotten the passes for it. haha. But it was for sure worth the stop and I'd love to visit it again if I ever came back to New Orleans.
(just, maybe on a day that was a bit less humid!)
After leaving the Zoo we grabbed a quick lunch (at Popeyes!) and started off on our drive, just short of 5 hours to Panama City Beach. In the early planning of this trip I suggested having a beach day somewhere halfway between NOLA and Orlando for the return trip. A way to try cut the nine hour drive up and also let us have a, well, beach day.
(maybe someday, when I'm not being lazy... I'll toss up a quick post on that too)

Yup