--- A Day at the Zoo ---

I spent a day at the zoo with some friends and family. It's hot here and many of the animals are trying to stay out of the sun. One giraffe was hugging the side of a building trying to stay in the thin shade.

But the most populous exhibit was well represented and visible. Humanity was out in force, and, of course, there are really few better places to observe human nature than the zoo.

Well, but I'm not going there in this blog. You might have noticed that I rarely show pictures of recognizable humans.  They're there and I enjoy watching them and talking to them, but the only time I will include an interaction is when everybody involved has given me the go ahead. And, it's a small world, yes, it is. I could easily get someone in trouble by publishing their image and it would be purely accidental - so I just don't do it.

But I'm pretty sure that the following pictures won't get my subjects into trouble, and there won't be a lot of narrative here. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

                                                              [Pinstripe horses (zebras)]

[Fat polar bear]

[Poison dart frogs]

[Snakes]

[Capybara - this one's not from Georgia]

[Lion fish - wonder if they know the poison frogs]

[Lizards and turtles]

[Tiger]

[Okapi]

[Elephant - he knows he's the center of attraction]

There were zoo staff wondering around that were plum happy to tell you about they're favorite animals, and then there were shows. I couldn't get a good shot of the tapirs (they were trying to stay out of the heat) but a proud zoo staff told us about their many children and where they are. (He sounded like he was one of the parents!)

[Headless monkey - actually, he was just keeping his head down.]

[It's hot here. Rhino knows hot]

[Gorilla - trying to ignore the other primates]

[Grizzly bears]

[Dahl's sheep]

Do you have a zoo close to you? Zoos usually offer more than just a stroll among the animal enclosures. The shows are educational and often tell you about current research in biology. Many zoos double as botanical gardens. And you can always peoplewatch there.

--- Museums ---

2016

Museums are great places to learn.

Just visiting a museum provides opportunities to pick up things you didn't know before - not too good for picking up practical knowledge or skills. but many museums offer classes, workshops and field trips.

I've never lived in an area that didn't have museums. Most of the museums around Valley, Alabama, where I grew up, were in nearby cities like Opelika, Auburn, and Columbus, but the University at Auburn was packed with museums and I see that at least one old closed mill has been turned into a historic museum in Lanett, Alabama (It's called The Cannery).

Most university buildings maintain displays. I used to enjoy walking through the buildings at Auburn University. The art school was practically an art museum itself, hosting exhibits of the works of well known artists and showing the works of students. Between building were places like the Arboretum and the Eagle mascot's aviary.

Large towns are often cultural centers. Denver is loaded with museums and theaters. Within my hiking range is an outdoor art museum and a great paleontology museum. And then there's Dinosaur Ridge which includes two indoor museums and the side of a mountain.

I maintain a family membership with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science which provides exhibits, films, IMax, a planetarium, crowd sourced research  opportunities, classes, workshops, field trips and entertainment. In the neighborhood is also the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Zoo. It's an easy train ride and hike through Capitol Hill (where the Capitol is) with great examples of architecture, from home to the museum.

I went in search of a more convenient path to the large Walmart in my area. The way I had been taking was a full day's hike. My plan was to walk through River Point shopping area to Oxford Station, catch the train to Englewood Station and walk the short distance from there to the Walmart. It was an improvement and the bonus was that my trail lead through the Denver Museum of Outdoor Arts.

This is a strange concept. There is no one building (though there is a central headquarters and indoor museum) and the museum is scattered all over Denver There is a website (http://moaonline.org/) so you can plan a visit. They even have a walking tour brochure that you can download. I went through the Englewood exhibition in December, so the central piece was a Christmas Tree.

I'll be utilizing the museums of Denver in future blogs and I'll be remembering museums of my past.