Neither of my folks liked crowds. Long lines, throngs of folks – count them out. I’ve never been sure why I can take lots of folks but whatever propensity I have, it has been handed down to YA.
The two busiest days at the Minnesota Zoo are always the last Saturday and Sunday of their very popular Farm Babies program. They have all kinds of activities and music out at The Farm and there are always plenty of babies; this year baby cows, llamas, goats, lambs and piglets. YA and I had other things going on for the first four weekends so it was this past weekend or no Farm Babies program until next year. We’ve been to the last weekend of Farm Babies before but it was even more crowded than we remember.
Of course, almost everybody was a young family with kids (and those proverbial strollers – I promise I’m not whining about strollers, despite the photo above). It was, however, truly amazing to see the number of strollers, especially when they were “parked” in several locations. Wow!
YA and I have different modus operandi at the zoo. She will walk at my pace but doesn’t always stay right at my side if I dilly dally. I am more than able to stand and watch a moose do basically nothing for 10 minutes but if I do this, sometimes YA will wander off to see something else. Conversely, she can pet a baby cow forever. On Saturday, there was a restaurant chain sponsoring a scavenger hunt. There were three stations that you had to find and have you little map stamped. I thought it was a hoot but YA didn’t want to play (this was when she went off to pet that baby cow).
One of the projects in the Activity Barn was making homes for mason bees who apparently are solitary bees that don’t live in hives. I thought this was very interesting and I let the volunteer tell me everything. When I was done there, I found YA petting goats. The one time we were perfectly synced was when we got hungry for lunch!
Toward the end of our day we stopped at the Service Desk – I wanted to ask when Llama Trek was going to open and to find out if the snow monkeys (whose exhibit is being re-vamped right now) were still here in Minnesota or if they were hanging out at a different zoo until their habitat is finished. The guy behind the desk was talkative and I’m not even sure how we got from the snow monkey habitat discussion to the Kodiak bear who broke the window at the zoo several years back. Or how the zoo has multiple possible plans for adding new bears now that there is only one left.
As we were leaving YA said “I didn’t think he was ever going to stop talking.” I laughed and said “I could have stayed and listened to him talk about the zoo all day.”
I guess it’s different strokes for different folks. But neither of us were bothered by the big crowds!
When was the last time you visited a zoo? Any favorite zoos? Zoo animals?
Trail Baboon 
Last trip I took to the zoo was November 2023 to the National Zoo to see the pandas before they returned to China and to meet the girlfriend.
Highly recommend!!! We are all animal lovers and seemed to share pacing, which I have taken as a good sign.
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i took the grand boys a month ago when ari had a day off school so the three kids their mom and i went to a glorious day at the zoo. the klinker was that mom invited another kid whose mother has some challenges and we were helping out. this kid was high maintenance, so daughter invited another mom and son to join us and while i like this mom it kind of turned into an event i was a facilitator at instead of a participant in. the extra mom had us going through the buildings to the minnesota trail, the inner sweaty area where the komoto dragon was before his demise, the pool had a performing sea lion show that was 12 minutes long with a big one and a small one and with all the destination based plans my favorite memories was of one area where the kids got to wander off along trails by a lake and climb hills and go on big slides and my job was to confirm that eyeballs were on them as they did whatever they did.
i like como for the flower break in the middle of the tour. maybe captive animals arent my thing. sorry bored critters in little areas makes me sad. i saw a thing on tippy hedron a couple years ago where she has an elephant rescue place and maybe big cats too. i hate the captivity but once youve altered a critters life to the point they cant go back giving them comfort until the end seems like a kind offering.
when i go to como i look at the cages by the spot where sparky the seal used to do his show and remember when the lions and tigers had an 8×12 cage to walk around in circles in hot sweaty room with water dishes full of straw. very pathetic.
i guess im not a zoo enthusiast.
is it a vonnegut book where the guy gets shipped off to foreign plant and observed in his cage as a critter of interest?
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Renee, LuVerne have any damage?
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No, just a very welcome inch of rain. Some wind, but no damage. The tornado clouds started east of town near Magnolia, and travelled toward Adrian.
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After having seen wildlife in 6 African National Parks, a couple of South American countries, the Galapagos Islands, and the penguins & sea lions in Antarctica, I have a hard time viewing animals in enclosures at zoos. I did enjoy walking the elevated trail at the MN Zoo once. The baby animals would have been cute but no thanks to the crowds. The one zoo I would love to visit is the San Diego Zoo.
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I am embarrassed to say I have not been to the Minnesota Zoo. Son Joel got to go with a friend, so the thing that would have gotten me there (making sure he saw it) evaporated. I do like the idea of less captivity for the animals that it is known for.
I have been to the San Francisco Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo when Husband had a conference there (1995?), which might have been the last zoo I visited. I wish I could remember some detail…
I like the little baby animal events that pop up occasionally, and VS, where is that place that you and YA visit every year; you’ve written about it before… sounds like I would like that.
The Minn. Zoo does sound like a perfect setting for your difference modes of existing!
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YA and I do a lot of animal things but my guess is that you’re thinking of Fawn-Doe-Rosa in St. Croix Falls. We do definitely do that every summer.
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THAT is a lot of strollers!
I was at the MN zoo years ago as chaperon for daughter. She only likes the otters, the rest she could have cared less about.
A few years ago we were in DC and went to the National Zoo. Got an Uber, realized it was just a few blocks from the hotel, so when done, figured we could walk back. Walked a mile in the wrong direction trying to find an exit. Called Uber to pick us up on some side street. I think we crawled through a hedge to get there.
We’ve been to several aquariums and still, it’s only the playful otters that interest her.
Near Rochester is the Oxbow Park zoo. It’s pretty small, but still fun to visit.
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If you’re going to choose only one animal to enthuse about, I’d say otters are pretty good.
Saw one on the Mississippi a couple of years ago, still pretty pleased about that.
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I’m not a big fan of zoos. I think the last time I was at MN Zoo was before covid when they were doing concerts in the amphitheater. I saw the Be Good Tanyas there, as well as I’m With Her. Nice place to listen to music. I’ve only been to Como a few times since I was a kid. The only place I’ve visited as an adult is the conservatory.
I’ve seen lots of baby calves, goats, pigs, foals, ducklings, chicks, birds, frogs, and toads. It’s fun to let the calves suck on your fingers.
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Ooh, you remind me that I did get to the zoo’s Amphitheater – saw Taj Mahal along with Mavis Staples, if memory serves!
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He sang Fishin’ Blues that night…
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Daughter and Grandson live close to the MN Zoo, so I’ve visited there several times over the last few years. I also had a “team day” for work there a couple of years ago. I haven’t been to a lot of zoos, but the MN Zoo is one of the nicer ones.
Decades ago (early 80s) Husband and I went to the National Zoo to see the pandas. It was also really nice. Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is more of a traditional zoo, with less space for animals to wander, but it’s still pleasant to stroll around.
My favorite “zoo” is probably Animal Kingdom at Disney World. They do a good job of giving the animals space. I could watch the gorillas all day.
I have mixed feelings about zoos. I love animals and zoos give people a chance to see animals they’d never be able to see in their native habitat. Many zoos do important work educating the public and advocating for endangered species and habitats, but it’s sad to think of the animals living in captivity so far from their natural homes.
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Better Late Than Never, Baboons,
I will do a crowd if it is something I am interested in enough to do the thing. The State Fair would be an example. I have been to a number of zoos, but I would usually attend a zoo in off hours. My feelings about zoos are similar to those expressed already. As a tiny child I was at the Omaha Zoo and Chicago Zoo. Later San Diego, Minnesota, Como, etc. They make me kind of sad, though.
It has been a day here. Our tree guy was here with a really big crane to remove the trunk of the maple tree that fell down in the State Fair storm of 2024. Because the tree was on a steep, short slope, between our house and our neighbor’s house; and because our neighbor built his fence touching the tree despite our asking him not to do so, the tree trunk had to be removed by lifting it straight up. This tree guy (Bakkelund Tree Service, Cologne, MN) was so capable that he got this accomplished! The forecast of rain nearly had me undone, though. We waited a long time to get access to this service. It could not rain. It was misting when they started but he got it done without the tree crashing into anything. Phew.
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Saw the Mavericks at the Minnesota Zoo in 2015. One of my friends went up to the stage after the show and had her picture taken with Raul Malo. It was a very warm humid night, but that didn’t stop the band from dancin’ the night away.
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