Roger Williams Zoo – Providence Rhode Island

It’s been a while since I went to a zoo, so why not try this cute little one practically off season? I remember wanting to go here a few years ago to see some weird small animal I’ve never heard of but for the life of me I don’t remember what it was and seeing the critters did not jog my memory.

The Roger Williams Zoo is oddly located with a weird byzantine parking lot and no clear direction where the zoo is from said parking lot, which I guess wouldn’t be a problem if we went in the summer and could follow the crowds but alas no, when we showed up we weren’t even sure the place was open. The sign seemed to imply they weren’t but there was a greeter and a ticket master who insisted otherwise.

This zoo was fairly decently sized and had more character than most. Most zoos are basically big cats and elephants but this place seemed to be focusing more on the little guys. We got to see an assortment of birds from around the globe I’d never even heard of before, a very sleepy red panda, and even a pen full of cracked-out armadillos. I say cracked-out because those little buggars were running laps through their pen going maybe 30 miles an hour without stopping to breathe. I’d always wanted to see an armadillo and suspect I may have once during my travels down south when a mysterious grey blur shot across the road at lightning speed. This time though I got to see them up close and wow…. they’re funky little things! Like armored possums with endless energy.

Other favorites were the red pandas who slept lazily, a VERY cute gibbon, two monkeys with entwined tails in the cold, a Komodo dragon, and a three-legged serval who peered intently out of his room into his enclosure as the keepers cleaned his pen. I was sad however that there were no anteaters or otters as promised. I’m guessing it’s too cold for them at this point in the year. There was however loose Golden Tamaran Monkeys in the rainforest enclosure which we could walk right into. It was however hot, humid, and a little stanky in there but I don’t think there was any way around that. It looked clean and the rest of the zoo smelled fine.

Because it was October we got to see a little bit of their parade of pumpkins, a Jack-O-lantern filled part of the zoo that opened up and sold separate tickets at night. And the perimeter was also decorated with skeletons and gravestones and was generally very cute. We didn’t stick around to see all the Jack O’Lanterns at night but it was an amusing side for anyone who might be interested in a family friendly little walk.

All and all it was a cute little zoo and I would recommend it to anyone in the area, though I am not sure how far I’d recommend travel to see it considering its relatively small size. Good for little kids though, less acreage to walk! I would not recommend it to anyone looking to see big cats as there were no lions or tigers, just cheetahs, a three-legged serval, and a VERY camouflaged snow leopard.

October 20, 2024 0

Benson Animal Farm [Abandoned Zoo Turned Park] Hudson NH

The weather was perfect today, sunny but not too hot, and I was getting itchy feet to go somewhere so I decided on Benson Park which was once a popular zoo that closed, I think in the 1980’s, and then rotted for a good long time before the town decided to make it into a lovely park. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’d been promised I could play in empty zoo enclosures so I was in.

I have been to plenty of roadside zoos and I figured that’s what this would be… I figured it’d be some rotted fencing jutting out of an embankment in the woods somewhere but actually it’s smack dab in the middle of civilization and has a huge parking lot to boot. Upon entering I noticed three things: A nursing home, not affiliated but still right there, a dog park in what was probably a zoo cage at one point, and a TON of kids playing on brand new playground equipment. So this old zoo somehow became a place to house old people, dogs, and children. Seemed odd but oddly fitting…

I wandered where I pleased. Although there were trails here with names they were insanely poorly marked, and by that I mean pretty much not marked at all except for one wooded section that might make city dwellers think they’d die if they wandered off too far… That was the best though, as it was in the far corner and super quiet. The vegetation had grown so out of control it grew around and over the paths making this sort of whimsical lush green tunnel. Swamp lands abounded, as did vague signs about being on the moose path. I had a weird moment of realization that this once could have been the home of tigers and wildebeest, things that should have never lived in this part of the world, things that could easily kill. Were their ghosts still lingering?

There wasn’t much left to the old zoo but the buildings that remained were under reconstruction. I got to walk up to an idle ticket booth, an “elephant house” turned gift store, some sort of cage I am hoping the elephant didn’t live in, and another very depressing wrought iron prison used for the gorilla. Apparently they had one silver back gorilla, living in solitary isolation in a cage I would find the appropriate size for a small flock of chickens. That is where I left off and the place made me feel SAD. I could just imagine the poor beast pacing the tiny concrete floor in his own Victorian Hell. Say what you will about zoos – at least the ones these days aren’t that damn depressing!

As an added bonus I got to spend some time with some really tame Canadian geese and their awkward and ugly little goslings, almost as big as their parents but still sporting little tufts of fuzz. This was delightful surprise and made me ache to be back living on a free range farm. It reminded me what a peaceful and fulfilling experience it is to live among the animals. It has once again solidified my determination to make this a reality in the future. Sigh, someday!

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June 22, 2017 0

San Diego Zoo – California

Since we had gone to one of the country’s best aquariums I thought I should go to one of its best zoos. I ended up at the San Diego Zoo. It was already 1PM. I had read somewhere it closed at 9PM so we were good. We parked and went in. It was $40 admission, per person, to get into this place so it better be good!

The place was absolutely clogged with children and strollers. I have to wonder why parents with children young enough to be in strollers, and no older children, would even bother bringing them to the zoo. They’re not going to remember it! But anyways, I was off to see the reptiles and the bugs first because it’s just rude not to remember the little guys. I was rewarded by seeing a number of baby Komodo dragons. They had lots of cute little lizards, even a gila monster, who may or may not have been venomous – several signs nearby contradicted each other on the subject.

Most of the reptiles I’d already seen at that pet store in Houston… The bug house was next. They had cockroaches, a disturbing amount of assassin bugs, I imagine with most unemployed, a windowed bee hive, and some diving beetles, nothing fantastic. I was only impressed by their leaf cutter ant colony. You could see them finding their leaves, cutting them up, dragging them underground, chewing them up into pulp, and growing fungus with them to eat. It was neat. One wonders where you even get such a large leaf cutter ant colony, complete with every type of occupational ant, meaning there must have been a queen in there somewhere… perhaps the one wearing a feather boa.

After a brief hello to the amphibians I was finally off to see something with warm blood. To the mammals!

One of the first things I saw was a fossa, an animal so weird that I was probably the only non-zookeeper to know what the hell it was. It was sleeping on a branch, its lovely chocolate paw pads dangling in mid air. I was thrilled. I was even more thrilled to be on my way to see the tapirs. I’d wanted to see them when I was twelve at the National Zoo. I walked five miles around the park and came to their exhibit almost last only to find they’d been loaned out to another zoo for the summer. It was time to make up for that! And boy did I! They had the biggest tapir there, just wiggling its weird nose and sitting there in the sun. He was so cute and weird! Later on I’d see another tapir laying against the plexiglass, literally an inch away from me. It was awesome. I would have been happy with just these but they also had okapis, animals I’d never heard of (and that’s amazing as I know a LOT of obscure animals) all the usual crowd pullers, and monkeys galore. There were monkeys everywhere. I could care less. I’ve seen enough of the buggars, though I did like their ring tailed lemur male who was running around his cage anxiously meowing, yeah, I said meowing. Apparently they meow like wee kittens. It was adorable.

I passed by an Asian Leopard Cat enclosure and man, now I know why my Bengal cat (a house cat Asian leopard cat hybrid) smells so bad. That exhibit alone smelled worse than the whole zoo combined. After this I met a pissy mongoose. Now mongeese eat cobras for breakfast, they’re not an animal you want to be on the wrong side of. This one noted the camera was right against the bars of its cage and it charged, hissing violently and baring its teeth. It nearly grabbed the lens cap with its paws. It was a quick little beastie!

I was really hungry so I decided to get something to eat before checking out the last leg of the zoo. Though it was supper time all the little cafes were closed or closing. Annoyed I left to check out the walk-through aviary, the big one, as I’d already been through the hummingbird aviary and the budgie aviary. It was very neat and had all sorts of African pigeons and weird birds. Then a keeper showed up and told us she was supposed to lock up half an hour ago and I shouldn’t be here. So I left… and when I reached the main paths I realized the whole zoo was empty. A single gorilla watched me, obviously having waited to go indoors he probably was watching me thinking, “Every day there is at least one group of these fools.” It was creepy, like something out of a horror movie, no one was anywhere. When I got closer to the exit I started seeing more weary travelers, all with similar expressions. I found the Jeep really easy after this! It was sitting cold and lonely in the parking lot wondering where on earth I’d went to.

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June 6, 2011 0

The Baltimore Aquarium – Maryland

I was told that the Baltimore Aquarium was a pretty good aquarium and although I’ve seen a lot of salt water fish at salt water stores and other aquariums I decided to go and check it out. The place was pretty infested with children of all ages – none listening to a damn thing their chaperones were saying. I expected this and am somewhat used to it, although I’m not much fonder of the little squirts.

The first thing I came across was an enormous tank which I could stand over at many points. It was devoid of plant and coral but absolutely filled with all sorts of rays, a three-legged sea turtle, a zebra shark, a guitar fish, and some other interesting things. I tried to take photos with my camera but it told me, “In this lighting?! Are you kidding me?!”

As I wandered away from the tank I walked into a hallway filled with fresh water fish, brackish fish, salt water fish, and ocean fish. These things looked familiar and unimpressive and I figured the rest of the aquarium would be the same. I was happily surprised to find tanks filled with almost all the familiar salt water hobbyist favorites (except a Moorish idol!) as well as weird things. We came across a number of fish that weren’t immediately identifiable. As usual the big boney fish freaked me right out and at first I didn’t want to go anywhere near them! But I forced myself… as I often do with things I’m afraid of. Some of the little tanks had real corals, unlike the plastic corals you saw in some of the larger tanks.

I got to see my first nautiluses! But they were in a tank with no flash photography and we just couldn’t get them… we also saw a fairly big octopus, a tank full of lion fish, some shrimp, and then we started getting into the different kinds of habitats. We walked into a rain forest exhibit and took all sorts of photos of the adorable poison dart frogs and a snake or two. They also had a rainforest room filled with plants you could walk through. I must admit it kinda smelled in there… but there was a pair of shy juvenile monkeys, a pair of Amazon parrots, some cute turtles, and a tarantula. Eventually I found my way to the giant winding shark tank. There were all sorts of sharks including two huge saw fish I couldn’t get a photo of because they were too close to the glass. Most were active and swimming around and like the rest of the aquarium they were being fed. I think I came at just the right time for this. I think my heart pitter-pattered when I spotted the baby hammerhead! It was just the cutest little fishy! Hammerhead sharks tan when they are in the sun which turns them from gray to black. This little guy was in the dark with no light at all and was just as pallid as I was – faux albino buddies! Forever!

I then wandered into the dolphin area. They were working with their trainers but there was no show due to the recent birth of a wee one (we didn’t see him or her.)

In the end I got to see a bunch of jelly fish tanks. They were eerily beautiful. I have been always a bit skittish of jellyfish… they also creep me out… but I was transfixed to these guys. Some of them looked like moving mushrooms. Others they put the light at the bottom of their tank so they’d swim against the floor and show their little tenticled backsides.

Did I forget to mention I saw some of the biggest, fattest, most bloated colorful starfish I have ever seen? They were absolutely grotesque!
I left having seen not only the best aquarium I have ever been to but also seeing the last surviving rescue ship to serve at Pearl Harbor. It was parked out front.

***I apologize for any missing photos and galleries as I continue to work getting Catching Marbles fully migrated to a new host. Please come back soon for restored photos and thank you for your patience!***

If you are enjoying Catching Marbles please consider adding a dollar or two to my limited gas money fund so I can continue going on adventures and sharing them with you! Thank you!

May 18, 2011 0

And so it Begins!

Ever since I was a tween I dreamed about going across the entire United States and soaking in everything it had to offer. I had grown up in a bubble – and as nice as that bubble was I wanted to know what else was out there besides the trees and stone walls of New Hampshire. Was it really like visiting another planet out West? Where the people the same all over? Was there anything that united this society besides the idea of country? As much as I longed to know the answer I kept my dreams to myself until at the age of 25 an opportunity arose and I figured it’s now or never.

Suddenly my freakish encyclopedic knowledge was actually useful! I picked lots of destinations – everything I had ever wanted to see from the geysers of Yellowstone, to the fossils of Butte National Monument, to the charismatic Robert the Doll in Key West. I was going to do it all.

A map was procured, one of those big pastel maps of the United States you see hanging in history and geography classes in every public school. Pins were stuck into desirable destinations like some sort of 2-D voodoo doll and then the waiting… the ungodly anxious waiting as the weather slowly creaked from one bone frigid season to something a little more livable. It begins!

If you are enjoying Catching Marbles please consider adding a dollar or two to my limited gas money fund so I can continue going on adventures and sharing them with you! Thank you!

May 16, 2011 0