That Buffalo scared me to death. He suddenly appeared right where I was sitting and stuck his head right in my face trying to get the food bowl I was holding! He grabbed the bowl out of the hands of the lady across from me and took off with it lol. The ostriches stuck their entire head and neck in the trams and were just going nuts in the food bowls. We were like little kids! All of the animals were so friendly and well treated and fed. We met the man who owns the zoo he took a picture with us. He said he hasn't been around that many women in years!

They just had a new baby giraffe born 2 days ago! We did not get a chance to see it they had it in the barn.

What a good day you had!! Glad you got to get away and fully enjoy yourself. Then the icing on the cake was meeting up with Marilyn C.

Great idea for your club trip! What a treat to have Marilyn join you all.

Is a buffalo the same as a bison? There's a growing herd of bison on a new reservation in Illinois where volunteers are working to remove non-native plants and reestablish a bit of the Grand Prairie that once covered the Plains.

WOW! What a cool day trip! That's my kind of FUN! Hi Marilyn!

That sounds just spectacular, especially spending time with marilyn!

They were labeled as Bison /Buffalo but in reality they are actually Bison, they have been called Buffalo for so long that name is used interchangeably

They were huge! They also had several Beefalo, mix of beef and Buffalo/Bison.

What a great day you had!!

That sounds like a wonderful day!

Oh what a fun trip that had to be and getting to meet with Marilyn C would really be wonderful. I've been to one wildlife place where you rode around and the animals would stick their heads inside the open-windowed van to get fed or petted. I loved it.

Wow, I would have loved that !! Glad u took lots of pictures too.

I'm glad you had fun and how awesome to see Marilyn. I love the zoo. I'm about an hour from the Pittsburgh zoo. We found once we pay for the 5 of us to get in we can buy a family pass for 15 dollars more which allows us and up to 7 grandchildren (its a grandparents pass) in as many times as we want for one year. They are open year round. its really a great deal. We pack a cooler with food and drinks and have a wonderful time every time we go. The boys enjoy it way more than the amusement parks, Thank God.

That sounds like so much fun Raven. And icing on the cake getting to meet up with Marilyn C. I'm glad you had good weather and a good time.

Raven I love the pics you posted, but I'm greedy and wish you had one of you and Marilyn also.

Raven - love the pictures especially the one where you are being chased! What a special day you had, and you got to see Marilyn, too. How nice is that?

BTW how was the food?

Mamapinky, I was thinking the same thing. Would love to see both of you at the zoo.

What a fun day you had!

It looks like the animals are in a very nice facility with plenty of room to move around. I remember what zoos were like when I was a kid and the animals were in tiny cages with bars and not much room to do anything. Zoos sure have changed since then.

Awesome that Marilyn C was able to meet you for lunch - that must have made a special day even more special!

We were too busy eating and laughing and listening to the animal stories. The food was fantastic. We ate at a place called Kelly's, it's a home style cooking restaurant. I had the jumbo shrimp and fish combo which was very good. Marilyn showed pictures of Val. He is excellent!

Oh y'all would have had a great time. We had 20 people total the bus driver was so nice. He had been to the zoo several times so he was very informative.

The animals have total freedom and are intermingled. Very few were isolated. One male ostrich they said is more aggressive so he has his own space. The ring tail lemurs have big houses up in the trees with a pond around them to keep them in their area.

Pee Wee the Rhino.

I am soo jealous, I love that kind of "zoo safari" and I have always wanted to meet Marilyn face to face! Glad you all had a good time! Dances.

What a wonderful way to use up a day! I am envious. And, you got to meet Marilyn and she you. You both are blessed!

Marilyn and I have met several times in the past. It should happen more often but we live in opposite ends of Houston area. She is down South and I am up north. I knew we were going to be in her neck of the woods. She goes to the feed store in the same town. So this location made it easy on both of us. I am glad she was able to get away from the baby squirrels and possums she is currently fostering. Marilyn is a friend and it's a great pleasure to spend time with her.

What a fun trip! Thanks for all the photos!

Raven - Haven't heard from Marilyn lately. You didn't wear her out, did you? Just kidding.............

Sounds like a wonderful time, you needed that and the bonus was Marilyn.

Oh I don't know if Marilyn ever gets worn out, she is always working! She was off to the feed store yesterday.

It was so good to see you again, Raven, and thank you all for the kind words. I couldn't be away long enough to go to the zoo. I have some babies I have to feed about every four hours. I live about 15 miles from Alvin, Raven, and I go to the feed store almost every day. I really enjoyed having lunch with your garden club group.

Back at ya girl! I'm really wanting to take a trip to the Galveston area one weekend soon, even if we just go park on the beach for a few hours and go get lunch. If we do I will let you know! Thanks for meeting up. The ladies want you to join, I said well if she lived closer that might be a possibility but I think we are going to just hope she can meet us sometime. We usually go to Maas nursery and Kemah too which is closer to you.

We really enjoyed the experience.

My husband ties his boat up right across the creek from Landry's. So that is Seabrook, but Kemah and Seabrook are just separated by that little channel of water, which is technically Clear Creek.

What a wonderful day you and your group had, Raven! Thank you for sharing it with us. Looks like you did a great job of getting it all together, too. I love your pictures, especially the zebra. He almost looks like he was painted. I never realized their stripes are so definite, doesn't look like there is a hazy edge anywhere on him. All the pictures you posted are great, so sharp and clear, but that zebra really caught my eye. It's been probably around 45 years since I last visited a zoo, I would love to see one like this, where the animals have lots of space.

Glad Marilyn was able to join y'all, too. Wouldn't it be great if she inspired some of your group to get involved with animals that need help?

Rusty

Sounds similar to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park, SW of Ft. Worth, TX. Highly recommend, they even have overnight accommodations including a cute Lodge and the Foothills Safari Camp (tents w/ beds & indoor plumbing incl. shower) located inside Fossil Rim. The camp has a 2-acre fenced enclosure overlooking a popular wildlife watering holes where an ever-changing variety of animals can be observed.

http://fossilrim.org/

Rusty, I know at least one of the women who sat at our table did a lot to help animals....cats and also wildlife by making her yard a wildlife sanctuary. We had quite a conversation about spiders and snakes. I would like to inspire myself to quit. That is why I am wide awake at nearly 2 a.m. after waking up to feed babies and now unable to go back to sleep. I will pay for this tomorrow!!

Yes that's Carole. She does a lot with animal rescue. She helped get some of the feral cats taken to the clinic to be fixed and released or found homes for them.

We have a lot of good people in the neighborhood that are often helping to find the owner of a loose dog. Our nextdoor forum has more posts about helping out animals than anything else. Nextdoor has become a major resource for helping reunite pets and owners.