Wild Winter Weekend

February 20, 2011

Today's adventure started out with a minor snafu. I won't get into the details, but let's just say that a new Wii can make you forget a lot of stuff, including when your Big is coming to pick you up. :) When we finally got on our way, I thought we would stop for lunch at Peg’s Glorified Ham & Eggs (the best breakfast in Reno). We quickly found out that the new location, which opened right down the street from L's house, is as popular as the other two. We decided not to wait and went next door for a sandwich at Port’o Subs. Lunch was basically uneventful--sandwiches, chips, drinks, cookies, the usual for a deli lunch. During lunch, however, L said out of the blue, “I’m so lucky.” “Oh yeah,” I said. “Why is that?” “Because I have you.” Awwww, how sweet is that!?!? I told her I was lucky to have her too and I'm glad that we were out together.

After lunch we headed to the Wild Winter Weekend at Animal Ark. We listened to Justin Bieber the entire way (a 40 minute drive, mind you). I should back up for a moment and tell you that she asked if she could bring her Bieber CD with her to listen to in the car and I agreed. Animal Ark is typically closed during the winter, but they opened for one weekend this winter to show off the animal’s winter coats and let visitors see the wildlife sanctuary in the snow. It was very muddy because of the snowstorms we got a couple of days prior, but the place looked beautiful covered in snow. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, but it was a chilly 28-30°F. We bundled up, paid our admission, got our map, and off we went. L held the map and directed us to each of the different trails and enclosures. Each time I see her I’m so impressed at how smart she is. She’s 8 and can read a map!!!

Because it was wintertime, the bears and tortoises were hibernating, but there were some amazing animals out and about for us to see. Mountain lion, kit fox, and red fox; Arctic fox and gray wolf (in their white winter coats), Canada lynx, bobcats, barn owl, great horned owl--and that's not all--the list goes on and on.

Arctic Fox

Canada Lynx

Kit Fox

I think L liked splashing in the mud along the trails as much as seeing the animals, well...maybe more, who am I kidding, she’s 8, but she did think the animals were pretty cool. She told me so herself, uh, I think.

Checking out the bunny tracks in the snow on the other side of the fence.

All of the animal's names were on their enclosures, so she wrote some of their names down on the map as we went along. At the end, she filled in the names she missed with some help from one of the volunteers in the gift shop. We were serenaded by Justin Bieber all the way home as she referred to her map and tested me on the names of all of the animals. I needed a lot of hints, but I think I passed, just barely.