I finally did the zoo

For years I’ve been told to “Do the Zoo” by countless television commercials. Well, after living in Iowa for seven years I finally caved and went to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. I was amazed that it only cost $11 to get in — a relative bargain these days. The zoo is a small one in comparison to other big city zoos, but I still think I got my money’s worth. I liked the giraffe exhibit which gets you eye-level with the animals. Construction on future exhibits got in the way of a smooth walk through the cats exhibit — we got to the end then had a backtrack. The lions appeared not in the mood to do much of anything as they just laid on the rocks. Our 2 year old did enjoy the zoo train ride which is also a bargain at $2.25 for adults and free for children 2 and under. Overall, I was pleased with our day at the zoo and it was a nice outing for a couple of hours. I also appreciated plenty of shade from the trees on a day which saw near triple digits in temperature.