Lions, Tigers, and Bears ... Oh, My

Day 105  |  Racine

We left Crossroads early to get a jump on the predicted hot and humid day. We walked along a deserted Main Street and examined some of the interesting architectural features. After an easy two-mile walk, we arrived at the 28-acre Racine Zoo, which is bounded on the east side by Lake Michigan.

We hoped to catch the animals enjoying the morning, and before they retreated to the shade as temperatures rose. For the most part, we saw everything. The West Caucasian Tur kept an eye on all the action from high atop his mountain. The bears were in their den so this statue was the only one we truly saw. The Red Tail Hawk and the Eastern Black Rhinocerous each seemed oblivious to our presence.

Two Masai Giraffes were on display, eating leaves from across the fence. Two zebras were in feisty moods and aggravated each other before retreating to separate corners. The Amur Tiger had hit the snooze button and was quite content to sleep a bit longer in the warm sunshine.

We made it to the Transvaal Lion exhibit at the perfect time. Two workers had just finished placing piles of meat around the habitat, in much the same manner as Easter eggs are "hidden." The two lionesses were released and sprung down in search of breakfast. Once the ladies had cleaned up all the meat, Aslan (the male) was released. He ambled across the habitat and settled into his spot in the shade.

The others walked around and posed for a few cool close-ups. From the lions we passed by the Slender Tailed Meerkats. One served as a sentry as the others slept.

One of my favorite shots of the day was of the Orangutan as he swung around a complex setup of ropes. As we worked our way back to the main gate, we stopped and watched the South African Penguins for a while. There were many other animals - mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds -- plus a petting zoo. We enjoyed our visit here. On the way back to the marina we walked along the Root River. The Main Street Drawbridge opened to allow a sailboat passage to Lake Michigan. The Racine Breakwater Lighthouse was bright at the entrance to the Lake.

The marina was busy with folks and boats. There were docktail parties and boats coming and going. There was a grand exhibit on how not to dock a boat that had everyone on the other side of our dock scrambling to assess fiberglass damage to four boats. A band performed for three hours at the end of our dock and I listened to them form Fiberglass Beach while reading and napping.

We will explore the South side of Racine tomorrow and prepare to depart bright and early Tuesday morning for Chicago. We're anxious to get moving again.