Niabi Zoo from A to Z

Today, we took Eli to visit the zoo for his first time.  He loved taking in all the sights.  His favorite part seemed to be the petting zoo since the animals were up close and at his level.  He also enjoyed the train ride.  Here are the highlights of our trip from A to Z:

This area featured lots of animals native to Australia from kangaroos to different species of birds.

Speaking of birds, the zoo had a lot of noisy ones in their aviary.

Check out this camel who appears to be posing for the camera.

Dad and Eli on the train

(End of the ride)

(I love his little hand hanging on to the back of the seat.)

An eagle (from the backside) and an example of an eagle's nest below:

False alarm...At first, I thought this would be the only picture I would be able to get of an elephant...

...until they decided to mosey outside.

The giraffes were inside.  Along with the elephants, these were probably my favorite animals to see.

Although he got cut off from the picture, this hippo served as a good prop.

Ironic...While at the PETTING zoo, we came across this pig with a sign that read, "This animal may bite."

Just hanging out...

Kangaroo

Lazy lions

Mischievous monkeys

Niabi Zoo Entrance

Ostrich

Petting Zoo...Eli's favorite part!

A quirky type of sheep that apparently likes to climb...

Reptile House

Snakes!

The train ride, which gave us a tour of the entire zoo...Eli's other favorite part of the day.

Most unique animal of the day

Vegetables...getting eaten by a porcupine

W is for weather, which was perfect!  Temperatures in the high 70s/low 80s, cloudy and overcast without the intense sun, and low humidity.  

X-tra special little boy who we had a lot of fun with today:)

Y is for yawns, which there were a lot of on the way home, and it didn't take long for Eli to fall asleep for a nice nap.

An alphabetical zoo list would not be complete without Z for zebra.

The Mines of Spain

On Sunday, we went to Dubuque to have our family pictures taken.  I was searching online for photographers in the area, and I came across one that I really liked:  www.orangeanchorphotography.com.  

Just by browsing the website, I was very impressed with the quality of the pictures; the vibrancy and clarity of the images were unmatched, so I decided to book an appointment.

The photographer had suggested doing the session at the Mines of Spain, which we had never been to, but we enjoyed the location.  It was a HUGE park with lots of trails and areas to explore, but we did not stay too long after the photo session since it was getting hot and humid very fast. There were lots of interesting tidbits of information at the park about the history of the city and its landmarks.  We came across the resting place of Julien Dubuque:

 

 Checking out the view

The mini trip must have worn Eli out:

Sneak peek of our family photo session: