Just another weekend

Saturday was a very busy day for us! It was a beautiful day (high around 75, light breeze, very sunny) so I convinced Abe to take Cole to the zoo. Here in Prescott there is a zoo, containing no more than 20 exhibits, most of which are animals we see on a weekly basis at home, but its a zoo all the same. The best part is if you get there right around opening, you get to watch the keepers feed all the animals their breakfasts. Here is Abe and Cole watching the lemurs be fed (this is one of the few non-local exhibits). Cole was getting a kick out of the lemurs jumping all over the cage and swatting at each other to keep away from their share of the meal.
Here is another somewhat non-local exhibit. I say somewhat because we know there are bears around this area, just not where we see them. Now understand that we were literally two feet from this 8 foot tall bear scratching himself on the fence. You don't get to see that everyday!

This was after his scratching session. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I am more terrified of this guy than the tiger!

The very best part about this zoo (besides being able to be ridiculously close to the animals), is that it is so small Cole is able to walk the entire zoo by himself! He is such the little explorer!

Here is the zoo's crowning glory- the tiger. She was being pretty grumpy because she was hungry, but if you talk and/or growl at her, she responds! Again, never been this close to a tiger before! (Getting to be so close to the bear and the tiger alone makes the $8 admission fee worth it!- especially growing up going to the Phoenix Zoo and being lucky to even see the animals, let alone so up close!)

They also have a little playground, so Cole had to get in on that action! He wasn't too sure about it though, with the sun out the slide was a little warm. This was actually the extent of his playground romping.

Okay, I had to add this picture because this is a Mexican Gray Wolf. They supposedly have these at the Phoenix Zoo, too. However, in the 20+ years I've been going to Phoenix, I don't think I've ever seen them! I always look, and they are never around. Here, they had several that were running along the fence and looked as if they just wanted to play. They are small for wolves (I think, since I really only have Alaskan wolves to compare them to), not being much bigger than a Husky. It was kind of cool to finally get to see what these things look like.

After the zoo, we decided to go in search of our beef ranchers. A few weeks ago we learned of a nearby ranch that sells organic, free-range beef raised right up the road. The price is reasonable, and they offer several different purchase options (15 lb, 35 lb, 75 lb, half and whole cow). We had seen them at a farmers market at the mall, and knew of a weekly farmers market in Prescott Valley. We decided to swing in and see if they happened to have a booth. What a trip!! This is definitely not a typical farmers market, think more swap meet. It was a very interesting experience, needless to say, and we did end up leaving with a few purchases. Cole got a pair of old binoculars so he can glass with his dad and a new Hotwheel, Abe bought a coyote call made from a bullet shell (AWESOME!) and something else I don't even remember now. I really had my eye on the throwing axes, 4-sided knives, swords and lady daggers, but decided to hold off. Like I said, interesting!

After the swap meet, we decided to drive in search of our beef ranch. We drove and drove and finally found it. It is on the same premises as Orme School (a private, expensive, boarding school in North Mayer), but unfortunately, no ranchers were to be found. We did finally get a hold of them, yesterday, and they will be delivering our beef to us in the next week or so (I'll let you know if its worth it!)

Saturday night, I left to go pick up pizza. One of the drawbacks of this house is no one delivers pizza to us, I think due to the lack of streetlights so its considered a safety issue, WHATEVER! I always tell Abe that Cole never seems to get upset when I leave, like he does for him, however, Saturday he did. Abe said he cried the entire time I was gone and took this picture as proof.

I guess Cole really does care. By the way, that bash on the corner was Abe's doing, just after we told the house contractor that we would not cause or allow damage to the walls like the previous tenants had done. Oh well!

Sunday, we were lucky enough to have Abe's dad come for a visit. Cole loved getting some more attention and we all went to Prescott Brewery for a great lunch. I didn't have my camera, but hopefully I'll get some pics from John. There were some classic moments, as always!