Bayou Wildlife

Last Saturday I needed time in Creation to heal and wonder at God's goodness after the Novak funeral.  God had the perfect treat in store for Isaac and me; driving to the funeral, we passed Bayou Wildlife Park, which Amy pointed out and said she has lots of fun going there with her little girl.  I told Isaac about it, and it wasn't hard at all to convince him to take me on Saturday morning.

Amy told us to get there when they opened as the animals are most hungry and alert in the morning.  We paid our admission and drove on in to the park.  This is the sight we saw:

Animals from Africa, Asia, South America and North America were roaming the Texas pasture.  Yes, I squealed!  I love parks that allow animals to roam freely and keep the people in the 'cage'.  I love getting a small glimpse of Eden.  I love watching Isaac's face when the animals interact with us.

Bayou Wildlife doesn't allow cars to drive through their various pastures, except for the short road to the parking lot.  They have a picnic area and several animals that can be visited on foot, such as Red Kangaroos, Wallabies, horses, Zonkies (mix of donkey and zebra), peacocks, ankole cattle, a bactrian camel.  There are also pony rides for the little ones and a petting zoo full of goats, sheep, and huge pot bellied pigs!  When you're ready to see the rest of the park, you hop on a tram with your bucket of food and hold on to it tight!

Georgie might still be a baby camel, but he wasn't shy about letting Isaac know he was hungry!

The animals are certainly hungry in the morning, and the more social animals don't mind letting you know when they want a bite of food from the buckets!

Llama

I think elands are just gorgeous.  They are certainly my favorite of the big antelope from Africa, and of course they remind me of Zambia!

Inhale and Gulp!

How many camels can fit into a tram...?

The tram ride lasts a good 30 minutes, and we saw and touched more animals than Isaac or I could get pictures.  The zebras and wildebeests are so shy, but they are gorgeous to watch grazing in the fields.  One of the wildebeests is fond of the tram (well, mostly the loving hands that come out of the tram) because she is an orphan and was bottle fed.  Lulu is her name, and I felt beyond privileged to stroke her coat and hold a gaze with her for a bit.

After the ride, we hung out in the giraffe barn letting me get my giraffe fill.  I'm not sure when giraffes became my favorite animal, but I can't get enough of them.  Jeffrey, Bayou's male, made me laugh and laugh.

Munch, munch

Georgie was still hungry 2 hours after Isaac fed him.  Growing boy and all...

 We ended the day cuddling some horses admiring the oddity that is a Zonkey.  On our way out, we found a buck who'd just lost his horns resting (they are nocturnal, so I'm sure the noisy kids don't make the deer super happy).  I quietly, slowly approached him, and he didn't jump up and run, so I knelt down beside him.  He sniffed my hand and then scooted closer to me.  The next thing I knew, his nose was in my ear, and then in my hair, and then he was sniffing me all over my face.  I had to hold his neck to keep from falling over with giggles.  Apparently I smelled ok because he then let me stoke his ears and back for several minutes.  What a precious time with God's creation!

My new friend

I was certainly ready to start a new week after our visit.  Isaac can't wait to go again in the winter when all the little babies have been born.