Play Day

Today was the first day of racing at the Circuit of the Americas. Dan was as excited as a little boy heading to Disneyland! He set his alarm for 4 a.m. so he wouldn't miss a thing. He tells me that it was a good day, although he walked his legs off and is tired this evening. He took some pictures, but I haven't yet seen them. He'll be doing the early-to-bed-early-to-rise routine again tonight, so that he can be back at it again tomorrow. Today was just the practice day for the racers; tomorrow is qualifying; and then comes the actual race.

While he was having his fun down in Austin, I took off in the opposite direction, to Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. I've been wanting to go there for a long time, and today seemed the perfect opportunity.

The zoo lies alongside the Brazos River and is divided into several sections: Asian Forest, Tree Tops Village, Herpetarium, Brazos River Country, a nature trail, and a play area. I didn't see all of the zoo because I spent most of my time and energy in Brazos River Country, where I got caught up in what felt like a maze; It took me forever to find my way out, even with my map. I'll have to go back another day and see the parts of the zoo that I missed.

Here are a few pictures.

How do they balance on one leg like this while they sleep?

This doesn't really show how HUGE this guy was. I'm guessing about 10 feet long. And he, too, was sleeping.

Are you sensing a theme here? Most of the animals were taking their morning siestas.

Cameron Park Zoo is very scenic, with lots of meadows, ponds and forested areas.

One of the black swans.

The gibbons were performing for everyone. At least THEY weren't sleeping.

The jaguar was right up near the fence and happy to pose for the camera.