Field Trip Review

Who knew Las Vegas had a nature sanctuary? Not me. I was impressed. I've been to the Las Vegas zoo and it's downright depressing, what with the heat, the desert habitats for non-desert animals, and the location on a busy street. But this place was clean, (I mean aside from the inherent animal odors that greatly displeased my daughters) well-situated, and professionally managed. Visit it yourself at their website.

I promised pictures and then forgot my camera, darnit! Thanks to Google Images, I can share with you my favorite sight of the day, other than my children feeding the fish:

There were LOTS of gorgeous white peacocks, and the colorful ones, too. Also emus, ostriches, llamas, tortoises, goats, swans, ducks, donkeys, horses, and fish. Zillions of birds. Heavy lectures on responsible pet ownership since this is a place that becomes foster home to abused or neglected animals. Their swan collection is a result of a local golf course owner turning them over once they started biting the golfers.

They have donkeys that were found wandering the streets of Las Vegas --- I bet there's a good story there. And lots of birds given up by pet owners who didn't know they had hundred-year life expectancies and needed more attention than dogs or cats. Egad.

Don't know what my kids learned today but I gleaned lots of facts from our tour. I was told you can own chickens in the city but not roosters. AND, you can also legally keep a tiger as a pet in Las Vegas. (I'm guessing we owe that little privilege to our famous residents Siegfried and Roy.) And furthermore, our guide revealed that ostriches don't ever bury their heads in the sand... it's just one of those crazy bird urban legends.

Really, though - you didn't come here for a zoo review. I just had more to say about it than I thought. Regarding the homeschool group, it was nice. The moms (and one dad on his day off) were nice, the kids were nice, the thought of us being a part of it all was nice. All these thoughts against the backdrop of a bunch of birds. Give me a few days to find some symbolism in that...