Palm Springs - Part 10

On the Thursday of our vacation week we ventured out to the Living Desert in Palm Desert.  Check out their site here: The Living Desert.  Established in 1970 this desert zoo has expanded to some 1,800 acres.  Relatively inexpensive to visit (Adults are $12.75 each), I can highly recommend this tourist attraction when you visit California.

 When we first entered, we were cheerfully greeted by a zoo representative who answered any questions that we had, and suggested where to go and what to see next.  First stop was an enclosed reptile and snake 'cave'.  There was the cutest little turtle chomping on his breakfast.

 

And not so cute lizard.

Then came an outdoor animal show that was very well done.  We sat in a small bleacher area out of the sun and these funny yet informative zoo keepers came out with a great variety of zoo residents.  Each animal was well trained and put on quite a show.

One such beast was a very large porcupine.

See him running after the zoo keeper?

Then came this small yet adult aged cat 'of some kind'.  We were told to keep still in our seats as this fuzzy kitten is quite a killer.

For a closer view, this zoo keeper brought out a small variety of fox with giant ears that were used for air conditioning.  Actually it was said that he had 'ear' conditioning!  Ha ha.  Good one.

Although the zoo is not a Christian organization, the facts and figures given could only prove that there is a Creator.  It is fascinating to hear how God has planned out His creatures.

To wrap up the show, two dishes with 'salad' were placed on the sandy floor.  As the instructor continued to speak, two tortoises slowly made their way from either side of the stage to find their dinner.

We paid a little extra and purchased passes for All-Day Shuttle privileges.  I am just too old to be hiking 1,800 acres in the heat of the desert.  Every 15 minutes these shuttles would pass by and all you had to do was wait at the Shuttle Pick Up Areas or simply flag them down.  The driver was well versed in pointing out the attractions of the zoo, answer any questions that we had, and was willing to stop at any time to let us off or allow us to take pictures.

Well worth the $6 price.

And finally a picture of Hubby and I.  

If you get a chance to visit THE LIVING DESERT, don't forget your sun glasses, sun screen, camera (see mine in hand) and water bottles.  There are water fountains EVERYWHERE in the zoo, but we had brought our stainless steel insulated coffee/water thermos (best purchase we ever made from Costco) and for most of the day had ice water.  We just kept filling them up at the water fountains.

They did warn us to keep hydrated as they have had instances of fainting zoo goers.  I am not too much of a sun lover, but this zoo had shaded areas everywhere, the shuttle train was covered, and there were areas of water misted seating along the paths.  In my opinion anyone will enjoy this zoo whether young or older.