Omaha Zoo

Here are pictures from our vacation day we spent in Omaha, in quite a fascinating order.

First, you must realize that our #1 absolute favorite part of the zoo was the "Skyfari" lift ride.

I used the zoom feature on the camera to take this picture of an ostrich, at N's request:

The newest feature of the Henry Doorly Zoo is the Sensory Garden, created especially for the physically handicapped. This picture was an effort to capture the garden's waterfall from the air. Alas, though you can tell where it is, the shade makes it impossible to really see....
Sensory Garden, the first pic I took:
The penguin tank is just absolutely a thrill to see. There is enough seating in there, and it's shaded and cooooooool, so lots of folks just go sit there to watch the penguins and cool down from the heat.
When Natasha told me that the penguins are still her favorite part of the zoo (after 6 years!) I asked if she wanted a picture of her with them in the background. :)
Took this of N & me on the Skyfari:
We paid for the tram, too. See, Henry Doorly Zoo is huuuuuge. 2nd or 3rd largest zoo in the country. The tram takes you from one 'area' to the next (four main divisions of the zoo), and there is quite a walking distance between the areas. We then got off to walk around each area. We were sssssso thankful we did this b/c it was 100-gazillion degrees and we had only the afternoon to take in as much of the zoo as we wanted.
Natasha didn't spend any of her vacation savings at the Mall of America, so she was able to purchase something at the zoo! Jeremy bought the visors for our kiddos. :)
Another view from the Skyfari. This is the koi pond, and on that island live one species of monkey that is land-bound, so they don't even have fences!
Aah, the aquarium tunnel!!!!!!! OUTSTANDING, OUTSTANDING, OUTSTANDING, every time we've been in it. I like this pic of Jeremy enjoying one of the huge sea turtles.

A shark pic for Justy. Sharks are his FAVE FAVE FAVE FAVE FAVE.
Too.hot.to.even.touch.eachother. Blech. The smiles are 'cause it was a good time, we were together, safe, thankful for the experience, and ... ON VACATION, forgoodnesssake!
Looking ahead at Jeremy & Justy on their seat of the Skyfari.
Got a shot of Justus with a sea turtle, ohhh yyyeah!
We had to coordinate WELL to get this picture of Justus with BOTH a shark and a sea turtle!
Gorillas make me laugh. Seriously. And this zoo has a huge gorilla enclosure with ... I think 30+ gorillas, so ... much giggling from me ... and one decent picture, bah. Sorrrry.
Giraffes from the Skyfari.
Skyfari view to other side of zoo. (We didn't go in the Desert Dome this trip; Jeremy said, "We've LIVED in the desert, who needs to see it in a zoo?" ha "Plus, do you remember how it SMELLED in there?" yep. We skipped it.)