Miller Park Zoo-Bloomington, IL

After visiting the Peoria Zoo we took the hour drive over to Bloomington, Illinois to check out the Miller Park Zoo. It took us a while to locate Miller Park Zoo because our directions were wrong. (Mapquest directions took us to a totally different part of town. Glad we were able to call Hotch and he could get us there.)  The Miller Park Zoo is only 8 acres in size and the smallest zoo we have ever been to. They have a wide variety of animals which surprised us, but the animal exhibits are very small. This zoo is perfect for young children.

We loved checking out the bald eagle because they are Braxton's favorite birds. We were sad to learn that the critically endangered red wolf's range has been decreased so greatly and that it only resides in a small eastern section of North Carolina on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

Next to the red wolf was a small building with a bunch of reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and a random bird.  

The little ones took the time to put zoo puzzles together and to read some animal books while Alyssa just played along.

The kids loved getting to see more meerkats and some adorable chinchillas. If you looked through the giraffe you could get a close up of them.

Then we headed back outside to see the remainder of the animals. Some of the animals we saw were Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, reindeers, a fox, alpacas and a north american river otter. 

I am not a fan of birds because they smell awful. This exhibit did stink a lot, but it was cool seeing the birds wander freely.

Delaney cracks me up with that foot on the tiger's head. She looks like a hunter. The only cat we saw inside was a small bobcat all curled up in a ball.

There were much larger animals in their enclosures outside. They seemed lethargic and we felt bad for them. This zoo has very small animal exhibits. They had Mueller's gibbons, a snow leopard, a Sumatran tiger and a Malayan sun bear.

These hydrangeas were stunning! Love how fluffy they looked.

We have a family tradition to always find an animal that looks like Hotch. We decided that this red ruffed lemur reminded us of Daddy.

Braxton was so excited to find more Galapagos tortoises. He looks for them every time we go to a zoo now that he knows that tortoises can become huge. (His sweetheart, Debbie, told him all about turtles and tortoises.) 

We enjoyed our short time at the Miller Park Zoo. It only takes about an hour to see the whole thing so afterward we headed back to Franklin, Indiana. We stopped to get lunch and fill up on gas before our final drive for the day back to Aunt Rita's. When I was pumping gas the wind was so insane it was whipping my hair around. Alyssa took a photo since it was so crazy!

Our trip from Peoria, IL to Franklin, IN was a smooth 236 miles because we were able to see two new zoos and enjoy our day!

Peoria Zoo-Peoria, IL

The next day we happily we spent a two hours at the Peoria Zoo in Peoria, Illinois. It is a tiny charming zoo that covers only 14 acres and has about 232 animals. (Note: For size comparison on all zoos the North Carolina Zoo is large, the San Diego Zoo is medium, the Utah's Hogle Zoo is small and Zoo Boise is tiny.) The kids thought it was cool that we were the first people in line.

Love the artwork in the front of the zoo. The kids have studied and recreated Andy Warhol paintings. They recognized the similarities right away.

The Peoria Zoo entrance is really different. You enter through the zoo store which is connected to indoor animal exhibits. It smelled a bit strongly of animal as soon as we entered. The kids always gravitate toward meerkats. We were happy to see them right as we entered the zoo exhibits.

They have a pretty good selection on animals in the indoor exhibits. Our favorites were the northern tree shrew, the blue-tongued skink, the green tree python, the black-handed spider monkey and the ring-tailed lemurs. 

Alyssa always keeps things fun and entertaining!

Braxton and Delaney had a blast climbing on, checking out and posing for pictures with the many animal statues around the zoo.

I was a mean mom because when the kids saw the petting zoo I immediately nixed it. We had a long day of driving ahead and I didn't want them to smell of animal. That would have been so gross if they had stepped in animal droppings or got animal smell on their clothes.

Look how big we are mom!

There are two trails outside at this zoo. They were doing tons of construction on the Asian Trail and there were almost no animals out when we were there. The coolest animals we saw on this trail were the takins.

The best part of the Peoria Zoo is the Africa Trail! The zoo grounds along the African Trail are beautifully landscaped and the animal exhibits were larger.

The first place we checked out was a neat small animal building.  

We kept the tradition alive by looking for animals that remind us of Hotch. It was unanimous that these adorable red river hogs looked just like Daddy. 

We had the coolest experience with the lions! The kids totally peeked the male lion's interest. Delaney over to the lion exhibit and he opened his eyes long enough to see her for a moment. When the kids walked to the top of a lion viewing area that's when the male lion really took an interest. He perked up and started eyeing them. At one point he licked his lips and even roared at the kids. They would have made a delicious lion lunch.

These kids make my heart so happy! They are my world!

As we continued along the African Trail we saw Thomson's gazelle, Grevy's zebra and white rhinoceros. Theses animals have open, spacious exhibits.

We watched the giraffes get fed while still in their nighthouse. Every time I see giraffes they remind me of my mom's father, Grandpa Goodrich, who worked with the giraffes for years at the San Diego Zoo. When I was a girl, my brothers and I were able to go behind the scenes to visit and feed them. It was a magical experience and was always neat to know my Grandpa worked at the zoo. (Maybe that is part of the reason that I love going to zoos so much.)

The African Trail also has an informative Zambezi River Village which teaches you about life in some areas of Africa.

It was a shame to see such a beautiful lion statue next to soda machines. 

We finished off our visit to the Peoria Zoo by checking out the education exhibits in the main building. My girls are such good sports.

We had a great morning visit to the Peoria Zoo. I recommend this tiny zoo if you are heading through the area in Illinois. It was a perfect way to start our second to last day of our trip in June.

As we left Peoria, Il we were able to get a great view of the Mississippi River and the charming Spirit of Peoria riverboat. Too bad we couldn't take a sightseeing cruise on that paddlewheeler. 

FYI: Do not stay at the Sleep Inn in Peoria, IL. It was nasty! If it wasn't so late and I hadn't been so exhausted then we would have left immediately.