A Day at the Syracuse Zoo

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The first half of July wouldn’t be one of our favorite times. We each had our colonoscopies scheduled a few days apart. I only have vague recollections of our first ones about 11 years ago. Back then, the preparation was the worse part and involved getting some prescription drinks that needed to be taken the day before. It was nasty stuff. In the past decade, the required steps have changed a fair amount. Now there is a 2 week period beforehand where certain foods need to be avoided. This was a big change for us since many of the foods we typically eat aren’t permitted. We took advantage of the fasting we needed to do and squeeze in our blood work so our primary care doctor can finish up our wellness visits.

The drink we need to take the day before is all over the counter things - Gatorade and Miralax. I won’t claim it was fun but it wasn’t terrible. All went well with the procedures but I do find the drugs they give you to be rather amazing. We were about halfway on the drive home before I realized where I was. I had no recollection of speaking with the doctor, putting on my clothes or being wheeled out to the car. I could use some of that stuff for my insomnia!

Since our wedding anniversary took place during the restricted diet phase of our prep, we had skipped our usual anniversary dinner at some good restaurant in the location we are staying. A couple days after our procedures, we were feeling much better and decided to head out to one of our favorite places in the area - Dinosaur BBQ. When we lived in the area, we usually went to the one in Rochester but the original restaurant location is in downtown Syracuse and is actually a little bit closer to Waterloo. Instead of driving there just for dinner, we decided to make a day of it in the area and head to the Syracuse Zoo for the bulk of the day before going for dinner.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is just a little west of downtown Syracuse. It sits on about 43 acres of land and is home to 216 species of animals. It is smaller than some zoos we have visited before but is still a rather large place to explore. The weather was overcast but this might help us from baking in the sun as we wander around the grounds. The entrance fee is quite reasonable - nine dollars for adults and since senior is defined as 62+, Chris makes it in for just $5. One of the big draws for this zoo was the birth of twin Asian elephants in October 2022.

Nine Month Old Elephant Twins

Entrance at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse

There are about a dozen various talks or other activities taking place all day long and all over the zoo. The elephants, including the twins, were to be let out to their large outdoor area at 11 AM so we had about half an hour to work our way over to the elephant preserve. Our first stop was to check out the primates. They have a couple species of monkeys and apes. There is both an inside and outside area. The Columbus monkeys that were outside were rather lethargic. They have faces that are surrounded by white fur and long bushy tails.

Columbus Monkey Relaxes on a Rock

The primates in the inside area seemed to be much more energetic. Being indoors with lower light and moving fast, I had a tough time getting clear pictures of any of them. They were highly entertaining to watch but we had to keep an eye on the time to make sure we made it to see the elephants. As we headed over to the elephants, we spotted a very small looking deer - a Chinese Muntjac. It is the smallest species of deer in the world.

Siamang Ape

Patas Monkey Pauses for Picture

Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey

Chinese Muntjac

There was already a large crowd of people at the elephant enclosure. The six adults had already come through the passageway into the 7 acre enclosure. The young twins were having a hard time coming through the last gate that would be closed behind them once they were out. It took a few minutes before they finally joined the adults.

The Twins Come Out for a Viewing

Adult Elephant

So Cute!

There were several “toys” that looked almost like fireman hoses that were folded into an elaborate woven structure. But then we realized it was more than just a toy, it was a carrot delivery system. Tucked in most of the folds were carrots but they were wedged in pretty good, so they took some effort to get the carrots out. One of the adults picked up the thing with its trunk and tossed it back onto the ground causing a carrot or two to come out. The youngsters seemed to understand the mission and spend a few minutes working on them. I guess it might be the equivalent of a Kong toy we used to have for our dog.

Twins Go After Carrots

Cannot Get Carrot with My Trunk...

... So I'll Kick It

The twins were very entertaining to watch as they ran around the enclosure. At times it looked like they were playing chase. Occasionally they would run over to one of the adults (presumably mom) and walk right underneath her. Let’s just hope mom knows they are there and doesn’t step on them.

Hiding Under Mom

As entertaining as the twins were, we could likely spend the whole day just watching them play but we knew there was much more to see so we move on and stop at the nearby red panda exhibit. These things are the definition of cute. A zookeeper was in the enclosure giving them some fresh branches for breakfast. They seemed more interested in just playing on the platform and trees they have in their area rather than eating.

Red Panda

Across the way was the snow leopard enclosure. This one was tough to spot since it was sleeping on a large rock on the opposite side of the area.

Snoozing Snow Leopard

As we continue along the path we spot a huge bird in one of the outdoor cages. It sort of looked like an eagle but was way to big. Turns out it is a Steller’s Sea Eagle. It can have a wingspan of 7 to 8 feet! Unfortunately it was simply perched on a branch and there is little in my picture to get a sense for just how large it was. Across from this bird was the Andean Bear. We looked around from the main viewing area but didn’t spot it. We did discover a side viewing area and sure enough it was relaxing out out view of the general public.

Steller's Sea Eagle

Andean Bear Hides Around Back

We knew there was going to be a camel feeding event coming up soon and it took us some time to get our bearings straight and locate the proper area. We spotted some Red River Hogs on our way to the camels. There was already a fairly large crowd of people. One zookeeper was out with us and explains facts about the Bactrian Camel. These are two hump camels native to cold regions around Mongolia. Two other zookeepers were out in the camel enclosure rounding them up and putting on harnesses to bring them over to the crowd at the fence. There was a line of people paying to get some carrots and the opportunity to feed the camels. It was fun to watch the camels take the carrots from the people. Many of them were rather young and a bit apprehensive once they got close to such a big animal.

Red River Hog

Camels Being Rounded Up

Waiting to Approach Crowd

Feed Me!

We had pretty much seen the shows we wanted to see so we tried to simply get to areas of the zoo we hadn’t been though yet. Penguins are always fun to watch. The Turkmenistan Markhor is a type of mountain goat native to the Himalayan Mountains. They have some very impressive horns that are twisted.

Penguin

Turkmenistan Markhor

We headed in to the bird area to see what was living here. Of course there were pink flamingos. The Barred Owl watched visitors intently from its perch. Several birds were not in an enclosure but instead tethered to a small house. It looked like they had just enough rope to move around but not get in each other’s territory. The Saker Falcon and Harris Hawk were quite striking with beautiful face and feather colors.

Chill Flamingo

Barred Owl

Saker Falcon

Harris Hawk

There is a domestic animal barn near the birds and there were the standard animals one might expect on a farm. Of course the goats were Chris’ favorite. We didn’t feel the need to pet the cows or other animals since these are rather mundane after seeing so many rather exotic animals from all over the world.

Goat Gets Some Hay

Not So Little Piggie

There were a series of indoor exhibits with all sorts of sea animals. I found the lighting too low for any meaningful pictures of fish but the coral had somewhat better lighting and was rather cool to watch sway in the water.

Mesmerizing Coral

There was also and indoor exhibit of all sorts of birds and a tortoise. Possibly the most interesting bird was the Victoria Crowned Pigeon. Normally I wouldn’t think of a pigeon as beautiful but this one has a very unique headdress that more resembles a peacock.

Quack Quack

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

Tortoise

We wrapped up our visit going through the amphibian area. Lots to see in here. The Blue Poison Dart Frog and the Panamanian Golden Frog were amazingly vibrant.

Blue Poison Dart Frog

Panamanian Golden Frog

We had been here for over 3 hours and felt like we had seen the bulk of the animals. There were a few cages with signs for a tiger or wolf but we never were able to spot them. This zoo was quite entertaining even if it is one the smaller side. The twin elephants were definitely the highlight. To see them running around the enclosure and playing with each other was worth the price of admission. Since our other goal was to go get some BBQ for our anniversary dinner, we decided we should head out. There is a geocache right in front of the zoo and it wasn’t too hard of a hide but there were so many people coming and going that it took a little bit of time to sign in.

We drove over to Dinosaur BBQ at mid afternoon. Being a Sunday, we were able to find a parking spot fairly easy. We had hoped our timing would put us between the lunch and dinner crowds but that didn’t seem to be the case. There were a couple dozen people just outside the front door waiting to get called for their seat. We head and and expected it would be a long wait but since it was just the 2 of us, we were seated within a few minutes. After having fasted and modified our diet for the last couple of weeks, it was good to finally get a great meal. We each ordered enough that we knew we would be able to have leftovers for at least one more good meal. I highly recommend Dinosaur BBQ. They have restaurants in Rochester and Buffalo as well so most of western NY will have one within a reasonable drive.

Being former engineers, we tend to be data driven people. With that in mind, we decided that if we were to each get a Fitbit, maybe we would be able to do a better job with keeping up with exercise. Besides keeping track of steps, it can monitor heart rate and has built in GPS. We used them each day and found the ability of it to keep track of a walk, bike ride or hike and give us some indication of how strenuous the exercise was provided some added incentive to keep up with the effort. We also tried to wear them to bed at night as they are supposed to be able to help monitor your sleep patterns and provide a “sleep score” the next morning. Besides the annoyance of having them on our wrists while sleeping, we discovered that more often than not, the sleep score didn’t seem to have any correlation with how well (or poorly) we had slept. Plus I didn’t like the fact that I felt like I was “being watched” all night long. So if I woke up in the middle of the night, I would feel self conscious and not be able to fall back asleep. So for now they will just be used during the daytime.

One of the warmer July days brought us out for a bike ride along a section of the Ontario Pathways Rail Trail. This is a 26 mile trail that has several different sections. We have used the trail in the past and thought it would likely be fairly shaded to help with the heat. For this ride we opted to go to the really obvious trailhead parking area along State Route 96 about halfway between the towns of Clifton Springs and Phelps. The trail heads south from here down to the town of Stanley. We knew we weren’t up for that long of a ride but figured we could chart out and see how far we felt like going.

Ontario Pathways Trail Map with Our Route in Pink

There were quite a few others out walking but once we got past a half mile or so, there was practically nobody on the trail. The view from a bridge over Flint Creek showed off a nice series of small falls. We were correct that at least this section of the trail was generally shaded so it didn’t seem too hot for a ride.

Flint Creek

There were over 10 geocaches we hadn’t found before along the way, so we were able to split up the riding and search for them. About 2.5 miles into the ride, we ran into a “trail closed ahead” sign. Turns out there is a quarter mile long section of the old rail bed right of way that is privately owned and the group that has developed the trail hasn’t been able to secure permission to allow visitors to travel on. We hadn’t really planned on this but we took the spur trail that leads to State Route 488. The signage wasn’t real good but we figured out that this road more or less parallels the rail bed and as we enter the town of Orleans, we can pick up the trail again on the south side of town. It was just over a mile of riding on the road but there wasn’t a ton of traffic so we managed. There is a really neat old water tower that was used to provide water for the steam locomotives. This one dates back to the mid 1940’s.

Petticoat Junction?

Once back on the trail, we continued south for another 2.3 miles. It stays mostly shaded and very sparsely populated. There is a sign that describes a train wreck that occurred there back in 1964 which means this rail line was in operation fairly recently - if you consider 59 years old not that old and being in my early sixties, I would use that criteria. There was one section where the trail follows a dirt road for about a quarter mile that goes past several businesses. The largest one appears to be a tour bus company that has quite a few buses from large Greyhound style to smaller ones and even a trolley. Being in the Finger Lakes area, we suspect a large portion of their business is hauling visitors from one winery to another. We even needed to wait out a couple buses that were leaving and generating large clouds of dust. At about the 6 mile mark, we decided to head back. We were about 2 miles from the spot where the trail crosses Routes 5 & 20. By the time we got back to the car, we had gotten in a 12 mile ride and found 8 geocaches.

Another Flint Creek View

The next day we headed out for a hike. It was another hot July day and we should have gone to Seneca Meadows in the morning since this area has no tree cover. We have been here before based on the fact we have found some geocaches in the park. But that was back in 2011 and apparently there wasn’t anything so notable here to allow my memory to be jogged after 12 years. There are several trails but the main perimeter trail is just under 4 miles.

Trailhead at Seneca Meadows

It looks like the one has been a month or so since it was mowed. The perimeter trail was knee high weeds, grasses and flowers. Some of the interior trails were marked but were barely distinguishable from the rest of the meadow, so we knew we wouldn’t be taking any shortcuts as we walked around the loop. There was one area with a large pond. The trail going by it is named the Blue Heron Loop. Wouldn’t you know it, we scared off a blue heron as we approached the pond. We found the one new geocache we had wanted to get and finished up the hike. It was an okay hike but nothing special. Ask me in 12 years what I remember about this hike and I will likely only shrug.

Lots of Wildflowers

Somewhat Mowed Trails

Overlooking Pond