Winters at Hogle Zoo

My brother in law Roy gave our family a season pass to the Hogle Zoo for Christmas, so we wanted to go and use it. I love going to the Hogle Zoo in the winter. I remember as a kid going to Hogle Zoo during the winter. We would always see the elephants and the giraffes and whatever else was out at the time(the polar bear before its death, the hippo before they sold it, and a variety of others). There are many advantages to attending a zoo during the cold, snowy winter months. First and most obvious there is NO one there. I love this!! You don't have to jockey position with others to get a view of the animals. You get front row parking; no mile hikes before you even enter the gates of the zoo. No stroller congestion. I have a large double side by side plus a stroller for Makayla, stroller congestion levels are crucial to a good time. Secondly, you don't have to spend zillions of hours there because you can breeze through everything so quickly or as slowly as you like. Third, my kids don't want to get out of their strollers because they are nice and bundled and warm in their lovely strollers. This is a particular bonus for me because I don't have to carry or chase or pickup anyone. Lastly, if you pick a relatively warm day there are many animals out. We saw just about all of them. You brace yourself for just seeing the snakes and lizards but you are pleasantly surprised when the elephants, lynx, leopards, and many of the other animals are out. We had a great day. Some of our highlights were: the oldest monkey on earth making friends with Justin. He came over and touched Justin's hand through the glass and seemed to want to tell Justin his life story but Justin doesn't speak monkey so they were at an impasse. The baby giraffe was so cute I think she is about a month and a half old. The baby monkey sleeping with the mommy monkey. The male giraffe drinking the female's pee like it was a drinking fountain. It was actually one of the grossest things I have ever witnessed. Another highlight was one of the howler monkeys singing so the entire zoo could hear. It was so much fun and it was a reminder as to why I still love the zoo in the winter. Try it you will like it but don't spread the word then people will be there and where does that leave me with stroller congestion and long walks to the zoo.