Northwest Trekkies

Since Matt's leaving the country to film school next week a few of us decided to get together today to have some fun. The plan called for a trip out to Northwest Trek wildlife park then dinner and a movie at our place in Tacoma. Gavin, Holly, Matt, Kelly, Sarah and I aimed to meet at the wildlife park at about 10:30am. We saved a bit of gas by meeting Matt and Kelly over here while Gavin and Holly went straight to the park. As luck would have it we actually pulled along side Holly's car just as we got off the freeway and onto Meridian in South Hill. Aside from a 40 in a 50 MPH driver that made Gavin a tad cranky, we made it out there in good time and began to enjoy the park in the scattered rain.

Our first stop was to see the big kitties. A couple lynx (what's the plural on that?), cougars, and bobcats each had their own pens. I think the weather made their enclosures seem more dreary that they may actually be. I'm pretty sure any cat from any corner of the world prefers pretty much any other kind of weather. Aside from that, however, I really thought their pens were a bit too small since it seemed like they wouldn't have any chance to run around. I guess there probably also wouldn't be a point to charge admission to see them in larger fenced areas since they'd rarely be out where anyone could see them. The highlight though was one of the cougars balancing his bum on an inch thick tree limb over 30' off the ground. From there we saw a group of coyotes, one of which actually had a curious streak in him and came right up to the area we viewed him from. These are far more active creatures especially compared to the cats. They roamed around in their group unconcerned about the dreary weather of the day. Just before our park tram ride it was on to see some red foxes and some wolves.

We joined the other park guests on the noon tram ride into the open range area. Here we saw a wide assortment of creatures like bison, moosen, mountain goats, dear, elk and a few species of birds. At some points the tram passed some of the animals as they stood just feet from the road. Although the driver/tour guide kept us informed via speaker and microphone she managed to sneak some interesting facts into the ride like the big hump on a bison's back is pure muscle and is needed to hold up their gigantic head. After the hour long ride we hit the cafe to eat our packed lunches before seeing the rest of the park. A few beaver, a playful otter, a cute sleeping pair of raccoons, and a wolverine were next followed by a pair of badgers, one of which wasn't seemingly pleased to be in the same area with the other. On we went from there to see the black and grizzly bears.

The fun was over for Holly since we had to bid her farewell. She had to work this evening and couldn't join us for the rest of our day. The remain five of us briefly checked out the birds in the park then headed back to Tacoma. We played a little Xbox before the guys went to the store to gather some items for tonight's dinner of cheese fondue. We dipped three kinds of bread, apples, and mushrooms in the vat before taking a break to watch When Harry Met Sally. Matt and Sarah hadn't seen this movie and I'm sure the rest of us couldn't remember the last time we viewed it. It's a silly love story but it's generally smart and thoughtful enough to be a good rent now and then. Once the credits rolled it was time for our chocolate fondue dessert. Pieces of pound cake, fresh strawberries and banana further filled our bellies and made for a nice segue to ending a great day. Thanks everyone!