Sunday, January 27, 2013

Safari Park Adventures

Over winter break,  my family and I traveled to the Safari Park. Safari Park is similar to the zoo except they let some of the safari animals out in the hills.   They have animals such as parrots that will sit on you if you have nectar, gorillas, rhinoceros, giraffes, lions, elephants, and even cute baby animals.  There were also some unusual animals such as cheetahs and jaguars. These animals as well as lions, gorillas, and elephants were not let out in the wild. 

Safari park is located in the hills so there are many animals in a secured area covering many acres of land. We took a tram to the hills and visited some of these magnificent animals.  There were many baby giraffes that even though they were very young, they still were pretty tall.  We also saw different types of endangered rhinos, some that had horns and some that didn't.  Some of the rhinos were endangered species that didn't have horns because the horns were hacked off.  These hunters believed that the horns have medicinal properties, which isn't true.  The Safari Park owns one of three rhinos species left in the world! 

After the tram, we visited some animals in cages such as bats.  Bats are nocturnal animals so they sleep all day upside down.  Seeing bats for the first time was pretty incredible.  As we headed along the trails of the park, we went to the elephants.  The elephants were the cutest animals you could imagine.  There were so many of them and there baby's were huddled close to the adults.  The elephants were playing so well that I thought I could go over there and touch one.


























































We continued on our path and went into the parrot exhibit. The parrots were in a caged area, flying overhead looking for people  with nectar in there hands.  My dad bought us a small cup of nectar which we all shared.  I got so lucky that two parrots landed on my hand and drank the nectar.  The parrots didn't have sharp nails so when they landed, it felt like a kitten purring against your arm.






Isn't that cute!


The last sight of the day was the cheetah run. The cheetah run is a 100 meter dash that a cheetah runs along with his companion Miley his female husky-mix domesticated dog.  The cheetah was raised as a baby together with it's best friend, the dog. Now the cheetah relies on the husky to show her how to do things. The cheetah was extremely fast.  It ran the course in less than 6 seconds. Wow! My mom caught a very short video of the cheetah run.  



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What did you think of the cheetah run?

Which animal is your favorite?

Thursday, January 10, 2013

State Fair- Wyoming

In 5th grade, every student picks a state to learn and write.  I chose the state of Wyoming. 

My goal in this project was to persuade my class to visit my state.  Wyoming is filled with so much history and information, that it was hard to pick and choose which sections would be most persuasive to get people to visit the state.  For me, the most difficult part of the project was the oral presentation.  I had to say it over and over again until I had it memorized within the correct time limit.  After putting together my talk, I still had one more step, create a presentation board for the state fair.  Doing the presentation board was easy because I knew in my head where I wanted everything to go.  After I placed everything down on the board, I thought it needed more color so I made a red border around the section headings. 

Wyoming has so many interesting facts that it will amaze you.  Wyoming is known for its beautiful parks such as Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is filled with nature as well as animals such as grizzly bears, elk, buffalo, and deers all roaming throughout the park.  Yellowstone has the largest population of grizzly bears in the United States! Yellowstone is not only filled with animals it also has waterfalls and geysers like Old Faithful.  Old Faithful erupts every hour and astonishes the visitors viewing it.

Yellowstone isn't the only incredible place to see, there also is Devils Tower National Monument.  This gigantic rock column was the leftovers of a volcano that erupted many years ago.  As you continue your journey through Wyoming,  I encourage you to look up and view the high peaks of Grand Teton National Park.  These peaks rise over a mile above the valley floor!  Wow!

Since Wyoming is natural wonders, it has the lowest population in the country.  Don't let that discourage you from visiting, as the state has many dude ranches for people to explore and enjoy the Wyoming lifestyle of horse back ride and hardy foods.  Wyoming also has the largest outdoor rodeo in the world!  I hope I will be able to visit this state someday.










The whole 5th grade presented there posters to the other parents.  After my mom visited my poster, she went around and viewed posters from some of the other states.












What interesting facts can you share about the state that you live in?