Grizzy & Wolf Discovery Center

On Thursday morning I took the kids into town to visit the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. The exhibits were fun and informative and it wasn't terribly large. We learned about bears' diet, cubs, winter lethargy and the past problems and present solutions with bears in Yellowstone. Maddie and I learned that we stink at telling the difference between black bears and grizzlies.
We watched a short film on how to recreate in bear country.
There are two different wolf habitats and groups at the center: riparian and high country. The high country wolves mostly wanted to nap while the riparian group was concerned about some construction going on nearby. I was hoping to see them rip something to shreds, but no luck.
The bears were hanging out, splashing in the pond in their exhibit.
[click to enlarge] The best part is that the geniuses at the center built a playground there! When Joss started to go wiggy on his leash, we took him there where he slid and climbed and explored the tipi and the bear traps and the cooler/garbage can/dumpster exhibit. When a company develops a new container that they think is bearproof, they submit it here and the folks put something tasty and tempting inside (fish, meat, chocolate or jam are all hits) and toss it in with the bears for 90 minutes. If it survives, it is officially "bear resistant". We saw a lot of examples of those that were sent back to the drawing board.
Afterward I took them to the Rustic Candy Shop, gave them a budget and let them run wild. This one ran around saying "kika! kika!" and putting more and more candy into his little paper sack. We found out that he loves licorice and is not fond of peanut butter taffy.
decisions, decisions . . .

The satisfied customers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mohr im Hemd

Image
I finally got up the nerve to try my own Mohr im Hemd. This was the dish that we always ordered if we found it on the menu. It translates as "The Moor and His Shirt" which is so politically incorrect that it isn't easy to find, even though it is a traditional Viennese dish. It is a steamed pudding, like the Christmas dessert I grew up on and it is very moist and very chocolate, though not as sweet as an American dessert. It was successful enough that Rob had me make it twice more in the same weekend. Happily, after learning how to make it, I feel less guilty about eating the stuff. How often does that happen? Here is the recipe I used, as opposed to the top secret family recipe that I don't even have, or the recipe from my Austrian cookbook that asks for 'gratified butter': MA's Mohr im Hemd 3 bread rolls, crusts removed and cubed 1 c milk 3/4 c unsalted butter 1/4 c sugar 8 oz best and darkest chocolate you can find 8 eggs 1/2 c sugar 1/2 c walnuts,
Read more

The Trip Home: A Report Card

Image
Our Itinerary: Stuttgart to Atlanta and Atlanta to Salt Lake. It was a good schedule, flying out at 11:00am and getting in at 9:00pm on the same day (flying back across 8 time zones too, so about 23 hours of travel door to door). German taxi driver: A+. cheerful, knowledgeable, efficient and with candy for the kids Stuttgart airport: C-. inefficient, poorly-designed, and not very helpful; had to show our passports 5 times in 5 different places. took 1 1/2 hours to process us from curb to gate. ugh. Delta: B-. The flight attendants all looked "rid hard & put away wet" and the bare bones service just can't keep up with their [government subsidized] European counterparts with their dewy-skinned attendants, steaming towels, toys for the kids, and gourmet meals instead of astronaut food served in foil pouches. They got us there and did it on time, but it feels more and more like riding on a bus with a lot of rules. German Family With Four Kids Who Sat Next To Us On The
Read more

Gumdroppapalooza

Image
I am behind this year on Christmas, and really noticing a difference. Normally I aim to meet Flylady's holiday deadlines to have my presents bought, menus planned, nonperishables stocked, cards mailed, and everything wrapped. This gives me the whole month to obsess over neighbor gifts (which I loathe). This year I'm playing catch up on all of those things. The one thing I've done right is to wrap and label the presents but not stick bows on them. This way I can hide and stack them, I know who they're for, and I'll have the perfect job to do while I'm helping the kids wrap their gifts. OK, the other thing I've done right is use Amazon. Not only do I love their wish list and the universal wish list button so that I can add things to the kids' lists as I think of them whenever I'm "looking for the end of the internet" as Liesl's sister calls it. I also love their gift organizer which lets me create an idea list for family and friends
Read more