On Tuesday I thought it would be fun to take the kids somewhere that they had not been before. I didn’t want to go to just a park, I wanted to find a zoo that wasn’t too far away. I got online and did a little searching to find Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi, California. This zoo was about 45 minutes away and I had never heard of it before. I then did a little more online research to make sure that it was still there so I didn’t take almost an hour drive for nothing. I was lucky and found the website for the zoo so I knew it was a go! So the kids and I hop in the car and drive to Lodi. I actually kept it a secret where we were going until we pulled in and they could read the sign that read Micke Grove Park. Inside this park is the zoo, all the way in the back.

So we arrive at the zoo and of course I had to take heir picture at the gate. Once inside the zoo, we take a visit to each of the animal exhibits.At the Micke Grove Zoo, you will get to see over 130 animal specimens that represent over 50 different species including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and invertebrates. Many of the species at this zoo are classified as endangered or threatened in the wild.

Our favorite exhibit at the Micke Grove Zoo is the Lorikeets! I had never heard of a Lorikeet until that day, but they sure are pretty birds. My son thought they were parrots and I wasn’t about to argue. For this exhibit, you have to clean your hands with hand sanitizer and are taken in the bird aviary in small groups so that the birds to not get started. The zoo staff is very friendly and will even allow you to feed them or hold them if you want. Our zoo staff friend was nice enough to put a Lorikeet on my hat! My son thought it was the coolest thing. He has not stopped telling everyone that mom had a parrot on her head.

Besides these pretty birds, we seen lemurs, turtles, bald eagles, monkeys, baboons, a mountain lion and more! I definitely want to come back to Micke Grove Park, because they have a little Fun Land next to it that has carnival rides for the kids. This park is actually big and looks like a great place to have a BBQ and let the kids run around an play.

To find out more about Micke Grove Zoo, visit: https://www.mgzoo.com.