A Six-Hour Wildlife Tour Around the World

Wednesday, 6 March (Part II)
Maxwell AFB Famcamp — Montgomery, Alabama

Continuing the story of our two-part trip to the Montgomery Zoo on Monday, 4 March.

(Part I — posted here — covered the Mann Wildlife Learning Museum, which is located adjacent to the zoo.)

We arrived at the zoo just a few short minutes after it opened.  And that perhaps explains why there were just a couple of cars in the parking lot.  That it was a Monday, and that schools are in session, explains why we seldom encountered any other visitors as we wandered the paved paths that took us from one habitat to another.

The zoo admission can be purchased alone ($12/adult), or in combination with the Mann Museum ($6/adult).  The combo ticket is discounted to $16/adult, which is the same as what we paid with our military ID.  Our six-hour visit was worth every cent of the admission.

Before we visit a zoo, I check to see if it is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as this is a pretty good indication that the facility has met some pretty strict standards, and that there will be expansive habitats for most of the animals.  In addition to having such accreditation, the Montgomery Zoo is also a participant of the Species Survival Plan program.  That gets another thumbs up from us.

The Zoo is laid out by continents; see map above (downloaded from the zoo website).  All but Antarctica and Europe are represented.  We visited each habitat, spending more time at some than others.  The animals were active, offering us behavioral glimpses that added to our enjoyment.  Most of the habitats offered glass- and fence-free overlooks that made viewing and photographing the animals a pleasant experience.

Parakeet Cove is one of the two free-flight aviaries at the zoo.

Time for this red kangaroo mom to feed the baby!

26-second video — First time we’ve seen ‘roos in action!

Left: a beautiful free-ranging peahen poses for us at the elephant habitat overlook.
Right: In the free-flight aviary, a grey peacock pheasant displays for his mate.

Left: There’s something wrong with this poor Bontebok’s rear right leg; he drags it as he walks.
Right: Grant’s zebra … double the pleasure photo op.

The horns of the Greater Kudu can spiral up to 6 feet (1.8m).
showing off to the female, This buck has been locking horns with the log behind him.

24-second video of the Greater Kudu locking horns with the downed tree trunk.

Marabou Stork displaying for his mate; and bringing her a gift for the nest.
I wonder what the cheetah on the other side of the fence thinks of the stork’s shenanigans?

African Crowned Cranes … such beautiful birds.

Sorry about the fence in the foreground … I opted not to zoom in so I could
capture this quintessential pose of a big cat napping in a tree.

When I did zoom in, the jaguar even opened his eyes to pose for me.
But my favorite photo of him is posted in my Viewfinder blog; worth a look-see.

The expressions on the faces of these spider monkeys are priceless;
I could have spent hours watching their antics.

Left: I can never pass up an opportunity to photograph the American Bald Eagle.
Right: The three Chilean Flamingos in the center are having a raucous “discussion!”

“You can’t say I don’t bend over backwards for you!” …
says the Juvenile scarlet ibis to the photographer.

Bathing time for this Scarlet Ibis involves a lot of splashing around.

The American Wood Duck … just look at those colors!

And in closing, just so you know that I didn’t overlook the signs of spring blooming around the zoo …

You might think I shared a lot of photos with you.  I assure you, this is just a small sample of the photos I kept after culling through the 1400+ (that’s not a typo) images that Mui and I took between us.  Yes, the cameras were operating in full burst mode ;-)  If you’d like to check out some of the other photos from our outing, click here to visit my online gallery.

Mann’s Wildlife

Wednesday, 6 March
Maxwell AFB FamCamp — Montgomery, Alabama
Temps: Lo 32F / Hi 53F (0C / 12C)

The temperature see-saw continues.

Though it was a sunny day, and the temp reached its forecasted high, the feels-like temp was closer to 40F (4C).  No problemo.  This was our pack-up for departure day, so it wasn’t like we had anywhere exciting to be.  A bit more cooking; a couple more loads of laundry; a couple of dipstick checks to make sure the Phaeton’s essential fluid levels were good.  That pretty much took care of the day.

Arizona Coyote: the Indian name for the coyote means "The last Living Creature."          
This is the ultimate compliment that a native American can pay an animal on earth.          

Seeing as how there’s nothing exciting to report for today, I’m going to backtrack to our zoo outing on Monday (March 4).

The Montgomery Zoo is a fairly large facility located about 8½ miles (13½ km) from Maxwell AFB.

I’ve said this before; and I’ll say it again.  There’s no doubt that Mui and I would much rather see animals where they belong … in the wild.  But, “good” zoos have an important role to play in conservation efforts.  They introduce people of all ages to animals that they would otherwise not know about or encounter in the wild.  If such encounters instill in even a small percentage of those people a desire to protect these animals … and if even a smaller percentage go on to do something about it.  Well, that’s how strides are made in the conservation and protection of the species … one small step at a time.

On a photo safari in Botswana, we were surprised to see how wary the lions we were
watching were of a badger that crossed their path.  No wonder; just look at those claws.
Their elongated claws are an adaptation for digging out safety holes and food.

So, we went to the Montgomery Zoo.  But that’s not what I am going to post about … at least not directly.

Now that I’ve prepared you for seeing pictures of captive animals, I’m going to take the next step and tell you that I am going to share with you our visit to the Mann Wildlife Learning Museum (MWLM), which is adjacent to the zoo.  This will entail showing you animals that were once alive, but which have since been killed, stuffed, and mounted in educational displays ... just like the two foregoing animal pictures; and the ones that follow.  (Except for Mui; he’s still very much alive and kicking!)

The brochure describes the MWLM as a place where visitors can “Take a hands-on approach
to learning about wildlife conservation and preservation.”  In all honesty, we didn’t know exactly what that meant when we showed our wristbands to the attendant just inside the door to the exhibit rooms.

Would we have skipped the place if we had anticipated that we were about to come face to face with rooms full of dead animals?  Probably not since the MWLM turned out to be not that different from natural history museums we have visited in the past.  The difference is that the Mann Museum focuses strictly on North American animal species.

At one of the “touch” exhibits, Mui feels the soft fur covering a piece of elk hide.

I still have quite a bit of reading to do about the MWLM, but from what I understand, the original facility was located in Opelika, Alabama.  It was purchased by the Montgomery Zoo in 2003 and relocated here.  The animals on display were taken by bow and arrow by the founder, George P. Mann, an outdoorsman and apparent authority on North American animals.  He is also a hunting guide … something I have a hard time reconciling with his dedication to “wildlife conservation through education.”  But his ‘hunting’ is not the story of this post, except in a roundabout way.

Many of the display cases are designed to show “live activity scenes.”  The detail is amazing; the taxidermy professionally done.  Mural backdrops help to visualize the animals in the proper setting.

“What's for Lunch in the Arctic" exhibit.
two Arctic wolves are shown in full stride as they chase down a caribou for a winter meal.
The paws of the Arctic wolf are covered in hair for better traction, warmth, and mobility.

There isn’t much in the way of signage, but after reading the placards in a couple of the display cases, I was impressed.  In a short paragraph, quite a bit of information is conveyed … not just about the featured animal, but also about its environment, behavior, and interaction with other animals or humans.  Some of the words explained details that might otherwise go unnoticed — like the meaning of the “scrape” left by a buck … and the answer is: it’s how he marks his spot.

The words used are simple, leading me to believe the intended audience is children, but I think it works for adults as well.  We can (and have been) overwhelmed by too much information in some museums, thus losing our focus on the subject at hand.

Left: The Alabama Flicker (or Yellow Hummer) is the state bird; it eats any type of insect
that is found under tree bark or larvae that is mainly found in dead wood.

Right: “Smart As a Fox”  … an Arctic fox will eat anything from berries to
birds such as the willow ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska.

I have to admit that with the great weather waiting for us outside, we didn’t do the museum justice.  Still, we managed to spend a couple of hours checking out the over 270 displays on site … much of the time studying exhibits associated with some of the mega fauna we’ve been privileged to see in the wild … the polar bear; the brown, grizzly and Kodiak brown bears; the muskox; and the lynx (although the latter would not be considered mega fauna).

Mui tries to reach up and give the polar bear a hug … to no avail!

On our first visit to Alaska, we went up the Dalton Highway to the Arctic.
En route, we saw not one, not two, but three lynx stalking a hare near the road.
the scene we witnessed was nothing like this, but this display did bring back great memories.

The “Momma Didn't Tell Me” exhibit.
bobcats and porcupines are common to most areas of the US.  Not all of nature's
lessons are instinctively known to each animal.  Here, momma has just let her baby
learn that porcupines are not always a friend, playmate, or food.

I took a lot of photos — as might be expected.  If you’d like to see more pictures from the museum, and read some of the extensive captions I copied from the signage at the museum, visit my online gallery here.

The Mann Wildlife Learning Museum turned out to be an unexpected gem; I’m glad we didn’t take a pass on going inside.  Definitely worth the admission fee ($6/adult; a dollar off for those with military ID cards.

Next up … the zoo.

Short-Week Review from Maxwell

Tuesday, 5 March
Maxwell AFB FamCamp — Montgomery, Alabama
Temps: Lo 39F / Hi 71F (4C / 22C)

This review comes early since we will be leaving for greener pastures (so to speak) on Thursday.

If the first few days of March have anything in common, it’s that they were cold.  With a brisk breeze cutting to the bone, we really had no wish to go out and explore Montgomery and its environs.  Instead, we used the time to catch up on indoor projects at home, and Mui did some preventive maintenance on the steps outside when the temp sort of warmed up on Saturday.

Friday (March 1), we tested renting movies from iTunes.  Users can buy or rent.  In the latter case, you have 30 days to watch the movie and once you click the play button, you must finish watching within 24 hours before the download disappears in a virtual puff of smoke.  We rented Argo for $3.99; a good price for a recent award-winning movie … sure beats the price of theater tickets.  iTunes rentals look to be a good alternative to Netflix, which we subscribed to while we were living in a stix & bricks.  We have started a list of movies to download when we’re in campgrounds where we have free wi-fi to supplement our own internet data package. 

Saturday, I attempted to go for a walk around the lake near the campground.  The chill quickly drove me back home, but not before I captured a photo of the resident great blue heron in its breeding plumage.  How do I know?  Check out the lore (area between the base of the bill and the eyes) … it’s blue.

Sunday dawned overcast and we were resigned to another gloomy day.  But then, Mother Nature smiled on us.  By mid-morning, the sun was out and the sky was a brilliant blue.  Even though it was only about 48F (9C), we decided it was time to get out before cabin fever set in permanently.  The short stroll we embarked on turned into a 6½-mile (10½ km) walk around the perimeter of the Maxwell airfield.  A detour along the way uncovered an interesting marker that we would have otherwise missed.

Today’s military passenger terminal and base operations stand where
the hangar of the Wright Brothers’ flying school was once located.

Since it was Sunday, we didn’t expect to see any action on the runway, but we were wrong … and this time I was prepared to take pictures of the two C-130 Hercules being put through their paces.

With a day of sunshine and warm temps forecasted for Monday (the 4th), we knew we couldn’t waste it.  What to do?  We considered Selma, but decided we weren’t up to doing a 100-mile (160 km) roundtrip drive.  So, we hopped in the car and went to the Montgomery Zoo to get our “wildlife” fix.  We had a wonderful day; one that deserves a separate post (or two).

Parakeet Cove, a free-flight aviary, was our first stop at the Montgomery Zoo.

Moving on to the end of our day.  We wrapped up our zoo outing with dinner at John “Big Daddy” Bishop’s Dreamland BBQ, which has been serving ribs since 1958 under the slogan “Ain’t nothing like ‘em nowhere!”

Several of the murals decorating the walls of Dreamland BBQ were painted by
Roscoe Hall II, John "Big Daddy" Bishop's grandson; the mural on the bottom left
is of the original Dreamland location in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

We can’t vouch for the ribs — I’m not a ribs person, so I got the chopped chicken plate; Mui forgot to order the ribs and got the chopped pork plate.  Both meats were pit-cooked and came with a side of Dreamland Sauce, which is “rumored to have moonshine as a key ingredient,” two sides, and the ubiquitous slice of Wonder bread.  It was a lot of food; half of my chopped chicken came home with us and made for tasty sandwich fixings today.  We topped off our meal with Dreamland’s signature dessert — banana pudding.  We were good and ordered the small portion of this yummy dessert; might have to get the double portion next time!

Mui’s chopped pork plate didn’t look much different from my chopped chicken …
just a different meat and coleslaw instead of mac & cheese.

And finally, today (the 5th).  It was the warmest day we’ve had since the beginning of the month, but it was overcast and gloomy all day.  And windy, too.  The high wind alert was on target and we felt the gusts rocking the Phaeton until shortly after 8:00p.  Mid-afternoon, a squall came through the area.  Short in duration, it dumped quite a bit of rain.  We happened to be inside at the time, but those who were caught unawares got a good soaking for sure.

We had a very full day in preparation for our move to a COE (Corps of Engineers) campground south of Montgomery on Thursday.  Mui shopped to fill the larder, and cooked a few meals to reduce the number of pots and pans that will need to be washed while we’re at a water/electric site.  I threw in a couple loads of laundry, and started processing photos for our zoo outing … blog post(s) coming soon.

Week in Review from Maxwell-Gunter

Thursday, 28 February
Maxwell AFB FamCamp — Montgomery, Alabama
Temps: Lo 34F (Forecasted) / Hi 54F (1C / 12C)

It feels like we just arrived at the Maxwell AFB  FamCamp this afternoon.  But that’s an illusion … we arrived a week ago today.  The week has gone by fast.  As a matter of fact, the month has flown by.  Of course, it doesn’t help that it’s a short month ;-)

An easy 204-mile (326 km) drive brought us to Montgomery on 21 February.  (We took the same route as the one we drove when we left here on January 31, so I’m recycling that map for this blog post — just switch the red and the green points.)

We called while we were still in Red Bay to make reservations at the FamCamp, and snagged a great site for our return stay — once again for two-weeks.

Last time, we were in site 61 … second row, third from the end;
nice, but we sure like site 69 better,

Site 69 is at the end of a five-site row; no neighbors on the passenger side, and we overlook an open field with a thicket of trees on the far side.  The adjacent site is closed for repairs, so for this week at least, no neighbors on that side either.  The rate for our pull-through FHU site is $20/night, but we’re getting the weekly rate — seven nights for the price of six.  Pretty darn good.

View of our site from the empty field across from us.
The brown building is the bathhouse, with the laundry at the far end.
The nice thing about the bathhouse is that it is not communal; each door leads
to a private bathroom/shower.  Great for long, hot showers ;-)

Top Left: view from our windshield shows the tent camping area in the distance,
with one of the two lakes just beyond.

Top Right: view from our door.

Bottom: the old section of the campground; mostly long-term campers;
difficult for big rigs to maneuver into those sites.

Every morning, flocks of birds fly out of the treeline to nibble at whatever they can find hidden in the grass and warm themselves in the early morning sunshine. There are American robins, mockingbirds, mourning doves, and red-shouldered blackbirds.  They’re all very skittish and scatter as soon as they sense motion.  I got a few photos, but I’ll have to work on my patience to get better ones.

Mourning Dove

American Robins

We’ve been busy since we arrived, but at a slower pace than usual.  We’re resting up from our whirlwind days in Red Bay, and taking care of chores when the mood strikes us.

Taking advantage of the mostly sunny days, Mui’s been up on the roof to spray it with 303 (UV protectant), and has also done some work on reorganizing the basement bays.  I’ve done a mountain of laundry, and some much needed cleaning.  And, of course, I finished processing a ton of photos to wrap up the posts for our Red Bay saga.

The weather has been quite nice.  Our temps have ranged from a low of 37F (3C) last night to a high of 69F (21C) on a couple of days.  There’s a front coming our way, so it will get a bit colder no doubt.

We’ve had plenty of rain — over 5 inches (127+ mm) in the time we’ve been here.  The hard rains (some with thunder and lightning) came overnight, leaving us with sunny — if cool — days.  Perfect weather for taking long walks.

As the ground has gotten a good soaking, strolling around the lakes has been out of the question.  Instead, I walked the flightline perimeter road, detouring to the air park on one occasion, and to the post office on another occasion.  About 3 miles (4.6 km) each time, with return ride to the campground courtesy of Mui.

This marker, located at the historic air park, honors a program, agreed to by Roosevelt and Churchill in 1941, which resulted in over 4,000 British and Commonwealth pilots being trained in the US by the US Army Air Corps; some at Maxwell Field.

Those of you who are regular readers will recall that I wrote about the historic air park here at Maxwell, which we explored when we were here in January (click for the post).  One of the tributes in the park is to the Wright Brothers.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good shot of it then.  With the cooperation of the sun, I did a little better this time.

The plaque at the monument mentions the cooperation between the Wright Brothers
and the citizens of Alabama in establishing the nation’s first school of civil aviation in
1910.  It turns out that the site of that flying school later became Maxwell AFB.

If you look closely through the base of the monument, you can glimpse “Poopsie”,
which I wrote about in the post I linked to above.

A closer look at Orville in the cockpit.

Something new I found on one my walks — a Northrup T-38A “Talon.”  Actually, new is not the right word, since it was here the last time we stayed at the FamCamp, but it was being painted.  Located not far from the Maxwell Gate, it’s now on display again — all bright and shiny — an appropriate way to welcome visitors to the base.

Northrup T-38A "Talon": the aircraft chosen by the USAF in the mid-1950s to better
prepare student pilots for the latest tactical aircraft that were then coming into
service; first prototype flew on 10 April 1959.  This aircraft served at Edwards AFB in
California; it was dropped from the USAF inventory in April 1971.

My most recent walk took me in the opposite direction along the flightline perimeter road, past the two lakes nearby, and out to the end of the runway.  It turned out to be a walk with entertainment courtesy of the 908th Airlift Wing (USAF Reserve unit based here at Maxwell).  Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me or I’d have some great shots to show you of a C-130 Hercules aircraft practicing touch-and-go landings and low fly-overs.

I may not have photos of the C-130 in action, but here are a couple of shots from my first walk
earlier in the week.  The C-130 Hercules on the left is taxiing into position to roll down the runway.

After the frequent dining-out we did in Red Bay, we’ve been eating at home again now that we’re on a more normal schedule.  Not as much fun perhaps, but definitely healthier meals.  That said, we didn’t say no when Maria and Nigel, whom we met at the Tiffin Allegro Service Center, suggested we get together for lunch in Montgomery.  Thinking that they were already on their way to Pensacola, we were pleasantly surprised to hear from them the night we arrived at Maxwell.  They were still camped at Gunter Hill COE, and we arranged to meet up for lunch on Saturday, the 23rd.

Always good to see friends again and chat about what we’ve all been up to.

Our first choice, an Italian restaurant in downtown Montgomery’s “The Alley” was closed for lunch.  So, we ended up at the Railyard Brewing Co. instead.  The music could have been toned down a bit; otherwise, we enjoyed the pub-like atmosphere.

The Railyard IPA & Cheddar, a beer-based soup garnished with fried onion rings, was good, but a bit salty for my taste.  However, I was very pleased with the Signature Burger I ordered; and Mui was very happy with his Smoked BBQ Bison Burger … both were served on a pretzel bun.  I believe Maria and Nigel were pleased with their choices as well … and we were all charmed by the presentation of the fries in tin pails.

Next time, we’ll try one of the brews; this time, we just enjoyed the food.

Our only real outing this week was today; and it was a short one.  We drove the 7 miles (11 km) to the Gunter Hill COE (Corps of Engineers) campground to check out the sites for a future stay … it’s just too close to Maxwell to be a feasible stop for us this time around as we need a place further south once we leave here.  We really liked what we saw and will make a point of staying at Gunter Hill at some point in our travels.

We were planning to go to Selma on Sunday, but just heard that Vice President and Mrs Biden will be there for the “crossing of the bridge” jubilee.  We’ve spent enough time in DC to know what that will do to the crowds … and the traffic, so we will probably shift our plans around.  Hmmm … I wonder if that means the Bidens will be flying into Maxwell?