The Belize Zoo

The Belize Zoo opened in 1983 as a temporary home for 17 animals left behind after the filming of a documentary about tropical forests. Since then the zoo has become a permanent home to nearly 200 animals.


After realizing that many Belizean citizens were not aware of the many different species of wildlife they shared their country, the Tropical Education Center was formed.

We headed off too visit the zoo with plenty of sunscreen but alas neglected to realize we would also need bug spray for the multitude of mosquitos that inhabit the rain forest!

The Tapir is a forest dweller that forages along river banks and forest clearings. Also known as Mountain Cows, Tapirs are the national animal of Belize.

The Yucatan Spider Monkey that calls Belize home is an endangered species. The population took a major hit in the 1950's due to a strain of the yellow fever but today the major threats are from deforestation and the pet trade. Owning a spider monkey in Belize is illegal and several members of the troop came to the zoo after they were either confiscated from the owners or grew too big and hard to handle.

The Brown Pelican is the smallest of eight species of pelicans. Primarily found in the coastal areas of southern United States and South America, these lovely birds have made a home in Belize, Central America.

My favorite picture of the day had to be this gorgeous Jaguar! The zoo is a sanctuary for the large cats that had started hunting cattle, sheep and dogs instead of their usual prey of deer, peccary and armadillo. These cats would be doomed if not for the zoo. Instead of destroying them, the zoo now studies them for research and education.

I don't know what kind of cat this was, but it sure had pretty eyes!






Remember to visit the zoo if you are ever in Belize!


And then we wait for the bus!

Adventures in Belize - Getting to the Island

We finally made it back to our island paradise! I can't believe it has been 2 years since we were here but (almost) everything is exactly as I remember it. It is such a beautiful and peaceful place. Here are the highlights of the first days of our adventure!

Day 1 (Saturday, November 14, 2015)
Headed over to pick up Lola around 4:30 and then off to the airport for a 8am flight to Belize City. It was Lola's first time on an airplane. She handled the first leg just fine. The second leg (Houston to Belize) was a little bumpy and brought a few challenges but we all survived it and landed in the humid and rainy city to begin our adventure.

 We spent the night at the Princess Hotel which doubles as the only casino in the entire country. Figures that we would leave a town of casinos and arrive in the only city with one in Belize! We got up early, ate a quick breakfast, took some Dramamine and then headed to meet the boat for our 8 am departure...which was 8 am Belize time, meaning we left the dock around 9:30 loaded with supplies for us and for the lodge along with our awesome crew who took great care of all of us, especially Lola since it was also her first trip on a boat.

Jody and Lola on the dock!

Day 2 (Sunday)








The skies looked pretty ominous as we headed out but we managed to miss getting into a squall.




Some mangrove trees along the way, near Turneffe Island. We pass through 2 atolls (Spanish and Turneffe) before we get to Lighthouse Reef Atoll where Long Caye Island is located.

Jody and Lola decided to exchange sunglasses to see if the view was any different. I don't think it was but it distracted Lola from the rough seas for just a bit.

A small resort along the way. It was hard to capture sharp images on the ocean! I loved the challenge though. I was hoping to capture some flying fish or a dolphin but none were to be found during this leg of the journey.

Making our approach to Long Caye! The colors of the Caribbean are so gorgeous I could stare at them for hours!

And here we are! Our little dock marks the beginning of 7 days on the island!

Fall Colors from Carthage

The beauty of the leaves changing colors has always made me happy! It's still fairly early in the season here in the middle of the US but I was happy to see the colors beginning to show. 

Roaring River State Park - Fire Tower Trail

The sign at the trail head said 3.7 and approximately 3 hours to hike it. We didn't start until close to 3pm so that created a bit of anxiety!

 The leaves were just beginning to show signs of changing.

 The shades of green in the forest always make me smile!

It was a really nice, well-maintained trail. Not too steep but there were several sharp inclines.

Lots of cool rock formations and I spotted a cave or two along the way.

 I loved the beautiful shade of blue as the sky peeked through the trees.

The sunlight created some great shadows too!

 Did I mention there was an abundance of rocks?

 There's nothing quite like a peaceful walk in the forest!

 About midway we found the old fire tower. We climbed to the top but with all the leaves still on the trees there wasn't much to see. Still a neat feature!

 This will be a beautiful spot in a few weeks when the leaves are at their peak.

This was a great hike, however, the .25 mile walk back to the car along the highway wasn't nearly as much fun! I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a nice, easy adventure in the woods!

Talimena Trail 2013

We rode the Talimena Trail through the Ouachita National Forest last weekend. While the weather was less than cooperative (rain and some sleet higher up) and the leaves weren't very far along in changing, it was still a beautiful ride!

A little history about the trail...

The gang! Probably anxious to head out and beat the rain. We weren't successful. 

Not a lot of color yet but it was still beautiful!

And you could see for miles and miles and miles...

Photography from the back of a moving bike created a ton of blur but provided many photoshop opportunities! 

Not sure which one I liked best...

...so I kept them both!

Loved the contrast in this one. The clouds in the sky and the mountains added depth. Great display of nature and the incoming storms.

...and the colors in this one. Another fast-moving bike challenge!

It was a great day! The ride through the forest was really pretty and the road was a great mix of curves, hills, and valleys.

A bit of the road. This may have been the straightest section!

A hint of what is to come, color-wise!

 

Geocaching Happiness

As a fairly new geocacher every find is still exciting and on Saturday we hit the big time. We got an FTF!!! Okay, that may only be super exciting in my mind but hey, I thought it fantastic! And you may be wondering just what the heck is an FTF, right? It is a "First to Find" and kind of a badge of honor among cachers I think. 

It was probably one of the coldest days of the year but we didn't let that detour us as we headed out in  search of the cache. We used both the GPS coordinates and the ones from my phone and they kept leading us to the same spot. The tree. So we wondered around trying to avoid possible muggles (spies in geocache lingo) and finally it was spotted! We were so excited as we opened the container, which was no easy feat by this time as our fingers were quite frozen! Sure enough we had done it, FTF honors were ours! Woot! 

Did I mention there was also a prize? A nice, crisp $5 bill! So we bought breakfast and headed out to hide some of our own and share the excitement with others! If you aren't a geocacher and would like to find out more, visit the website: www.geocaching.com and check it out!