September 21, 2014

Rock Creek Park & The National Zoo

Washington, DC

It was quite chilly this morning so we weren’t anxious to get out bed. 

 

Even Anne was cold-this is one of her favorite places to sleep.

 

 

We braved the busy Washington traffic maneuvering through streets where lanes ended without notice.  Monte managed to avoid us hitting or getting hit by cars with drivers not using turn signals.

Our destination was Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium. 

Rock Creek Park, managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, is a gem offering visitors an opportunity to enjoy activities including picnicking, biking and hiking.
The park also has the only planetarium in the National Park System and it was the main reason for our visit.  We arrived early for the next Ranger-let program on Exploring the Universe.

We took advantage of the time to sit outside and eat our picnic lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we entered the Visitor Center where I stamped my passport and we toured the Nature Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the program in the planetarium even though it was geared toward children.

 

 

 

 

Following the program we drove down to another section of the park, the Peirce Mill parking lot. 

 The Ranger at the Visitor Center had suggested we park there because it was the closest parking lot in the park where we could park and then ride our bikes to the National Zoo a little over half mile away.

 

 

Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Zoo is the nation’s zoo.  It is open 364 days a year, has 2,000 individual animals of 400 different species and is absolutely FREE.  There is a fee to park but we avoided it by riding our bikes to the park.

Once at the zoo, we found a place to lock up our bikes and then walked to the other end of the park to one of the most visited sections, the Giant Panda Habitat.

 

Giant panda live in a few mountain ranges in the broadleaf and coniferous forests of central China. 

The giant panda is a black and white bear with a typical body of bears.

  Their large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles enable them to crush tough bamboo consisting of 99 percent of their diet.

The giant panda is listed as endangered.

Adult giant pandas are solitary but offspring stay with their mothers from one and half to three years.

The two adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, are at the National Zoo under a Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement between the Zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association.  The focus of the program, extended through 2015, is designed to preserve the endangered species.

The newest member at the Giant Panda Exhibit, Bao Bao who just turned one years’ old, was the result of a timed artificial insemination.  When Bao Bao turns four she will she will travel to China and enter the breading program for giant pandas.

After leaving the exhibit we slowly walked back stopping at some of the other habitats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then made the return ride back to the parking lot.

 

We were happy that the traffic was lighter on the way home.