We took a hike to this small cave while camping.  Even though we had planned on taking this hike to a cave, we of course, forgot to bring any flashlights.  The kids wanted to check out the cave anyway, so I decided to use my cameras display screen for a bit of light.  We had to crawl to fit into the cave, and about halfway in, I turned the light up to the ceiling.  Much to our surprise, there were about six little brown bats hanging out about 6″ from our heads.  The kids are great troopers and found it very cool, and not scary at all.  My wife on the other hand, who wasn’t even in the cave, freaked out completely.  I’m glad my kids take after me and not her on that one!

I came across this painted turtle on my way to visit the Norway Nursery.  He was trying to cross from on pond to another pond where there were a large group of them hanging out.  I took a few pictures and then helped him across the road so he wouldn’t get run over.

Phillips Park Zoo is a free admission zoo located in Aurora off of Montgomery road, just follow the signs.  There are lots of outdoor exibits including the mountain lion, river otter, bald eagles, elk and wolves.  There is also a reptile house and a museum dedicated to the mastadon which was found in the park in the 1930’s. 

Inside the mastadon museum there are several fossilized bones which were found within the park.  On display are two skulls, tusks, and several other bones.  There are photos of the excavation and a brief history of the fossils.

The reptile house has lots of surprising animals that I didn’t expect.  First are two spectacled caiman which I have never seen in a zoo before.  Second are the two american alligators shown above.  There are also several large boa constrictors, pythons and other smaller snakes.  Also on display are tortoises and turtles, including a large snapping turtle.  

One of the best parts of our visit to the zoo was seeing the wolves on display.  Both the wolves and the mountail lions have display windows for up close views of these beautiful animals which was great for the kids.  Phillips Park Zoo is a great place to go with the family.  It’s not very large so you can decide to go there just for an afternoon walk when the weather is nice.  Defineatly somewhere to go again.

I went out today and checked on the Spicebush caterpillars today.  They are getting bigger and turning into a pretty green and yellow.  The fake eyespot is very distinct now which make them look even goofier.  There are only a few of the caterpillars compared to the couple dozen eggs that the butterly laid.  I hope the few left will survive so I can continue to watch them transform.