Zoo train

After our first few chaotic days of unpacking and setting up here in Bartlesville, we decided to take a morning off and visit Tulsa. The Tulsa Zoo was calling our name, but after the free zoo in Madison, we weren't sure what to expect. Would the animals be happier in the larger cages? How would the boys like the zoo train? Would a larger zoo be worth the extravagant entrance fees?

That bear looks fierce.

Our overall impressions were good. We got to see an arctic fox playfully running around and the elephants getting a bath. Early on we decided to take the zoo train to the other end of the park. What more could a 3-year old want than a train ride? We got to the train depot early to make sure we would get a seat on the train. Jaron's never been on a train before, so we were excited for him to have that experience.

Waiting for the train to come.

It turned out that we were the only people on the train. Fantastic, we thought. We'll get this all to ourselves. Jaron seemed excited about everything until we went through a tunnel that echoed all the train noise. Lately he's been quite obsessed with loud noises. Afterward we asked Jaron what he thought about the train. "Next time we'll get on the train after the tunnel," he said.


We got past the tunnel, took in vistas of the animals grazing by the side and everything was going quite well until we started to go up a hill. Hill might be the wrong word. It was more like a small rise or steady incline. Well, the little engine started to falter. It tried and tried but just couldn't get enough steam to get us up the hill and stopped. Not dismayed, the engine driver decided to back up the train and give it another go. No such luck. Another try and another failure. "Do you want us to get out and push?" we thought. In a final Michael Phelpsian effort our faithful zoo engine backed up even more, mustered up all the chug and puff it could, and seemed to say to itself, "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." as it made it all the way to the top of the hill.


And the zoo? We'll definitely be back there. We loved seeing the cheetahs chasing our train back and forth. If we don't go for the animals, then to see our faithful little zoo train and ride it one more time up the hill. Assuming that it can make it the next time.

The little engine that could.