Sometimes (most of the time????) the misfortune that we experience is of our own making. The work on our 5th wheel trailer had been completed with a nice new air-conditioning unit installed ~ works really great, by the way! As I was hooking up to the trailer, I had an accident which bent the tailgate of the truck. Now I have to admit that my first words were not of "thanksgiving"! Anyway, we were delayed almost another week before we could leave the St. Louis area, heading on to Oklahoma.

We had heard that St. Louis had a FREE zoo and decided to take a look. It was a very informative zoo, mostly containing animals that are on the endangered species list. I assume that these animals for one reason or another could not be released into the wild, but would draw awareness to the plight they are in ~ about to be put on the "extinct" list.

We pulled up in the late morning - already hot and humid, but hopefully there were some "splash zones" or indoor activities to give us some relief. Of course, as soon as we arrived inside the zoo, I needed a drink of water. We found this really cool drinking fountain ~ a fountain for people of all heights (see photos)!!!!

We enjoyed walking around and reading all the very informative information boards about each animal. There were some really strange looking animals that I don't believe that I had ever seen before ~ or maybe I wasn't paying attention at the San Diego Zoo!

One of the coolest places at the zoo (literally AND figuratively) was the underwater glass tunnel. We could watch sharks, tuna, seals and other sea creatures swim around us and over us. Very nice!

I guess my only disappointment was the "Cypress Swamp".....of course, this coming from a guy that spent almost three months in Florida and took boat rides out into the Okefenokee Swamp and the Everglades, which includes cypress swamps. But overall, it was a very interesting and enjoyable time at the zoo.

Of course, we ended up at the far side of the zoo and were ready to go home. There is a minature train that encircles the entire zoo (must like at Disneyland), except there is NO legroom for stretched people!!!! But we made the best of it because I had gotten to the place that I just couldn't walk must further.

We ended our day having dinner and heading back to the trailer for a good night's sleep!