The last stop on our trip was to a commercial enterprise called The Butterfly House which is located in Whitehouse, Ohio. The facility was not large but very well done. The species of butterflies and moths were limited because we were there on a Saturday and they receive their shipments of butterflies and moths on Monday. There were enough to see and enjoy obviously if you were there earlier in the week the opportunities to see different species would be greatly increased. Many of the guests seemed to be regulars who would just sit there and enjoy the ambience sitting very still waiting and hoping a butterfly would land on them.

The last zoo on the schedule was the Toledo Zoo. We had the opportunity the see Kwisha gorilla, Marty polar bear and Kutai orangutan all animals from Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. Toledo Zoo uses glass to separate the animals from the visitors with great success. The visitors and the animals seem to enjoy the interaction. The zoo has created an experience for the visitors and the orangs that I would love to observe when the weather warms up. The zoo has installed a shower sprayer in the visitor area of the orang exhibit with the activation button in the animal area. The idea being the animals will have the opportunity of spraying the visitors with water at their will provided visitors walk into the spray area. All three animals from Brookfield zoo have reproduced offspring. We were glad to have seen Marty because he is scheduled to go to Pittsburgh Zoo to be used in their breeding program. Marty has produced three cubs at Toledo Zoo.

We were looking forward to going to the Detroit Zoo. We had heard a great deal about the Polar Bear exhibit and the tube for viewing the bears while they are swimming. We had the opportunity to see two different polar bears swimming while we were walking through the tube. I guess our timing was perfect because we understand most visitors do not get to see the bears in the water while they are walking through the tube. We also saw seals swimming on the other side of the exhibit while we were in the tube. Detroit Zoo has a lot to offer including a viewing dome for kids within the prairie dog's exhibit. The zoo offered families and individuals the opportunity to develop and maintain a garden plot in the grassy areas of the zoo. It was interesting to view the ideas that were used in creating the garden plots.

If you enjoy waiting for a tram the Cleveland Zoo is for you. We waited 35 minutes for the tram which was recommended to us so we did not have to walk up a steep hill. Some visitors elected to walk and showed the effects from the climb. At the end of the tram ride is the Africa exhibit which took us 20 minutes to walk through the area. We then waited 25 minutes for the return trip on the tram. The next stop was the North American exhibit which was only accessible by tram because of construction, this was again a 30 minute wait. The exhibit was interesting and took about 30 minutes to view and you guessed it we then waited 25 minutes for the tram. When you do the math 2 hours waiting and less than 1 hour viewing you must question going to the zoo. If you are tired of cutting the grass the zoo has an elephant that would be happy to help, providing you have a lot of dandelions which the elephant loves. The multi- leveled Rain Forest Building (where the Orangutans are housed) was very enjoyable and would make visiting the zoo worthwhile because you did not have to wait for the tram.

It has been at least twenty years since I last visited the Columbus Zoo. The last time I was there I enjoyed the zoo very much. What can be accomplished in twenty years is amazing. The zoo is beautiful and there are many new exhibits. The only section I recognized is what they now call the North America Exhibit which will be replaced in the next couple of years. The one animal I remember at the zoo was the male elephant who threw anything he could grab including dung at the visitors. He is still there and is the dad of a three year old calf. Corporate sponsorship is helping the Columbus Zoo to achieve many of their goals. Jack Hanna is the former director of the zoo, and now holds the position of Director Emeritus. There are over 580 acres including the area the zoo now encompasses for further development. This total land mass makes Columbus Ohio Zoo the largest municipal-affiliated zoo in the country. Don't miss this zoo if you are in the area.

The Cincinnati Ohio Zoo is another zoo built on the side of a hill. This zoo has a little bit of everything. There is a small museum, an insectarium and a underwater viewing area for Manatees all which add to the attraction. The zoo lacks the organized path (there are paths going every direction) through the zoo which makes seeing the entire zoo more difficult for first time visitors. There is a nice collection of animals to view.