Going to the Zoo with a Wheelchair

I'm just now finding a moment to share some pictures from the trip to the zoo we took last week.  I wanted to document it because it was Mason's first zoo trip using his wheelchair.  We had a perfect spring day and saw many animals. 

Even better, we went with friends so our children had some of their favorite people to hang out with.

Our zoo is quite large and to get to the many different sections is a lot of walking, including hills.  I really didn't know how Mason would do.  He did well, allowing us to push him when he needed it, or keep him from flying downhill.

Even in the buildings there are ramps and inclines from barely noticeable to very obvious. The displays and windows indoor were a mix of wheelchair accessible and not so accessible.  I think for a wheeling adult most of the windows and interactive displays would have worked, but Mason is nowhere near the size of an adult yet.  That meant that for some indoor areas we carried Mason so he could see (the reptile house was the biggest offender, I think less than 1/3 of the windows were low enough for Mason to see in from his wheels).

When we reached this bridge into Asia Quest Mason took off.  I wasn't sure what he had spotted at first, so I just followed at a discreet distance.  It turned out there was a small waterfall:

We brought a picnic lunch to the zoo and it was in this area with grass and pine trees.  I was really pleased that there weren't any major roots to keep Mason from exploring. 

He didn't quite know what to make of the grate in the middle.  He looked down inside like there was supposed to be an animal to watch.

Overall it was a great visit.  Mason did well, enjoyed the animals, and as you can see from this picture, was totally worn out by the time we headed home.  I don't think we had even started the van before he fell asleep in his carseat!