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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Monday, December 31, 2012

On the seventh day of Christmas, Zoo Lights

A trip to Zoo Lights at Tacoma's Point Defiance Park is a special holiday treat enjoyed by many!  There is a lot of great information about the event here.  Since we hadn't visited  for at least 15  years, we thought it might be interesting to revisit and see if, after all this time, Zoo Lights still lived up to all the hype.  We certainly weren't disappointed.  Even this grinchy curmudgeon whose favorite seasonal greeting is Bah Humbug, found himself giggling and enjoying this carnival of Christmas.


There are more than half a million lights decorating the Zoo.
 Do you see Mr. Rainier in the background?   How did they light the entire mountain for this event?  One also wonders how they changed the orientation of an entire mountain.



Is that a yucca dressed in white lights?





Everywhere along the paths, the gardens are full of lights!


In addition, there are lots of animated displays that would look cool on video if I had remembered to bring my tripod.  You'll just have to check out the wonders of Zoo Lights yourself!
 This rainbow is huge, beautiful and can be seen from quite a distance.  Unfortunately, no one seemed able to find a pot of gold at the end.
 
Scale models of the Narrows Bridges. Notice the tail lights on the bridge on the left and headlights on the one on the right - clever.   
 
If you haven't seen the dramatic video of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse in 1940 and are interested in that sort of thing, here you go. 
 
 
Becasue it's a zoo, there are lots of interesting animals to be seen like this giant squid that, because of the rapid changing of light color, seems to be undulating all over the roof of the aquarium.


Pea fowl.

Lower entrance to the aquarium.

Water birds.


Most of the real zoo animals get to sleep during this event but there are plenty of pretend ones to discover.

There is so much to do at this event like watching Santa swim with the sharks, riding a vintage merry go round, sipping hot chocolate to name a few. 
 
Love this variegated yucca wearing white lights. Speaking of  plants, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium grounds are home to incredible gardens.  More on that tomorrow.  I hope that when the clock strikes midnight and a new year begins, you find yourself healthy, happy, and loved.



21 comments:

  1. Whooa! Now that's an explosion of light and colour!

    Wishing you all the best for 2013 :) Happy New Year!

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    1. It is really a delight and quite worth a trip across town or maybe even across the Atlantic.

      May 2013 be your best year ever!

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  2. The more the merrier for me with holiday lights and these are awesome. So many different colors. Love the yucca and think I should expand my display to include the yuccas next year.

    Impressive how they moved the mountain just for this event.

    I remember that bridge video, but did not remember it was in Tacoma.

    Happy New Year!

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    1. Oh yes, yuccas to next year! Glad you came along and hope the hot chocolate kept you warm. Of course, you could always duck inside the aquarium or the shark house which are always quite warm!

      Happy New Year to you!

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  3. What fun this must have been! Thanks for all the pictures. I didn't realize it was such a big deal. Love the mountain! Something to do next year.

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    1. Zoo lights is very popular. We tried to go the night before but the lots were all full and when we drove by the main entrance, there was such a huge crowd that we decided to try another night. The key to finding parking seems to be to get there early (doors open at 5:00) There are also shuttles from a couple of the more distant lots which is handy.

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  4. Holy lights batman!! That is amazing! The variegated yucca brought warmth to my heart on this rather cold morning.

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    1. It's a great event! I love the yucca too but tomorrow's post from this event may make your socks roll up and down with joy.

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  5. That's a lot of lights! Looking forward to tomorrows post...and I hope you have a wonderful New years Eve, don't get too crazy!

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    1. There may be some spiky goodness tomorrow...
      Hope you have a great New years Eve, too. Any special plans? We could go to First Night, "A celebration of the arts fueled by the fire of creativity, friendship and the pure joy of being alive." but we'll probably play scrabble and then fall asleep on the couch watching T.V. by about 9:00, wake up later and wish each other happy new year before falling back asleep. Ah, the glamourous life!

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    2. Switch out Mad Men for your scrabble game and that was about our NYE too...

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  6. What an amazing post. I love lights! Last year my adult children said they needed sunglasses to look at my Christmas tree... I hope you are celebrating tonight-- Cheers! -L

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    1. Oh Linnie, we're kindred spirits! There can never be too many lights! Are you doing anything special this evening? I briefly considered attending First Night but my "pure joy of being alive" is much more vibrant in a heated house than it is wandering around outside in January.

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  7. Wow, how many lights! Happy New Year, Peter!

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  8. Holy moly, I hope you wore sunglasses! Best wishes for a happy new year, Peter.

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  9. Oh, OK...so you took plenty of shots of the lights, too. It helped you to blend in, but also resulted in some amazing photos. Happy New Year!

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    1. The camouflage seemed to have worked. Happy New Year to you Ricki!

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  10. We saw the zoo lights in 2008 on a visit with my husband's grandkids. Your pictures are better than mine were though.

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    1. Zoo Lights is a fun event for kids of all ages! Happy New Year!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.