Athena and I have been exploring new areas of California every other month in the last year thanks to Visit California. Yesterday, we arrived in Redding, California and we had a hot, hot, hot day exploring the family-friendly activities in the area. We spent the better part of the day at Turtle Bay Exploration Park. There was way more to do there than I expected and Athena loved a surprise that waited for us in the animal section.
When we arrived in Sacremento, Athena was still a ball of energy. We sang songs and made up rhymes during the over two hour drive to Redding. We were both getting hungry during the drive but I wanted to eat in Redding so I pushed it a little further.
We stopped at CR Gibbs American Grille for some food before we were off to Turtle Bay Exploration Park. It was over 100 degrees when we arrived and I was way too hot to stay outside for any extended period of time. My plan was to do everything indoors and skip the rest but one of the ladies working there asked if we wanted to go on a porcupine walk. Athena was immediately interested so I didn’t really have a choice at that point.
The air was stifling outside but Athena was excited. When the porcupine started walking down the boardwalk, I forgot all about the heat. I’d never seen one so close before. The guide explained about their different type of fur and how they can’t actually shoot their quills – all things I had no idea about.
The walk was only short and we were already at the animal section of the park so we decided to check out the Parrot Playhouse where visitors can experience colorful parrots in a walk-through aviary.
The parrots flew, jumped, and landed on our hands and heads as we fed them nectar from a cup. We’d never had such an up-close and personal experience with parrots before.
As the guinea pig, I held the cup first. One bird flew onto my hand and another flew onto my head. Athena wasn’t scared at all and wanted to give it a try too.
Two birds flew onto her head and another three landed on her hand. It was really exciting. I didn’t expect for so many birds to sit on us. I was impressed that Athena wasn’t scared. I watched in awe as the birds landed all over her and she calmly let them eat and play. One bird licked the back of her neck and she giggled. Every second of every day reminds me of how adventurous she is. I love it. Watching her grow and learn is such a beautiful experience.
We wanted to stay longer but we were both soaked in sweat.
Inside, there was a Take Flight section that we both enjoyed. We built paper airplanes and put them in small wind tunnels to see how well we could make them fly. It was a lot of fun but I think we were still in shock from having all the birds interact with us.
We took a quick walk across Sundial Bridge before cooling off the in air conditioning in the car. We hadn’t even planned to visit the animals, especially the birds, at Turtle Bay Exploration Park yet it turned out to be the highlight of our day.
Before we knew it, we were on the road again and off to Shasta Trinity National Forest. Lot of fun to come.
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Wow! The animals are great. I’ve never seen a porcupine up close before. Thanks, Lesley, and Athena, for sharing your wonderful trip! 😉 xoM
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My whole life, I thought that porcupines could shoot their quills but it never really mattered because I hadn’t seen one in the wild before. It was a fun learning experience for both of us.
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Pingback: A Warm Welcome at Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, California | quirkywritingcorner
Love the smiles and glad you had so much fun in spite of the heat. It was fun seeing the birds so close and the porcupine!
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I have a bunch of pictures of the birds. There were so many and they were all over us. It was the first time I ever experienced anything like it. So much fun. 🙂
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Great to hear. Making memories that you will cherish when you look back at the pictures.
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Athena looks lovely… so much fun to be had with the kids!
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Looks like you girls are having a great time & learning new things along the way. 🙂
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It’s like going to school 😉
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Redding during a heatwave is no joke! I love Turtle Bay and the Sundial Bridge- I heard is is really cool lit up at night. And the porcupine experience looks really fun 🙂
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I’d love to see it at night. I saw photos and it looks beautiful. Is this temperature normal now? I was expecting to wear pants while I was here but it’s been insanely hot!
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It’s supposed to start cooling off tomorrow. 🙂
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Well I certainly didn’t pack well for this trip 😉
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What fun to have up close and personal experience with all the critters. I, too, was surprised that the porcupine didn’t fling its quills. I always thought they were much like a skunk…get too close and they just let go! Athena is growing up so fast. How wonderful that she has your adventuresome spirit.
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This morning we hiked to a waterfall and it was so cold yet she wanted to jump in. She always has me on my toes. I love it.
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Kids love stuff like that! Good for you to brave the elements. I had the same thing happen to me in Omaha and the zoo. High humidity, 98 degrees and I was melting but it was SO cool!
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We did it one time in Palm Springs too. I don’t always do well with the heat though. I’ve been known to pass out. I take it very seriously. Luckily, we didn’t have any issues.
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I am heat wimp, no passing out but I avoid it all I can! glad it went well and I could tell by the smile Athena loved it as well.
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these are so beautiful.
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Wow, I know I couldn’t cope with that heat! Those parrots look like caiques (I used to have a black headed caique). Gorgeous birds, full of character. Just like your Athena!
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Lovely photos! She looks so happy next to all the animals and wildlife!
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