The Train Ride

Ella and Autumn have both had a chance to get out this week.

Amaya convinced me that today was her turn out.
I sat and thought about where we could go. 

Amaya said that she wanted to ride the train. Great idea!

We went to the Bio Park and rode the 3/4 scale train

that takes passengers between the Botanic Garden and the Rio Grande Zoo.
This was not the train that Amaya said she wanted to ride on.

But, it worked. It doesn't go far and it loops around

on the Bio Park property.

We rode past the fishing ponds called Tingley Beach.
It is on the same property of the Botanic Garden and Rio Grande Zoo.

The bosque is the forest along the Rio Grande.
It is on the west side of the train tracks.

We enjoyed seeing the trees, the trails and paths that people

use to exercise and enjoy the area.

The train entered the zoo.

We were the only passengers that didn't get off

to spend the day at the zoo as the main use of the train is to

transport people between the botanic garden and zoo

so they can visit both locations in one day without driving.

As a Bio Park member paying an annual fee,

I only had to pay the $2 train fee today, so it was an affordable

loop to ride for the pleasure of it.

The train train turned around in a loop in the zoo 
and drove through Tingley Beach again,

and then turned around by driving through the botanic garden.

The curves in the track are a great opportunity

to photograph the train!

We got off the train at the botanic garden.
We decided to walk around.

Amaya said the purple flowers matched her purple shirt!

The sky was a beautiful blue.

The flowers are transitioning from early spring flowers

 into mid spring and early summer flowers.

Ella and I had enjoyed the flowers at our last visit,

but we had not gone to the Heritage Farm or Sasebo Japanese Garden

exhibit areas at the Botanic Garden.

Amaya and I went to Heritage Farm and saw the adobe

farm house replicating a house from the 1920's to 1940's

in the Rio Grande valley.

Amaya found a place to stand for photos.

I sat on the side of the trail with the flowers on the ground.

There is a farm house with animals in the back.

Amaya posed in the "laundry" pocket as Voir

had done last summer.

Voir
June 25, 2015

Next, we went the Sasebo Japanese Garden.

There was a bee over a large flower!
It appeared to hold something in its feet!

That was interesting, but the waterfall and the pond

are the largest features of the Japanese Garden.

We walked on the path around the pond.

The Sasebo Japanese Garden has plants that will grow locally,

but they also have features of a Japanese garden.

There are smaller ponds and streams around the larger pond.

It is the season of being drawn to water!

The Sasebo Japanese Garden was a beautiful place to visit,

but I felt bad about Amaya not getting what she wanted.

She had wanted the opportunity to be with the trains in her size.

Before we left the Botanic Garden, we went to the landscaped model railroads

set up at as a display for visitors,

but accessible for use by a local train club.

There is a wooden fence around it,

so Amaya won't be able to ride on a train

unless I work with a model collector in the exhibit area.

The model trains continued to ride around on the tracks.
There were a few men in the model train exhibit area

operating the trains from a central control panel.

Amaya got to watch the trains go past her,

and get her photo taken with them.

Thank you!

We had a lovely spring day with the trains at the Bio Park!