Belle Isle: Michigan Nature Zoo

The Michigan Nature Zoo is the new zoo on Belle Isle. There used to be a little zoo there when I was a kid, but it closed because the Detroit Zoo is not far away and much better equipped for exotic animals. The Belle Isle zoo reopened recently as the Michigan Nature Zoo, which focuses on native species. They're still putting in new exhibits and raising money, but it's a cute little place and it's free!

 When you first walk in, you're greeted by these giant rocks of salt. These were mined from underneath Detroit. There are huge salt mines under Detroit and Lake Huron.

 These are baby gar! Gar are related to pike and muskellunge. They can get pretty big. Google 'alligator gar' and you'll see some big ones. They're adorable when they're babies.

 These are perch. I used to fish for these when I was a kid and went fishing Up North with my dad.

 A black rat snake. He was moving around a lot which is why the picture is blurry. It was the only snake they currently have on exhibit. They aren't venomous but they can be kind of cranky.

 This is one of my favorites-it's a snapping turtle. They look so cool, like a little dinosaur. I would not want to get snapped by one though, they can break fingers with their bite force.

 One of the native Michigan turtles. I forget which one. He was chilling out near the glass.

 I like this picture because the turtle is actually coming out of the pond. Then the other one is sitting there waiting for him. I think the one in the pond is a painted turtle but I can't quite tell.

 These are the largest salamanders in Michigan. I had no idea these even existed in Michigan. I've never seen one in the wild before.

It's a mudpuppy! They're very similar to axolotls. Apparently you can catch them in rivers occasionally, but I've never caught one. I think they're kind of cute.

Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit: Part 1

When I was home in Michigan, I visited the Scripps Conservatory on Belle Isle in Detroit. I had never been there before and really enjoyed spending some time in one of Detroit's prettiest spots. It's free and I would highly recommend it. 

 Aerial roots from a giant palm tree. I think it was a cypress palm but I'm not positive.

Aloe juvenna. It seems to be more of a climbing aloe than the typical aloe that sits and grows pups.

 Some kind of barrel cactus. That's my dad poking it. Unsurprisingly it was sharp.

 This is the view from the front of the conservatory. They have a formal garden out there where people would have had fancy teas and played croquet back in the day.

 This is the conservatory from the formal garden. It's pretty old and is built in the victorian glass house style.

 This stone is right in front of the conservatory entrance and proves that I was actually in Detroit while seeing all this pretty stuff!

 This cactus was blooming! I think it's a Rebutia but I'm not positive.

 This picture and the next two are all bromeliads. Some of them were blooming but a lot of them were done for the season.

 As you can see in the picture, this is a Buddhist pine. I'm not sure why it's Buddhist.

 This is a cactus and succulent garden. I can identify some echeverias and prickly pear cacti, but the rest are mysteries if they weren't labelled.

 A pretty garden arrangement, including impatiens, coleus, and caladium.

 This is the fountain in the formal garden. It was sculpted by the same man who did the Spirit of Detroit statue.

 Euphorbia milli-the crown of thorns. Very cool succulent with pretty flowers.

 This is some kind of blooming Epiphyllum. I'm not sure which kind.

 They have a small room that's a fern garden. It looks like the Jurassic period in there.

 Seriously, I kind of expected dinosaurs to pop out of all of these ferns and cycads. It was a cool room!

 I forget what these are called, but the flowers are pink and fluffy. I think it's adorable.

 Haworthia tortuosa. I thought it was a particularly neat succulent.

 I forget what this is called. It's some kind of palm, it might be that cypress palm. But it looks like something out of a horror movie!

 Close up of Hoya flowers. I'm not sure which variety of Hoya, but they are very pretty. I wish I could get mine to bloom someday.

Here's the Hoya plant that those flower clusters are attached to. It's huge! Mine is a baby compared to this one. I have more to post but I'll make separate posts since I have a fair amount of pictures.