Oregon ZooLights - Through January 5th!

While I have been impressed with many light displays this year, my favorite has been ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo.

Yes, there are many animals composed of lights, some with more detail, some that are more outlines, and some that are more 3-D.

 

There were also things that might not have been expected, like a pumpkin patch and flower garden and harvest sheaves.

That was more impressive when you realized that you were probably near the farm, and that the insect lights were probably near the old insect zoo.

Then there were other surprises, like maybe you had mainly been going through animal lights, but then around the corner you caught a glimpse and suddenly there was a field of trees.

Around one corner there was an aquatic wonderland with a fish-go-round that reminded us of the "Under the Sea" segment of Ariel's Undersea Adventure at Disney Land.

As is appropriate for a zoo (especially ours), there was an environmental message as well. This included the display of some of the sea life sculptures made from sea waste among the lights, but also these two timely panels.

https://www.oregonzoo.org/news/2020/01/giant-sea-life-sculptures-wash-ashore-oregon-zoo

One of the biggest surprises for me was how well organized the traffic flow was. There is no reason for our zoo to be good at directing cars, but it worked so smoothly, with a path you could clearly follow. Even the small diversion for cars that had ordered concessions did not break up anything.

And frankly, with that parking lot, it was nice to not have to worry about parking.

It was also fascinating that they could make car traffic work, but then you remember that there are trails we don't see, that can support trucks carrying food and hay and equipment. Somehow they made it work.

The steep slope of Washington Park can cause some logistics issues, but I have been impressed with how some of them have been solved in the past, like going over the bears instead of past them.

This year's pandemic created more problems, but this is an impressive solution.

There was always plenty to look at, no matter which side of the vehicle you were on. The speed of traffic worked well.

It was fanciful, but grounded in reality.

As much as I would rather never have another year like this, another ZooLights like this would be totally welcome, even though there was nothing wrong with the walk-through and train ride before.

https://www.oregonzoo.org/visit/zoolights