On the road again...to Sloth Heaven!

Well, it's that time of the year again...road trip!  My spring road trip to be exact!  After giving my cat one last hug and kiss, I headed south to Longview, WA.  I grabbed some lunch, then visited the Cowlitz County Historical Museum.

A small museum, but they still did a good job showcasing the history of the area.  There was also a special exhibit on the history of local police from early sheriffs to the present day.  Here's an old lie detector...not sure what they used it for.

In the afternoon, I drove across the Cowlitz River to the Sloth Sanctuary at the Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center in Rainier, OR.  It was here that I had my very special private sloth encounter!

After going over some basic rules on interacting with the sloths, I got up close and personal with seven of them!  I got to feed them one of their favorite foods, cucumbers!  While they munched on their treats, I also petted them...they are actually rather rough coated.

 

Sloths don't bathe, they just groom themselves by running their claws through their coats.  The nice employee at the sanctuary answered my many questions and explained that the sloths were actually rescued from areas in the Amazon where deforestation has destroyed their home territories.  It's wonderful that the people at the sanctuary have given the sloths a safe place to live out their lives.  The funny thing is, those who visit the sanctuary provide enrichment for the sloths...they enjoy being treated like royalty!  Here are two sloths that really enjoy each others company!

Sadly, I wasn't allowed to take any selfies with the sloths.  But, feeding and petting and talking to the sloths for almost an hour more than made up for it!  One sloth really, REALLY loved his cucumbers!  So much so, he practically begged for more!

But, all good things must come to an end.  I won't soon forget my encounter with the sloths.  Such awesome creatures!  To bring my day to an interesting close, they had a huge windstorm come through the Portland area.  Thus, my hotel has NO POWER!  Thankfully, my laptop has three hours of juice and I have my mobile hotspot for internet.  So, I'm able to bring this blog post to you.  Enjoy!