Did you know there was a zoo in Bloomington, IL? I didn’t.

Miller Park Zoo doesn’t really have any dragons. Actually, compared to most zoos, they don’t really have many exhibits at all. Although they do devote a fair piece of real estate to a cow and a Brahman bull, which don’t seem terribly zoo like.

On the other hand, they also have snow leopards, a Sumatran tiger, a sun bear (theirs looks more Shar-Pei than bear), bald eagles, red wolves, red pandas, pink (well…a very bleached pink) greater flamingos, lemurs, a wallaby walkabout, and a couple large porcupines, and a ginormous Galapagos tortoise.

The admission price of $6.95 for adults bought us about an hour of entertainment; on a different day, we might have stretched it to 90 minutes. Overall, not a prohibitive cost for a little entertainment. Brookfield Zoo is $17.85 without discounts, which on a per hour/acre/exhibit basis, is a better ROI.

But Brookfield Zoo is a commitment. You better carve out a good chunk of your day. Plus, parking of course…and who can spend that long without needing something to eat or drink?

Miller Park Zoo. Free parking, reasonable admission, solves the “overpriced food and drink” dilemma by offering neither food nor drink, less chance of sunstroke or heat exhaustion, and red pandas. And red pandas are seriously cute. (Sadly, they were not particularly photogenic during our trip. Not many animals were…it was hot, and they were disinterested in we paparazzi.)