Day 5.
(Only 2 more Berkshire vacation days to go. There will be an end… eventually. I promise.)
Destination? An indoor conservation garden filled with wonderful (and sometimes creepy crawling) things.
But first we had to get there.
We passed beautiful stone churches…
The ever present windmills…
And a very strange breed of Berkshire deer.
If you use Apple maps navigation like we do, you know that SIRI can put you on some very out of the way routes to cut 35 seconds off your arrival time. This trip was no exception.
If that bitch directs you to take the Quarry Road up and over the mountain?
Do. Not. Go.
Calling it a road is a stretch, as it got narrower and narrower until it was nothing but a dirt trail. I stopped photographing shortly after that pic was taken because it was rutted, slippery with mud and about 4 inches wide. My fingernails were too busy digging ruts into the dashboard to operate the camera.
But we survived and made it to…
I wasn’t sure what to expect, as there were mixed reviews of this small family run operation.
But the cafe looked alright.
(No, we didn’t eat. Food lovers will have to wait for dinner.)
We purchased tickets and walked through the first door to….
A veritable insect Disneyland!
Warning – if you don’t love bugs and reptiles? Come back for Part 2. There were a lot of both.
Personally? I love me some bugs! The bigger and creepier the better.
I mean, look at them!
A mass of writhing Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches.
What’s not to love?
Yeah…
Thanks for that.
This one was hungry.
These lived their lives upside down.
But these?
These fellows from New Guinea looked like dead leaves walking, and were just plain amazing!
There were brightly colored poisonous dart frogs…
Who were hard to photograph as they kept jumping around at will.
Very rude…
Don’t they know I have to blog to write?
As well as weird and wonderful lizards.
How cute is that?
I could easily have spent all day in just that one room….
But the butterflies were waiting….
River's world..... 
I hate insects, but powered through your pics. Pretty interesting (except the one, maybe two that really freaked me out…those damn roaches get me every time)
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Thanks for your loyal readership….
Please note I refrained from posting roach videos.
You’re welcome.
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I was watching Mayans a couple weeks back and a guy was “playing” with one of those. I had to look away
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Cockroach races? What fun…
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No, he was holding it. Blech!
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Fascinated with dead leaves walking! However, now I’ve got the heebie jeebies! Hate, hate, hate roaches! Ick!Mona
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Weren’t they the best?
The walking leaves. I realize roaches are an acquired taste… so to speak.
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it’s amazing how soft those roaches are..remembering my first time at squishing one. The leaf thing is the best for me.
If you went to a cat museum would you post bug gifs?
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I think a cat museum requires hedgehog, or at the very least flying squirrel, gifs. But thanks for playing.
And ironically…. I tried to get my husband to visit this during our trip, but he wasn’t interested.
http://www.museumofdog.com/
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that is fantastically ridiculous. I shall now stop doing what I’m doing – as it’s already being done all over maine 🙂
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No worries. There’s more than enough room for more fantastically ridiculous in the world today…..
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I morn the passing of DDT …
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What! These are glorious creatures… no spraying or stomping allowed!
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You worry me.
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You say that like it’s a bad thing….
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LOL
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Love those colorful frogs!
The rest of the stuff is fascinating (and fun to watch) . . . as long as it’s not in my house.
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Agreed. I love them… but usually from afar.
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The pink deericorn and the possum among felines totally made this post full of bugs worth scrolling through…
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I take it this means you’re anti Madagascar Hissing Cockroach…?
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If you don’t like bugs and reptiles you don’t live in Florida BUT if you love to eat THIS IS THE PLACE!!! I don’t care if you are in the middle of the Everglades you will find a country cafe with good food!
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I beg to differ. We spent 2 weeks in Palm Coast and St. Augustine last Xmas and had many places I’d give thumbs down. Bad restaurants are everywhere!
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I must say, I’m rather fond of beetles, the bigger the better. I especially enjoy them in an enclosed environment as above.
I saw a beetle in the work parking lot yesterday and he was black and long and kinda shone green. Very pretty. I watched him for quite a while. He was hunting, me thinks. I almost photographed him, but I wondered who else would like him. Now I will add you to my short list.
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Oh yes, always take advantage of creepy beetle opportunities. They’re not nearly frequent enough!
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