Abandoned Zoo

Jon and I rang in the Fall/Halloween season (on a 90 degree day) by checking out an abandoned zoo site in Griffith Park. It's back past the merry-go-round, which I think is a myth because I've never seen it, off to the left where Crystal Springs Drive splits off towards the current zoo and the Autry Museum.

The first cages we came across. Most of them were open so I obviously dropped my bag and ran straight inside.

You can kind of tell on the left of this picture, most of the cages had doors that connected them to the neighboring spaces.

Once I was done monkey-ing around in this area we continued along the path. At one point it splits off, one way going towards a grassy clearing with some picnic tables while the other goes up a hill to I-didn't-know-what. Guess which option we picked? Yup, up the hill it was. Turns out going up leads you to the back parts of the bigger enclosures. 

This was one of four or five super steep stairwell leading down to a big closed cage door.

Creepy barn past the stairwells.

 Creepy inside of the creepy barn.

Blood?   O___o

Yet another cage thing even further past the barn.

At this point there was nothing more to see so we went back down to explore the grassy area/find where those big stairwells led to. As we got down into the picnic area I saw something moving around on a table a few hundred feet away. I got as close as I could and zoomed in to find that it was a fox scavenging. I got really excited because it kind of looked like my pup and also - hello! wildlife in Los Angeles.

 Yes, three pictures were necessary. 

Finally the more exciting looking parts...

I'm guessing these areas would have been for bigger animals like lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). They may look familiar to Parks and Recreation fans because they were the set for the Pawnee Zoo in season 2. Scenes from Anchorman were also filmed here, something about a bear? I don't know, I couldn't get through that movie.

The other side of the stairwell I found.

A bunch of props and tables and stuff in one of the enclosures.

While I was busy wondering aloud what the stuff in the picture above was for I hear Jon say "oooh coffins!" I didn't believe him until I turned around and saw this. I made him open one and screamed when I saw BONES. Don't worry, upon further inspection I confirmed that they were fake, as was the hair I saw sticking out of another one.

If you're wondering why there are coffins laying around in Griffith Park it's because they were setting up for the Haunted Hay Ride the day we were there. It runs most nights and evenings through the month of October and costs $25 - $1,325 depending on how scared you want to be. I would never ever in a million years go on it, I mean c'mon I screamed at fake bones in broad daylight. Just going to the website so I could link it above was enough to give me nightmares. I will never understand people paying money to be scared, that's just nutter butter.