All-Access Pass: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At Places In Sacramento Off-Limits To The Public

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — They are places maybe you've always wanted to go, but you can't—local spots considered off-limits to the public.

But this video is an all-access pass.

All-Access Pass Part 1: Behind-The-Scenes At The Sacramento Zoo

Watch as a colony of fruit bats make their move for lunch at the Sacramento Zoo, and the place where food is made for more than 600 animals.

Designing a menu for 140 different species is a tall order, kind of like the giraffe exhibit we also toured. The barn offers a place to keep warm, or where vets can give medical attention to the sometimes 2,000-pound animals.

But we didn't just go to the zoo—how about the Tower Bridge?

All-Access Pass Part 2: Who Controls The Tower Bridge?

Scott Bennet has been the drawbridge operator for 14 years and it can be a lonely job.

"You're up here by yourself for most of the time—no one to talk to or anything," he said.

His perch is about 30 feet above the road, and 70 feet above the water. A series of monitors helps him figure out when to raise the bridge, but that hasn't happened much during the drought. He says he's gone from 30 to 40 times a month to just two or three times.

All-Access Pass Part 3: Under (and on top of) The (Capitol) Dome

Another high point of the tour was the tippy-top of the Capitol Dome. Assemblyman Ken Cooley was our guide. He was a young legislative assistant during the dome restoration in the late 1970s.

The long climb extends well above the rotunda and gives a view of Sacramento few get to experience. The area is off-limits except for legislators and their guests.

Web Extra: All-Access Pass Bonus Video

We had to leave a few things off our tour on the air, but that's why we have the Internet. Find out more about the zoo's reptile exhibit, what does Scott feel if there's an accident on the Tower Bridge, and a little more history on the design of the Capitol building. And what were all those names?