Colorado Trip Day 4

Monday

On Day four we headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.  It had been at least 20 years since I had last been there with my family.  The last memory I have of there was riding a Camel with my cousin Jessica when she was a little girl.  I must have been in high school or college then.  Eric and our kids had never been there.  I knew they were all in for a great zoo experience based on my memories of visiting there as a child.  I do believe, just like most places, that their prices have gone up.  It was quite expensive, in my opinion, almost $20 a piece for each adult, and $15 a piece for children.  (We do have a family zoo pass to our local zoo, but the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is not a reciprocating zoo so we did not get any discounts with our local zoo pass.  And, of course, like most places, there are lots of "extras" to purchase once you are inside the zoo.  They did allow us to carry in backpacks which we had previously loaded with snacks and drinks to help cut the cost of buying food and drinks down while we were there.)  The zoo is built on the side of the mountain, which means a lot of serious walking for zoo patrons.  We caught the tram at the entrance of the zoo.  It took us all the way to the top of the zoo and we started to make our way down the mountainside looking at different animals and exhibits along the way.  One of the most funny animal things we saw all day was at the beginning of the day, in the reptile building....two Box Turtles, fighting!

The kids liked posing with this giant fake Crocodile, after they were reassured it was indeed fake.

The first "extra" Popee splurged on for the grandkids were the bird feeding sticks.  Phoebe was the first to get a bird onto her stick with Daddy's help.

We all liked their Elephant exhibit.  They have five female Elephants.

One of the coolest and most memorable experiences/"extras" at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has always been feeding the Giraffes.  I still remember doing this many times as a child when we came to this zoo in the summertime.  I also remember thinking I was actually going to be fed to the Giraffes by my Uncle Charlie one summer as he lifted me up and apparently to close to a Giraffe's face.

Our kids were a little nervous at first to hold their hands up towards the Giraffes, but with a little coaxing from Popee, Daddy, and myself they each got the hang of it and loved feeding them!

The Grizzly Bear area was impressive.  There was a large pool for the bears right up next to a glass viewing area.  We watched two Grizzlies eat a snack and then swim in the pool.  Silas liked watching the bears, but especially liked watching the fish that were swimming around in the bear's pool.

To find out more about the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, CLICK HERE.

Silas really enjoyed having John and Jeline at the cabin and zoo with us.

Below, left to right, Eric, Silas, Stacee, Paul, Phoebe, Lindsee, Gloria, Sarah, John, and Jeline.

When we left the zoo we found a large park in Colorado Springs to have a picnic and let the kids play for awhile before we all headed back to the cabin.

That night at the cabin was Aunt Lindsee's last night with us.  She took a turn reading stories to the kids.