Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

You all know that I LOVE animals but I have a hard time going to Zoo's. 4 years ago Mom and I went to the Denver Zoo and we left so upset that I haven't been back to any zoo since. I have always read about the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, one of 2 Zoo's in the US actually in the mountains and this is also the #5 Zoo in the country. I did research, read about their enrichment programs for the animals and conservation efforts and we all decided to give it a whirl!

 I am SO glad we did, this was the BEST Zoo experience I have ever had! And not just because we were able to get so close but because the animals all seemed so happy, their enclosures were amazing and every single day each animal has wonderful enriching things to keep them occupied.

 And oh ya, this happened........ We got to feed and love on Giraffes. We arrived right when the Zoo opened so there were over 16 Giraffes ready for breakfast! PLUS a baby Giraffe which was SO cute! And I thought their tongues would be slimy but they aren't! LOL

 We watched the Elephant yoga, which helps them loosen their joints and then we got to feed a 45 year old Elephant! She was so sweet, I was just sad it went by too fast.

 I haven't been this close to an elephant before and it was incredible, animals are so amazing. But no I couldn't pet or hug her that was against the rules and I get that!

 This is a a smile that conveys my pure joy!

 The Zoo is in Colorado Springs and overlooks the Broadmoor down below, it was just stunning!

 We were so lucky right when we walked up to the Tiger exhibit she was in full play mode! She was jumping, attacking her ball and swimming all around. It was the best.

 You guys check this little guy out..... this is a porcupine asleep on a branch with it's little tongue out. I swear it was so cute. Also a lot of animals are able to roam free, different birds, wallabies and these guys, sloths.... so neat

 Heck ya I snuggled a goat! Dad caught me telling it how sweet it is while giving it so much love.

 They had this fun restaurant in the Zoo that overlooked all of Colorado Springs and it was nice to relax for a bit before heading on. We thought we would be at the Zoo for 2 hours or so but we loved it so much we spent over 5 hours at the zoo!

 Ya, so this happened.... Mom and I rode the Carousel! It was actually MUCH faster than we thought it would be! LOL

 The Zoo also had a Ski lift that takes you over all the enclosures so the 3 of us jumped on. It was so fun.

 And of course before we left we had to go feed the giraffes one more time, it was just the neatest experience

 We had a great day, the only down side was navigating the 1000s of strollers everywhere! LOL

Cave of the Winds

Last Friday after we went to the Wolf Sanctuary we went to Manitou Springs, this charming little tourist town outside of Colorado Springs nestled in the base of Pikes Peak. We walked thru main street and had lunch at this European Cafe which was really really good!

 After lunch we went to our last stop of the day Cave of The Winds in Manitou Springs!

 This amazing cave system is inside the base of a mountain and this attraction is set in the cliff of the mountain overlooking the stunning canyon below.

 I always love playing tourist in my own state and lucky me Colorado will always give us plenty of opportunities to do that, the hard part is just narrowing it all down for that day!

 We took an hour long tour inside the cave which was incredible, I loved learning the history of the cave and how the tours ran when this first opened. And let me tell you back then you couldn't pay me money to CRAWL in the dark for 4 hours just to see 1 open room then to only crawl back in the dark to get out.

 This is a great tour but honestly unlike the tour says... fun for all ages, don't bring toddlers! Or anyone who can't walk a million stairs or pay attention for a full hour. We had fun but some others were trying to ruin it for us!

A few years back the Today filmed from Cave of the Winds and they have an attraction called the Terror-Dactyl which I would NEVER DO but the Today show did! You can see the video below, its funny...


To learn more about Cave of the Winds click HERE

Seven Falls

I am going to let todays pictures speak for themselves mostly... Saturday we all took a day trip to Colorado Springs where we toured the Garden of the Gods, saw the United States Air Force Academy, visited the Broadmoor and toured Seven Falls also known as the "Most Glorious Mile in ALL of Colorado"... really it is, look it up! We all had a wonderful day and when we got home we had the most wonderful sunset waiting for us over my house!

Enjoy...