The day started with a trip to Colorado Spings for my pre-surgical appointment. I say that loosely because there were no actual appointments available, so I was told to do a walk-in that day. Apparently nobody knew walk-ins were still happening because I was told more than once that it would've been nice if I had made an appointment. Someone finally listened when I stated I had tried, nothing was available Thursday, Friday, or Monday, so I followed instructions. She seemed overjoyed to go tell the higher-ups since they insisted nobody walked-in an they didn't need so many appointment times. Nice.
Anyway, that took about an hour. Not bad! I had promised Luke a trip to the zoo to see the exhibit that opened this spring. He'd had yet to see wolves, grizzly bears, and moose. Aside from that, a few of the animals had moved into new enclosures over the past week. So, off to Cheyenne Mountain we went.
The first thing we did was help move 2 giraffes to their outside paddock. I thought it would be kind of fun for him since it involved pushing a button to lift a hydrolic bridge. I was right, he thought that was cool. He thanked the keeper and wandered to take a look at the creatures he just released. One was a baby, and apparently not as scary as the adults. Luke finally reached out to touch a giraffe! She licked him in appreciation, which he giggled at.
We worked our way to the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit and enjoyed every step of the way. Smart boy that he is, Luke opted for his stroller and preserved his energy while I huffed & puffed up the mountainside. Hey, I don't mind the workout! We passed the wallabees, elephants, big cats (except lions), and ventured up the fire tower to see the grizzly bears.
What a great exhibit! It was hard to get pictures through the glass, but they turned out alright. Luke was up at the glass when one of the bears climbed into the water. While my boy had his face up to the window, the bear came over and pushed his nose into Luke's face! It was adorable, and hilarious! Little Man was all smiles as he kind of stumbled back with a small amount of shock (since everyone in the vicinity exclaimed, laughed, and made the appropriate noises), but he still loved it. I wasn't able to get that on film...err, memory card...because of the angle I was at, but I'll always remember it. Then we were off again, back down the fire tower.
This is where we had the pleasure of hearing the snarls and growls of the cougars. It was lunch time, and they weren't about to share with the humans watching....or each other. This exhibit includes a tunnel with a glass ceiling and wall so you can be "inside" with the cats. It was exciting! Luke liked the growling and growled back. Little does he know....
The moose was below us at this point, and he's still young. About 1 1/2, so his rack is small. But he was still pretty. It amazes me how something that big, content, and moves with a slight degree of clumsiness at slow speed can become so agile and chase my butt into a tree! Even in waist-deep snow! Then again, I'm still pretty impressed I was able to move as fast as I did in that snow....but I was a lot younger. Anyway, Luke wasn't so impressed with this guy because he was just laying down and lazily chewing his cud. But the wolves?
They were Mexican Grey Wolves, and they were ACTIVE! Luke kept saying "Momma, dog! Momma, dog!" Of course a 2-yr old isn't going to understand there's a difference (he said the same thing about the fox the other night), but he loved them. It took a little coaxing to move from that exhibit. Now I definitely have to take him to the wolf sanctuary, if only to see his expression when they start howling.
On our way out we passed the monkey house. To my surprise, the little face in the medium outside enclosure was definitely not a monkey, but she sure got me excited! The little face belonged to the lone tiger cub born at the zoo in June! She was just relaxing, but she was so interested in us and what we had to say. Absolutely the cutest baby I've seen in quite some time! Her name was "Zoya," and she was rejected by her mom. Zoo staff have been raising her and she is now learning some independence. Stupid me, I didn't get a picture of her.
Last, we cruised by the lion den. The pride was out, half awake, half asleep. One lioness was locked on something, though. She didn't exactly appreciate Luke sticking his face in hers (after he got out of the stroller), would sit up to look over him, move to each side to see around him, and finally gave up and joined the rest of the pride. I felt kind of bad, but it did take about 10 minutes to get to that point. The thing about this encounter that will stand out for me is her yawn. Before she moved, and while Luke was in her face, she gave a giant yawn. She was still young and not as big as the lionesses here in Pueblo, but Luke's entire head would easily fit in her mouth. Wowza!
Many times I told Luke that this would probably be the closest he'd ever come to animals such as this, and that it's a good thing. The bear's head was as big as Luke's body, the lioness' mouth size, and the snapping of the cougars make me happy about that. Granted, if he were to become a rehabber, zoologist, wildlife biologist, or something along those lines, then he'll obviously be closer, but that wasn't the point. It was just one of those days of great experiences for him (and me!).
We came home and put our costumes on. Luke was an astronaut, I was akin to Nicole Kidman's character in "Cold Mountain," just at the beginning of the Civil War. My school was having a little shin-dig for the kiddos, my favorite instructor was taking her 8-yr old son, and I thought it would be fun. What a let-down! A few tables to get candy from. Thank goodness for the neighborhood!
So, home again, we ate some pizza and took off for a walk around the block. I have such great memories of trick-or-treating through our neighborhood as a kid (complete with being teased by my brother and friends one year to the point I ran home in tears, leaving my brother sure I'd been kidnapped) that I want to help Luke have equally great memories. It was a lovely night, and we didn't need to be bundled up. Luke made out like a bandit, absolutely loved the noisy flashlight his grandparents gave him, made the neighbors laugh, and decided he could live solely on candy. Too bad his parents had something else to say about that! It was after 10pm before we could convince him to take his costume off and put his jammies on. After that it took about 20 minutes for him to crash out.
(you'll have to excuse me, I look horrible)What a great day!
![](<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8946426@N04/5240439020/" title="DSCN0785 by LEF's Place, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5240439020_d76df42753_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="DSCN0785" /></a>)
5 comments:
Great pictures. I love the story about the giraffe. And the bear coming up to Luke's face. I would have wet my britches.
You are a good sport for dressing up and you look great. The extent of my 'costume' was wearing orange and black.
We went to check out one of our friend's houses after trick-or-treating because they go all out on the decorations. It was only about 9 when we left, but my kids were begging us to drive faster so they could get in bed. They didn't even ask if they could eat any of their candy!
I think you need to ask them to check your eyes at the next appointment cuz you look fabulous! Loved the zoo stories!
Ur costumes. Great! And I luv the zoo pics. Like us a darling boy ur a great mom Denise
You do not look horrible. You are such a cool mom to dress up with him. My oh my, what a fun day at the Zoo. Getting to see so many animals up so close is nothing you could really get at the Utah Zoo.
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