When we were first married, Gerald and I set a goal to take at least one family vacation a year that did not involve visiting family. My parents were excellent at family vacations, and those memories of family trips are some of my most precious. We wanted to create similar memories for our kids and make spending time together a priority.
It was time to go, and we were in need of a family vacation. We didn't have a long time, or a lot of money to spend on travel, so we decided to spend a couple of days and nights in Colorado Springs. No, it's not very far from home, but the truth is we haven't taken the time to explore there very well. And it's a great place! In fact, we'd like to go again soon. :)
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Colorado Springs has a great zoo! This was our first stop on our family vacation, and may have been our favorite overall place we visited. This zoo may not be the largest zoo ever, but it is definitely the most "hands-on" zoo I've ever been too.
The giraffe's are so much fun to visit! As you can see, you are right up next to them and can pet and feed them.
Pretty sure this picture above was taken right after the giraffe licked Katelee's hair!
Feeding the giraffe some lettuce - yummy!
Katelee loves carousels - isn't that smile priceless?!
One of the 'enrichment' events we stumbled across was this one: the zoo keeper hid the possum's food within a box and newspaper, and he found it using his sense of smell.
Katelee thought it was pretty cool to stand a couple of feet away from that possum. She wanted to reach out and pet him! (That's not allowed, by the way. :)
The tiger was very active and was putting on quite the show for us! I could have watched him all day.
Katelee wanted to switch. :)
We were at the leopard exhibit in time to see them feed the leopard. This is a real leopard skin that Katelee is touching.
We also got to hear the elephant trainer tell us about the elephants and see the orangutans paint with the zookeepers.
What a fun zoo and what a fun way to start our vacation!
Seven Falls
After visiting the zoo on Friday, we decided to explore a nearby park called Seven Falls. Colorado has some beautiful country, and this was no exception
One of the first things we saw when we entered the falls area was an elevator going up to a look-out deck. These stairs were next to the elevator. The sign says "185 Steps to the Eagles Nest." Katelee really wanted to take the stairs, and feeling adventurous and energetic I agreed. Gerald took the elevator. :)
From the top we could see the whole waterfall...
... as well as the LONG flight of stairs to climb up along the waterfall. Unfortunately, there was no elevator over there. :) Shoulda taken the elevator while I could! Ha ha!
The sign said, "Congratulations You Made It! Only 185 steps to the bottom."
Katelee loved feeding the trout along the river at the bottom of the falls. They would really jump for the food!
We also enjoyed some Native American dancing and music at the bottom of the falls. Katelee was mesmerized and loved watching them dance.
When they announced that children who wanted to could join them on stage for a special dance, Katelee was the first one up there!
Finally we decided to tackle the 224 stairs to the top of the falls.
The view from the halfway point landing.
It was at about this point that I remembered that I am deathly afraid of heights! Yikes! I started up the second half but started feeling shaky. So I decided to wait at the half-way up landing while Gerald and Katelee went to the top.
I had time to kill, so I took lots of pictures of the falls. And of this pretty blue beetle.
Gerald and Katelee coming back down. I was chanting "be careful, be careful, be careful," their whole way down.
Katelee picked some special dandelions for me while up on top. So sweet!
The rest of Friday evening was spent swimming at the hotel - Katelee's very favorite part! ;) We had a very, very fun day and slept well that night, looking forward to another day of fun on Saturday.
To be continued . . .
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