It's Zoo Time

I can't remember the last time I went to the zoo... I think I went a lot as a child, but all zoos have pretty much blended together in my memory.  I know the Denver Zoo has a pretty good reputation as zoos go, but I'm sure I always took it for granted.  

Well today all that changed.  We took Natalie to the zoo for the first time.  And we will be going back.  A lot.  

I'll give you a bit of background on our crazy week, just to put the zoo trip into context.  On Wednesday my husband's company realized that they were way behind if they wanted to present a website to their client in Austria on Monday.  So all hands were ordered to put in extra hours and come in both days on the weekend.  Everyone there was stressed to the max because it is pretty much universally felt that if they don't put their best foot forward on this one then they might loose their biggest client and jobs would be on the line.  After four 14 hour days (and barely getting to see Natalie awake), my husband told me he had volunteered to come in on Sunday night and work from 8pm-8am.  They needed someone there when the boss arrived in Austria, and during the hours leading up to the presentation.  If he worked that shift then he wouldn't have to work on Sunday or on Monday, and he could have an almost "normal" weekend!!  

So last night after getting a bunch of work done in the yard, and taking a few good naps, we all ate dinner together in Denver and I dropped him off at work.  He stayed up all night working, and at 1am found out that the boss's flight had been delayed and there would be no presentation!  Everyone went home except my DH who had no car.  The buses wouldn't start up again until the morning!  He spent the night at work and called me from the bus in the morning.  I picked him up just after 8am.  Maybe you're used to a schedule like that, but we sure aren't.  

So that's how our zoo day started... Even after such a long night he still wanted to do a fun weekend thing.  The forecast didn't look great so we figured we'd play it by ear.  Luckily Natalie had a nice long nap, and so did he.  He got to watch her for a bit while I was teaching a yoga class, and then we all went to lunch at Efrain's.  We figured if it wasn't raining, we'd try a zoo trip.  

Sure enough, the weather was perfect!  70 degrees and not too sunny.  My two babes had a nice nap on the way there, and then we were off and running.  

Natalie spent a lot of time pointing.  What's that over there?  

Oh yes, giraffes.  And there were giraffe babies too!  Born over 6 feet tall!  

And we walked by the penguins just as they announced a daily feeding!  What luck.  Herring for lunch! Again?  
The black bears were pretty lively... they seemed to be looking for a way out... 

And these spider monkeys were putting on a show for us for sure!! 

So we just had to sing... "no more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

These two gorillas were being very calm, until one threw some kind of tube at the other one!  Man they can move, and fast!!  One little boy was so startled he started crying... Our little trouper was definitely surprised (as we were),  but managed to tough it out.  When the big one in this picture was through putting the trouble maker in his place, he resumed his position as if nothing had happened.  It happened over about 10 seconds.  Very unnerving.  

We passed by this little train a couple of times, and each time the passengers waved at Natalie... she just loves attention!  

One of the few things I remembered about the zoo from my childhood, (and possibly only because my mother reminded me) is the covered wagon pulled by oxen that you can climb on.  I'm not sure there was even an explanation of this feature, except that it was placed adjacent to the funnel cakes stand, which I guess is frontierish too.  

We could probably have spent the whole day here.  Natalie loved being inside the wagon and touching all the different parts and feeling the textures.  

And we got the full pioneer experience by changing her diaper just like they would have in the olden days.  

We ended our zoo days at the feline exhibit.  It was the perfect last stop.  The cats were still pretty lively, and the area was empty.  These snow leopards  were especially fun.  We got some very close looks at the large cats from a little window on the side of their enclosure.  They would make eye contact with us and then stalk towards and pounce at the window, almost running across it.  They also went nose-to-nose with us a couple of times.  They were beautiful!  And Natalie sure got a kick out of their antics.  

Unfortunately they were very hard to capture on the camera.  The lighting was poor and our flash was too slow... here is the best picture of one of them mid leap!  He ran across the window with his big snow-shoe paws.  

We bought Natalie a small plastic snow leopard to commemorate her first trip to the zoo.  And we bought an annual membership so we can come again whenever we want.  The grounds are great for picnicking with the peacocks and geese running all around, and it would be nice to be able to stop in just to see the new babies.  Plus it is less than ten minutes from my husband's work, so we can meet him down there.  What a fun, normal way to spend an afternoon.  

After the zoo, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and some ice cream.  When we got home, I put both my babies to bed!  And now I think I'm going to join them!!